Tender Love

Hard to believe that it has been almost an entire year since my last post, but Becky's World is back!  I've made many new discoveries in my hiatus -- namely, great new radio stations.  Every Sunday from 12 noon to 4 PM, you can listen to classic broadcasts of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem on Mix 98.1 from Rutland, VT.  The broadcast each week is from the 80s and corresponds with the present week.  So, for instance, this week's may be from the week of March 30 in 1985.  It's great to revisit these and think, "Hey, that was the number 1 song back then?!"  Sometimes, it is quite surprising!  Anyway, I listened to a broadcast recently where "Tender Love" by Force MDs was in the Top 10.  Took me back to my middle school days!  I forgot how lovely this song is, and now that I am a professional musician, I can appreciate the simple beauty of the the melody and accompaniment.  Come to find out, it was written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.  I had no idea!  If you want to check out an extremely funny clip of them discussing the song and how it came about, click here to watch that on YouTube.  Meanwhile, enjoy Tender Love!

Gypsy

Took me a while to decide on a song this evening.  In fact,  I was watching all these videos and looking through Songfacts to see what I could find of interest.  Clock was ticking, and it was getting later, and later, and so I decided on something kind of mellow.  Plus, it's about time for another Fleetwood Mac tune.  They are one of my favorites, and I've always admired Stevie Nicks.  I hear this song more on the radio now than I did when it first came out in 1982.  I do remember seeing the video several times on MTV.  It didn't scare me, but it did make me feel a bit sad, mostly because Stevie is dancing in the rain -- just kind of spinning and twirling.  It seems o be in some kind of slow motion, too.  For some reason, I found it very saddening at the time, although now it doesn't seem so bad.  Seems kind of nostalgic, actually.

Anyway, I hadn't paid much attention to the lyrics until now.  Turns out the song is about Stevie's close friend who was dying of leukemia.  I think (after reading the lyrics) that you can almost feel the time pass through the woman's illness, death, and to the days afterward.  Still kind of sad, but the guitar, harmonies, and Stevie's vocal quality make the song feel very calming and peaceful.  I suppose that was the point.  I am glad that I've come to discover this song and that it is getting so much airplay even to this day.  It's just a nice, calming song -- and not too depressing if you don't pay attention to the lyrics ;)

Designing

So, it looks like I am still working on the design of this page.  My goal is to have a great widget that plays internet radio or videos of some sort.  I've passed by those as I've been working on the page.  Figured I would come back to it.  So, stay tuned, because I believe Becky's World will be complete with music very soon.