Surgeon General's Warning:..

..This song has been known to cause diabetes!

Some words are just fun to say.
Quintessential,effervescent,peritonitis,and Valvoline spring immediately to mind.
They're lyrical and evocative,and roll trippingly off the tongue in a most satisfying fashion.
Plus!..As an added bonus!,..they tend to sound like what they mean.
(Okay,..in my youth,I naturally assumed Valvoline was some sort of marital aid).
..Know what I mean?

Anyphonetics,..the word Madrigal has been a long time favorite of mine that I have neglected to ever use in a sentence,here in the pedantic verbosity that is Sling's Domain.

Technically,(not that we're married to technicalishness up in here),Madrigal is a style of romantic music made popular in Italy during the Renaissance,that generally involves two or more vocalists.
No doubt,my good friend Willym could cite numerous classical examples.

For my purposes,I've opted to use the lesser definition;..
'Romantic poetry suitable for setting to music,used to designate certain expressive solo songs'.

I think one of the most charming contemporary efforts,(and definitely in the running for 'Most saccharine tune I've ever heard'),was written by that talented kid,Randy Sparks,and performed here by the late John Denver.
There's an especially savory violin interlude long about the 3:16 mark,that makes me grin with the contented satisfaction of The Cheshire Cat every time I hear it.


'Today'

..'I'll be a dandy,and I'll be a rover.
You'll know who I am,by the songs that I sing.
I'll feast at your table.
I'll sleep in your clover.
Who cares what the 'morrow shall bring'..

I think the world would be a whole lot better place,if people talked like that more often!

Video stress..

It's been raining all week here in O-Town,so my first inclination for this Friday's music video was to play 'April Showers' by one of my favorite crooners,..Al Jolson.
..I love the guy!

But the only best version I could find,and after some brief introspection, I finally deemed inappropriate due to the fact that he performed it in 'Blackface'.
Maybe I over think things too much..I mean,..that was then,and this now,and I'm not sure political correctness should determine whether or not I post a heartwarming tune,just because it happens to be performed by a middle-aged Jewish guy disguised as a black man.

It's the white man's dilemma,..I suppose.

In any case,..I decided to let a blind Hispanic kid represent my soggy situation for me in its stead.

I am much more than pleased with the result!



'Ain't no sunshine'

It's Friday,..and life is soaked to the skin in Sling's Domain.

Don't you know?..You can't go home again.

There's a place in my heart,and in my head,that I have some small difficulty trying to nail down.
I mean,I've been there,and have the very real sense of the sights,and sounds,and smells,as clearly as if I had only turned to bid them adieu this very morning.

I can feel the weight of the comforting cloak of belonging draped across my shoulders,bask in the warmth of the afternoon sun,and take a moment's pleasure in the cautious scent of Jasmine wafting on the gentle breeze.

Still,..even now,..it would be fruitless to try and point to some particular latitude and longitude on one of those giant fold out maps you find in the 'Special Edition' of National Geographic, and declare with certainty,..'There!..It's right there!!'..

Mostly,..I just want to go home.



'Carolina in my mind'