New and Familiar

I was driving and changing radio stations this morning.
I switched to a station that was in the middle of interviewing a musician named Ray Davies about his latest album. 
His name didn't trigger any particular reaction at first, but then I heard a music clip and the memories suddenly came flooding in. 
This was music I used to listen to many years ago -- music I liked -- music by the group The Kinks.

It was New (especially the lyrics from the featured artists) and at the same time very Familiar.

Now I was hooked and listened with interest as the interview progressed and more music was played.

I resolved to go online and listen to the entire interview when I returned home.
Here is a link to the story in case you might be interested: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/29/136656570/ray-davies-thats-what-friends-are-for  
I listened to a couple of music clips posted to the website.
Then I purchased a few of the tracks from my favorite online music provider. 

Here is another review of the album "See My Friends" with a little more information.
Time to reflect as I listen to my new musical acquisitions. 
Ray Davies' music marketers and producers will secretly smile and intone "mission accomplished." 
They got me to buy his music after all ...
I am more interested in the lessons taught by this aging rocker however: 
a) the passion is still there 
b) the respect of all the other musicians who are featured on this album is clear (The Kinks are widely recognized as one of the most influential bands of their era after all) 
c) Ray Davies has shown through this album that when you do something you like, even rehashing old favorites in an album which doesn't contain even one new song can create excitement 
Nicely played Mr. Davies.

How to Say it

My first blog entry ... what to write?
Explore my motivation to create a blog perhaps.
Well, that is easy - to record some random thoughts, to help make some sense of all the varied inputs, to leave some breadcrumbs which might help me find the way.

I looked-up the U2 song "One" today, prompted by a post from my cousin Stavroula, and discovered the Mary J Blige version on YouTube. While I had heard the U2 version of this song many times before, I was riveted by this particular performance. This performance was different, this one made it past my ears and the auditory apparatus in my head, this performance went deeper.
I felt there was such emotion in this recording and I thought of the title for this first blog entry - I thought, they found out "How to Say it", how to connect with me.

But before I forget, I need to present a disclaimer (I work too much with attorneys): the thoughts presented here are solely my own and are not associated, nor do they represent positions held by my employer