Nancy E. Dunne's Blog, page 22

Music Monday - Tomorrow is Today

So back when I was in college, I was in a play my senior year called "The Shadowbox." The director chose wonderful music for the opening, intermission, etc. and most of it dealt with the same theme of the play - a look at families in a hospice, each dealing with impending death in different ways. I didn't know anything about anything back then, but boy did I think I was ready to play a 40-something mother of a teenager who was visiting a husband dying in hospice care. 
This song drifts in and out of my life, as do my other two favorites from that play, but today this one spoke to me about my upcoming Nanowrimo project - the sequel to Rift, and the continuing story of a young woman going too far into her gaming universe to be able to hang on to her real life. I've been thinking about Em and Alex a lot lately, and Lex, Alex's avatar in the game and alter ego. And this line sort of jumped out at me in the car: And someday, when your dreams are leaving you, I'll still believe in you. There's sort of a Peter Pan and Tinkerbell quality about videogame characters - do they exist when no one is playing the game? Do they remember things and people? 
If Em stops seeing Lex as a sentient being, does he revert to binary code?
Anyway, this is from what I think to be one of Billy Joel's greatest albums, Cold Spring Harbor, and it always takes me back to a dusty theatre in a small college in Tennessee...I wonder if my Maggie is still walking the boards and still grieving a life she hasn't quite lost yet?

Tomorrow is Todayby Billy Joel
I've been livin' for the momentBut I just can't have my wayAnd I'm afraid to go to sleep'Cause tomorrow is today
People tell me life is sweeterBut I don't hear what they sayNothing comes to change my lifeSo tomorrow is today
I don't care to know the hour'Cause it's passing anywayI don't have to see tomorrow'Cause I saw it yesterday
So I listen for an answerBut the feeling seems to stayAnd what's the use of always dreamingIf tomorrow is today
Still I'm waiting for the morningBut it feels so far awayAnd you don't need the love I'm givingSo tomorrow is today
Oh, my, I'm goin' to the riverGonna take a ride and the lord will deliver meMade my bed, I'm gonna lie in itIf you don't come, sure gonna die in it
Too late, too much givenI've seen a lot of life and I'm damn sick of livin' itI keep hopin' that you will pass my way
And some day if your dreams are leavin' youI'll still believe in you
I don't care to know the hour'Cause it's passing anywayI don't have to see tomorrow'Cause I saw it yesterday
Though I'm living and I'm singingAnd although my hands still playSoon enough it will all be over'Cause tomorrow is today

Music Monday: It's come to this

 Y'all, anyone that knows me knows that this is one of my favorite songs. Back in the day when I was awake into the wee hours running around Norrath (Everquest), I always had music playing alongside the voices of my group on Teamspeak. Quite frequently this song was in the mix, and it will always remind me of charging up to an angry NPC...as well as swapping out my heals as fast as I could to keep the fighters propped up.

But now it holds a different place in my heart as the absolute theme song for my Nature Walker Trilogy, as well as a fantastic driving song...as long as I have cruise control set. I'm a GenX 80's child, and not ashamed to have this tune blasting. I can't believe I didn't have this one as a Music Monday before!

(Before any of you come at me for misogynistic tendencies...in my head, it's often she or they rather than he...)

Holding Out for a Heroby Bonnie Tyler
Where have all the good men gone and where are all the Gods?Where's the street wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life
Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasySomewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for meRacing on the thunder and rising with the heatIt's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than lifeI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens aboveOut where the lightning splits the seaI could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rainAnd the storm and the floodI can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

Music Monday - Wherever Is Your Heart

I'm already thinking about the next Nano event, and I'm leaving Orana behind for awhile, so I'm looking at human relationships rather than elves and Qatu and bored deities. This song speaks to a very basic part of a healthy relationship, be it romantic or platonic - the need to have a home, whatever that looks like, and what makes something/somwhere home. 
Also, y'all - Brandi Carlile. If you haven't discovered her yet, you are in for a treat. Enjoy.

"Wherever Is Your Heart"By Brandi Carlile
I think it's time we found a way back homeYou lose so many things you love as you growI missed the days when I was just a kidMy fear became my shadow, I swear it did
Wherever is your heart I call homeWherever is your heart I call homeThough your feet may take you far from me, I knowWherever is your heart I call home
You made me feel like I was always fallingAlways falling down without a place to landSomewhere in the distance I heard you callingOh it hurts so bad to let go of your hand
Wherever is your heart I call homeWherever is your heart I call homeThough your feet may take you far from me, I knowWherever is your heart I call home
Even when you're high, you can get lowEven with your friends you love, you're still aloneWe always find the darkest place to goGod forgive our minds, we were born to roam
Wherever is your heart I call homeWherever is your heart I call homeThough your feet may take you far from me, I knowWherever is your heart I call home
Oh God forgive my mind, oh God forgive my mindWhen I come home, when I come homeOh God forgive my mindThere's a road that's long and winding, it hollers homeI'm calling home
Oh God forgive my mind, oh God forgive my mindWhen I come home, when I come homeOh God forgive my mind, oh God forgive my mindWhen I come home, when I come home
Wherever is your heart I call homeWherever is your heart I call homeThough your feet may take you far from me, I knowWherever is your heart I call home
Wherever is your heart I call homeWherever is your heart I call homeThough your feet may take you far from me, I knowWherever is your heart I call home

Last Minute Music Monday: You’ll Thank Me Later

Just watch it, that's all I ask...

Rockstar Sea ShantyBy Nickelback
I'm through with standing in line to pubs I'll never get inIt's like the bottom of the ninth and I'm never gonna winLife hasn't turned out quite the wayI want it to be (tell me what you want)I want a huge sail that'll hold the squallsAnd a big black ship with some cannonballsDon't wanna join Davy Jones twenty thousandLeagues under the sea (so how you gonna do it?)I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fameI'd even roll my bed and change my name, we...We all just wanna be big rockstarsLive in hilltop houses driving 15 carsThe girls come easy and the drugs come cheapWe all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eatAnd we'll hang out in the coolest barsIn the VIP's with the movie starsEvery good gold digger is gonna wind up thereEvery Playboy Bunny with her bleached blonde hairAnd we'll hide out in the private roomsWith the latest dictionary and today's who's whoThey'll get you anything with that evil smileEverybody's got a rum dealer on speed dialHey, I wanna be a rockstarGonna sing those songs that offend the censorsSinging those songs that offend the censorsPopping my pills from a Pez dispenser (rockstars don't do mornings)Get washed up sailors writing all our songsGet washed up sailors writing all our songsLipsync them every night so I don't get them wrongWe'll sing them dusk till morning, weWe all just wanna be big rockstarsLive in hilltop houses driving 15 carsThe girls come easy and the drugs come cheapWe'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eatAnd we'll hang out in the coolest barsIn the VIP's with the movie starsEvery good gold digger's gonna wind up thereEvery Playboy Bunny with her bleached blonde hairAnd we'll hide out in the private roomsWith the latest dictionary and today's who's whoThey'll get you anything with that evil smileEverybody's got a rum dealer on speed dialHey, I wanna be a rockstarEverybody's got a rum dealer on speed dialHey, I wanna be a rockstar

Notes from Exile...We had ONE job

Y'all. We were so close. SO close. It was really looking like we would turn this pandemic corner to find the light at the end of the 16 month long tunnel. We had two jobs...well, really, one job.
Get vaccinated. Man, I hate needles and I did it. We talked about this. I had reactions afterward. I powered through it. And you can call this post virtue signalling if you like - I call it letting folks know that I did all of this so that we ALL can get back to normal, not just so I can take off my mask and I can go back to activities. It isn't an I, after all. It's a we. We want to get back to normal.
But we apparently aren't as anxious for that as I am. Because we haven't all* gotten vaccinated. We continue to demand to be maskless. We continue to deny that this virus can kill us. We refuse to stop gathering in large groups and carrying on with our lives as though nothing has changed.
And we continue to ignore that herd immunity doesn't work on a virus that can mutate to continue to spread. 
So now, because we don't seem to care about the us as much as the I, we are seeing cases spike again. We see people getting so sick they have to be hospitalised again. We see health care workers pushed to the brink...again. 
We the people becomes every person for themselves...and if I sound even more preachy than normal, it's because I'm angry. The news is full of politicians - not epidemiologists, but politicians - like the Governor of my state that made it illegal to have a mask mandate. Illegal to do something that hurts no one* but will save everyone. 
Please. Get the vaccine if you can. Wear a mask if you are able. If you can't do those things, stay home. It is so simple. Think about someone other than you or yours. 

*I am not referring to anyone who, due to age or medical/health condition cannot get the vaccine or wear a mask. You are part of why I got it, and why everyone should that is able.

Music Monday: Yeah, I know, Enterprise...

 I heard something recently that has stuck with my little nerdy heart. I am a fan of the Star Trek franchise more so than others because at its core, it has HOPE. Not dystopian apocalyptic horror that has to be overcome, but hope. I like that. 

This song speaks to me on that level. You can tell me till you're blue that this is the worst series theme song to go along with the worst series (I've heard that almost verbatim) but I don't care - it is one of my favorites because it has so much of that hope that I mentioned. Enterprise was, in the chronological timeline, near the beginning. It was not far out from the firsts - the first space travel, the first contact, and so many others. And please...Hoshi Sato is who I want to be when I grow up so why wouldn't I love it?

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam...but for now, join me in appreciating this expression of hope. 

Where My Heart Will Take Meby Russell Watson and Diane Warren
It's been a long roadGetting from there to hereIt's been a long timeBut my time is finally near
And I can feel the change in the wind right nowNothing's in my wayAnd they're not gonna hold me down no moreNo, they're not gonna hold me down
'Cause I've got faith of the heartI'm going where my heart will take meI've got faith to believeI can do anythingI've got strength of the soulAnd no one's gonna bend or break meI can reach any starI've got faithI've got faith, faith of the heart
It's been a long nightTrying to find my wayBeen through the darknessNow I finally have my day
And I will see my dream come alive at lastI will touch the skyAnd they're not gonna hold me down no moreNo, they're not gonna change my mind
'Cause I've got faith of the heartI'm going where my heart will take meI've got faith to believeI can do anythingI've got strength of the soulAnd no one's gonna bend or break meI can reach any starI've got faith, faith of the heart
I've known the wind so cold, I've seen the darkest daysBut now the winds I feel, are only winds of changeI've been through the fire and I've been through the rainBut I'll be fine
'Cause I've got faith of the heartI'm going where my heart will take meI've got faith to believeI can do anythingI've got strength of the soulAnd no one's gonna bend or break meI can reach any star'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take meI've got strength of the soulNo one's gonna bend or break meI can reach any starI've got faithI've got faith, faith of the heartIt's been a long road

Music Monday: As

Just like last Monday, I can't say anything about this without spoiling something. But I can say that it makes me think not only of the current WIP but of several relationships in my novels. Y'all, I didn't set out to write romance novels at all, but my characters fall in love with each other and then what am I supposed to do? 
I'll tell you what...enjoy one of the most perfect love songs ever, so I'm sharing it with you here.

Asby Stevie Wonder
As around the sun the earth knows she's revolvingAnd the rosebuds know to bloom in early MayJust as hate knows love's the cureYou can rest your mind assureThat I'll be loving you always
As now can't reveal the mystery of tomorrowBut in passing will grow older every dayJust as all is born is newDo know what I say is trueThat I'll be loving you always
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky (Always)Until the ocean covers every mountain high (Always)Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea (Always)Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream
Did you know that true love asks for nothing?Her acceptance is the way we payDid you know that life has given love a guarantee?To last through forever and another day
Just as time knew to move on since the beginningAnd the seasons know exactly when to changeJust as kindness knows no shameKnow through all your joy and painThat I'll be loving you always
As today I know I'm living but tomorrowCould make me the past but that I mustn't fearFor I'll know deep in my mindThe love of me I've left behind'Cause I'll be loving you always
Until the day is night and night becomes the day (Always)Until the trees and seas just up and fly away (Always)Until the day that eight times eight times eight is four (Always)Until the day that is the day that are no more(Did you know that you're loved by somebody?)
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left (Always)Until the earth just for the sun denies itself (I'll be loving you forever)Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through (Always)Until the day that you are me and I am you (Always)Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the skyUntil the ocean covers every mountain high (Always)
We all know sometimes life's hates and troublesCan make you wish you were born in another time and spaceBut you can bet you life times that and twice its doubleThat God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed
So make sure when you say you're in it but not of itYou're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called HellChange your words into truths and then change that truth into loveAnd maybe our children's grandchildrenAnd their great-great grandchildren will tellI'll be loving you
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky (Loving you)Until the ocean covers every mountain high (Loving you)Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea (Loving you)Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream (Be loving you)Until the day is night and night becomes the day (Loving you)Until the trees and seas up, up and fly away (Loving you)Until the day that eight times eight times eight is four (Loving you)
Until the day that is the day that are no more (Loving you)Until the day the earth starts turning right to left (Be loving you)Until the earth just for the sun denies itself (Loving you)Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through (Loving you)Until the day that you are me and I am you (Now ain't that loving you)Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky (Ain't that loving you)Until the ocean covers every mountain high (And I've got to say always)
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea (Always)Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream (Always)Until the day is night and night becomes the day (Always)Until the trees and seas just up and fly away (Always)Until the day that eight times eight times eight is four
Until the day that is the day that are no more (Always)Until the day the earth starts turning right to leftUntil the earth just for the sun denies itself (Always)Until dear Mother Nature says her work is throughUntil the day that you are me and I am youUntil the rainbow burns the stars out in the skyUntil the ocean covers every mountain high
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at seaUntil we dream of life and life becomes a dreamUntil the day is night and night becomes the dayUntil the trees and seas just up and fly awayUntil the day that eight times eight times eight is four
Until the day that is the day that are no moreUntil the day the earth starts turning right to leftUntil the earth just for the sun denies itselfUntil dear Mother Nature says her work is throughUntil the day that you are me and I am you

Music Monday: Someone to You

So I mentioned already that this month's Camp Nano is a revision of a manuscript I wrote during a past nano month and a continuation of my Guardians of Orana series, right? Yeah. So there are some things that have to be worked out other than the main conflict (a series of murders that lead to a cult) that I can't talk about because they are spoilery for the one I've just gotten back from the best beta reader turned developmental editor ever...so, yeah. Just know that this is a fantastic song and I heard it this morning and thought, "This is perfect for NAMES REDACTED TO AVOID SPOILERS."

It's also a pretty boppy tune, with a catchy hook and a story that could be an everyman...and elf...and gnome...and REDACTED TO AVOID SPOILERS. Dang it. Enjoy.

Someone to Youby BANNERS
I don't wanna die or fade awayI just wanna be someoneI just wanna be someoneDive and disappear without a traceI just wanna be someoneWell, doesn't everyone?And if you feel the great dividingI wanna be the one you're guiding'Cause I believe that you could lead the way
I just wanna be somebody to someone, ohI wanna be somebody to someone, ohI never had nobody and no road homeI wanna be somebody to someoneAnd if the sun starts setting, the sky goes coldThen if the clouds get heavy and start to fallI really need somebody to call my ownI wanna be somebody to someoneSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to you (someone to you)
I don't even need to change the world (change, change the world)I'll make the moon shine just for your viewI'll make the starlight circle the room (circle the room)And if you feel like night is fallingI wanna be the one you're calling'Cause I believe that you could lead the way
I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh (somebody)I wanna be somebody to someone, ohI never had nobody and no road home (I don't have)I wanna be somebody to someone (somebody)And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes coldThen if the clouds get heavy and start to fallI really need somebody to call my ownI wanna be somebody to someoneSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to you
The kingdom come, the rise, the fallThe setting sun above it all
I just wanna be somebody to youI just wanna be somebody to someone, ohI wanna be somebody to someone, ohI never had nobody and no road homeI wanna be somebody to someoneAnd if the sun starts setting, the sky goes coldThen if the clouds get heavy and start to fallI really need somebody to call my ownI wanna be somebody to someoneSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to youSomeone to you

Music Monday: Set Fire to the Rain

So, Camp Nanowrimo starts again in a few days and I am again cheating a bit and working on a rewrite of the third Guardians of Orana novel that still does not have an official title. The overarching story involves a temple in Calder's Port that honors the god of justice, Indarr, and how the temple's brothers seem to have become less of an order/militia and more of a cult. Murders happen in places where the initiates have been. The sister temple to Isona in the city joins the hunt for the killer but falls victim to the same cult - so the Guardians call in the Fabled Ones to work out what is going on on the docks of the southern port. What they discover may be more than even the Guardians can handle. 
This song spoke to me of a related story arc within this novel -  but once I heard this version, I could see all of those arcs coming together under the seemingly benign banners of the Temples to Indarr and Isona, as well as nods to the twin deities they worship.

Set Fire to the RainOriginal song by Adele, Cover by No Resolve
I set fire to the rain
To the rain, to the rain
I let it fall, my heart
And as it fell, you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips, and you saved me
My hands, they were strong
But my knees were far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet
But there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you'd play
You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name
When laying with you
I could stay there
And close my eyes, feel you here forever
You and me together, nothing is better
'Cause there's a side to you
That I never knew, never knew
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you'd play
You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name
I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When we fell, something died
'Cause I knew that that was the last time
The last time
Sometimes I wake up by the door
That heart you caught must be waiting for you
Even now when we're already over
I can't help myself from looking for you
But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touch your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name
I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When we fell, something died
'Cause I knew that that was the last time
The last time
Oh-oh, no
Let it burn, oh
Let it burn
Let it burn

Anyone - Demi Lovato (Lyrics)

I heard this song first on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" which I have talked about before here - this show just gets better and better and more painful to watch. And while I love the Skylar Astin version from the show, this one by the original artist is just like that show...almost too painful to watch, but so beautiful that you must bear witness. You MUST. Demi Lovato has been through so much that they deserve for us to hear them sing this song in their own voice, and it is beautiful.
It is speaking to me as well in terms of my Nano for July. When everything has been taken from Elys, things that she didn't even know that she had...what is left? Who is there to pick her up when everyone is gone? (I promise, I'm still a fantasy writer, but I'm driven by my characters and their stories as well...)

Anyone
by Demi Lovato


I tried to talk to my piano
I tried to talk to my guitar
Talked to my imagination
Confided into alcohol
I tried and tried and tried some more
Told secrets 'til my voice was sore
Tired of empty conversation
'Cause no one hears me anymore
A hundred million stories
And a hundred million songs
I feel stupid when I sing
Nobody's listening to me
Nobody's listening
I talk to shooting stars
But they always get it wrong
I feel stupid when I pray
So, why am I praying anyway?
If nobody's listening
Anyone, please send me anyone
Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone, oh
Anyone, please send me anyone
Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone
I used to crave the world's attention
I think I cried too many times
I just need some more affection
Anything to get me by
A hundred million stories
And a hundred million songs
I feel stupid when I sing
Nobody's listening to me
Nobody's listening
I talk to shooting stars
But they always get it wrong
I feel stupid when I pray
Why the fuck am I praying anyway?
If nobody's listening
Anyone, please send me anyone
Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone, oh
Anyone, please send me anyone
Oh, Lord, is there anyone?
I need someone
Oh, anyone, I need anyone
Oh, anyone, I need someone
A hundred million stories
And a hundred million songs
I feel stupid when I sing
Nobody's listening to me
Nobody's listening