Sweet Dreams

teacups of golden love light

Piano score: https://bit.ly/ecmusic_solitude

Solitude

(Free WAV Download available here under '••• More'; and eventually, as part of a future solo album)

Greetings my friends. I admit up front, this is a strange write-up… culminating from years of trying to navigate a world that no longer makes sense to me. And maybe that’s a good thing. We all needed a wake up call to just how ineffective and unsustainable it all is? And the last few years have provided examples of that… in abundance. 

Speaking of abundance (or in this case, lack thereof), Cheer and I have been discussing this one a lot lately; specifically in regards to the shops and restaurants we frequent. I finally gave up on building a DIY, music-centric desk I designed, because none of the local hardware stores had enough of the pieces in stock. We’ve watched our favorite Romaine lettuce disappear from the shelves, to be replaced by something half the size and twice the cost. Several of our favorite restaurants have closed permanently, and the wait times at others is painfully long now. 

Apparently, shop and restaurant owners can’t get anybody to work for $15/hr when it costs $30/hr to afford rent and groceries now. (How could we have ever predicted or prevented that? One might speculate.)

It’s enough to make the average mind go a little panicky. “Why don’t you have that in stock?”, ‘Why did the price on this just double overnight?”, “Why have we been waiting for 20 minutes just for the menus?”. All of these are very real, and very concerning… specifically if we never stop to question how much of that thinking is the result of being programmed to think like consumers our whole lives.

How often have you heard a commercial say something along the lines of “You deserve this because you are worth it.” Or “You should fear this. And our product/service can protect you.” Or “You should take this prescription, despite the list of side effects being longer than the list of benefits.”

I suggest we ask ourselves ‘Am I thinking with the mind of a consumer right now?’, and then be very willing to let those developing thoughts roll around in our heads for a while. 

Cheer and I concluded (with minor alarm) that we are both profoundly brainwashed by ‘consumer’ thinking; and it shows every time we feel a sense of panic in the store. Sure, things are a bit more scarce than they were 5 years ago… but does anyone (old enough) remember 30 years ago, when the stores contained half of what they offer now? (And none of us were freaking out over a lack of choices then). How about a time when you couldn’t have something shipped to your door overnight (many of us can still remember a time when 6-8 weeks was a decent shipping window).

Maybe the path to changing this paradigm is for us to get out of that ‘consumer’ thinking, and focus more on a ‘grateful for all the amazing things we have’ kind of thinking. I can still go to the store and choose from an abundance of fruits and vegetables, a teetering display of chips and dips, a bevy of beers from around the world. There are still more choices than my simple brain truly wants to think through, even if they are sold out of the Smoked Salmon and Ketchup flavored Cheetos I was specifically looking for.

So my plan going forward is to TASER myself (at least psychologically) every time I catch my brain being consumery. And the goal is to reach a point where I’m not thinking “It’s not fair my favorite restaurant closed.”, but instead thinking “How cool is it that I had that experience; and got to support the family that owned and worked that restaurant.” 

We’ve reached some critical tipping points that are well on their way to determining our future; and I believe a healthy attitude (dipped in gratitude) is the thing that’s going to keep us from gnawing each other’s faces off over the long haul. Them’s my weird thoughts for the day. Take em with a grain of salt (assuming the store carries the brand you like). I hope you enjoy my latest musical offering, ‘I’ll See It When I Believe It”. :)

WTF! The Musical

I'll See It When I Believe It

An orchestral piece,  with a deliberately retro arrangement, full of strings and horns, from another era.

The painting: Alex Colville, Couple on Beach, 1957

Do you remember when we met?

The Trapped

No Side - Car Camel (ft Rekha)| Music by One Blind Mouse | Music/Vocal Improvs/Lyrics by REKHA - IYERN [Fe]

Vocal Improv composed & produced, recorded & performed, mixing by REKHA at IYERN [Fe] RECORDS IN CANADA | Final Mixing & Mastering by Stu of One Blind Mouse in SCOTLAND

Listen to the amazing music of ONE BLIND MOUSE HERE: https://soundcloud.com/oneblindmouse/tracks

No Side - Car Camel | Music/Vocal Improv’s by REKHA - IYERN [Fe] | (Under Editing)

Do-oh…

Daily grind
Daily grind
Makin’ me wind up
Daily grind
Makin’ me wind up
Messin’ with my mind-mind
Messin’ with my mind-mind, Oo
Oo-Ah…

Yeah…Oo-Ee-Ah…
Too-Too...much to do
Everyday too much to do
Messin’ with my mind-mind
Doom-Ticky 
Doom-Doom
Ticky-Doom
Doom-Tee

Doom-Doom 
Ticky-Ticky 
Doom-Doom
Doom-Ticky-Ticky 
Doom-Doom
Doom-Ticky 
Doom-Doom…
Doom-Doom-Doom
Doom-Doom-Doom

Daily grind
Messin’ with my mind-mind
Makin’ me wind up

Like a puppet on a
Like a puppet on a
Like a puppet on a
Like a puppet on a

Doom-Doom 
Ticky-Ticky 
Doom-Doom
Ticky-Ticky
Doom-Doom-Doom
Doo-oo…

Slam-Bam
Thank You Mam
Slam-Bam
Ya gotta keep it up
All the time
Daily grind
Messin’ with my mind-mind-mind
Make-Makin’ me
Make-Makin’ me 
Make-Makin’ me
Make-Makin’ me
Crazy
W-Oh-Oh, Oh-Oh
W-Oh-Oh, Oh-Oh

Doom Ticky-Ticky 
Doom-Doom-Doom
Doom-Doom-Doom
Ticky-Ticky

Ding-Dong
Down-Down
Down-Down
Down-Down 
Down

Ropatata-Ropatata 
Ropatata-Ropatata 
Ropatata-Ropatata
Ropatata-Ropatata

One one more time
It’s one more time
Everyday you gotta get up really early
Do it every single day-day
One more time-time
Time-Time
Doom-Ticky 
Doom-Doom
Ticky-Ticky-Ticky
Doom-Doom...

Feelin’ my, feelin’ my 
Doom…Oh…

Ow! Ow! Ow!
No! No! No!

No Side - Car Camel (ft Rekha)|Music by One Blind Mouse|Music/V-Improvs/Lyrics by REKHA-IYERN [Fe]

Altered Perspective

Remastering of two pieces already posted: "I am yourself" and "Juste avant l'automne"

2 Piano Pieces

© Joe Liberty 2023. All rights reserved.

For my darling wife Suzanne

JustForYou


Feeling kind of dark inside
On the edge just scraping by
And hoping for more
Cynical of the past
Waiting for another chance
Then you came through the door

When I looked into your eyes
Couldn’t help loving you, loving you
And I still get kinda high
When you come by

No matter what’s in store
I know one thing that’s for sure
I’ll be saving all my kisses for you
Just for you

I was lost in a black abyss
Needing more than a quick fix
And the spark for the catalyst 
Was the passion of our first kiss

Well things don’t always go as planned
Sometimes you know shit hits the fan
But I don’t get sore
Counting blessings yes indeed
Got what I want and what I need
When you came through the door

Now when I look into your eyes
Can’t help loving you, loving you
And I still get kinda high
When you come by

No matter what’s in store
I know one thing that’s for sure
I’ll be saving all my kisses for you

I’ll be saving all my kisses for you
Just for you

JustForYou

Music : Janne Hennie & PJ Project
Lyrics & vocals : Janne Hennie

Only time will tell, if i did the right thing in letting you go
Only time will tell, if i get stronger with each passing day

Time is a healer, they say
And i choose to belive
That i will get trough the days
And time will show me the way

So if you ask me, i will be honest with you
Time is a healer for me
Something breaks and is mend to stay broken
And we wasn't ment to be..

One day i will find the right one for my heart
Time will heal and we bort will find love
Even when we´re apart

Time is a healer , they say
And i choose to belive
That i will get trough the days
And time will show me the way

So if you ask me, i will be honest with you
Time is a healer for me
Something breaks and is ment to stay broken
And we wasn't ment to be....

Time Is A Healer W/ Janne Hennie

i just returned home from a long and arduous voyage to inspiritus 5, where i drank new liquids and learned new ways to create and to love. - phil

teacups of golden love light

the stellar lifetimes