The road ends, but the journey continues...

Fun February Blues Busters

February – the shortest yet longest month of the year.

Put your headphones on, crank the volume up high, & be transported to a place beyond February!

First up: father, Jay Molina (guitar) and son, Andrew Molina (uke) playing a Beatles Medley

Next up: my teenage ‘chocolate chip cookie’ song

Let me explain. Ma made the best huge choco-chip cookies, heavy laden with chips and nuts and then would freeze her doubled batch in our downstairs freezer…which was across the rec room from my bedroom. Always on a diet, I denied myself such goodies when offered but around 12 midnight, after everyone was in bed, I’d sneak into Fraulien’s room (our German Shepherd who shared the laundry room with the freezer) and dig out a few. Listening to Denver’s then underground (at the time, it was quite subversive) KLZ-FM radio station, I placed those hard-as-rock gems on top of the speaker, patiently awaiting the time to enjoy their lusciousness. As they thawed to eating consistency, I ceremoniously placed chunks of cookie into my waiting mouth. Inevitably, this song played several times during the night, accompanying my sweet secret indulgence.

Last up: I looked out this morning and the sun was gone/Turned on some music to start my day/I lost myself in a familiar song/I closed my eyes and I slipped away/It’s more than a feeling…

18 Comments

  1. Andy

    Great, eclectic selection.
    As a Beatles fan it’s always good to discover new interpretations of such familiar music.

    • laura bruno lilly

      I kinda thought you’d enjoy the uke/gtr rendition of the fab four’s music…

  2. Jane Chesebrough

    LOVED the music. Enjoyed the medleys and transitions as well as the rapport between father and son. Also liked the panning and slow zoom around the room.That did give my spirits a lift. And the cookie jar…you told my story. I used to sneak into the kitchen and start talking to the dog. “Hi fella! how ya doin”” while I was so gently lifting the lid off the cookie jar. Just the slightest “ting!” a the lid hit the upper lip. “Jane! Are you in the cookie Jar?” “No Mom, ” Little liar. Something about February even with more light the bulge in the belly is not at all subtle. It is the time of year when i go to work singing, ” Cortisone, cortisone, heals the pain but wrecks the bone.” sung to the tune of Spider-Man. I need to get out more…

    • laura bruno lilly

      Oh Jane, I can sooo relate! Our cookie-stories are priceless, if I do say so myself!
      I like your cortisone ditty – quite witty.
      😉

  3. Sue

    Doesn’t it seem that the music we listen to in our teen years has the deepest impact on who we become? In my head, I will always be 19.
    All three selections took me down Nostalgia Road. But the Beatles medley intrigued me the most. The Molina men must have arranged it themselves. I would love to have seen their writing and rehearsal sessions. (I confess, I spent a little time wondering what they had done with the furniture, and if their kitchen was always that clean.)
    About your diet — it’s a well known phenomenon that the calories don’t count if no one knows you eat them!
    Now I’m going to listen to the Jim Croce album that came up on YouTube after Spirit in the Sky…

    • laura bruno lilly

      Glad it resonated with you! In all fairness, the clean kitchen you see in the video is the HiSessions recording studio in Hawaii, not the Molina’s.

  4. Jennie Fitzkee

    This was the best February blues buster, EVER! Best music! Your dad and brother are really terrific. Hey, the Beatles are as good as it gets. Top that off with chocolate chip cookies, win-win. Many thanks, Laura.

    • laura bruno lilly

      I figured you might need the music-busters given your Friday post, Jennie!
      Have to correct your mistake,tho, teacher – the father/son duo are not family! However, I can see how you might assume as much, given our similarities in musical-history and family jam sessions (albeit with different instruments).

  5. Janis

    Love the father and son… a lot of love there. I sure hope you were able to get a copy of your mother’s cookie recipe! (Didn’t she notice that quite a few were missing the next time she went to the freezer?) 🙂

    • laura bruno lilly

      Oh yeah, I selectively chose to not elaborate on the ‘discovery phase’…Ma actually thought my baby bro did the dasterdly deed(s) and he took the rap for my sins! My big bad…Yes, I wasn’t a stellar older sister at times…it wasn’t until way into adulthood that those stories came out and I admitted to being the true thief.
      As for the recipe – all is documented and used frequently! 🙂

  6. Deborah Brasket

    How fun! I felt I was being transported by to my teens. I forget sometimes how good that “feel good” music makes you feel. Thanks for sharing that. Also loved the midnight cookie run remembrance. Chocolate chip! My favorite too.

    • laura bruno lilly

      Snapdragons just wanna have fun!
      😉

  7. Jill Weatherholt

    This is wonderful, Laura. You had my mouth watering for one of those big cookies, too. 🙂 I really enjoyed the father and son duet…it’s beautiful. As for Boston…definitely one of my all-time favorite bands. More Than a Feeling and Hitch a Ride are the best! Happy weekend. xo

    • laura bruno lilly

      What is it about winter that gets my brain fixated on baked goods? First brownies, now choco-chip cookies!
      HA!
      Have a great weekend,Jill.

  8. Anna Scott Graham

    Great tunes here; I used to play “Spirit In The Sky” at the college radio station I worked at, but not this version, although I came to know it through the Doctor and the Medics’ take. Love your story about those choco-chip cookies; so beautiful how music can transport us back in time, as if we never left that moment.
    traversingplanes(withcookiesinhand)peace

    • laura bruno lilly

      Glad to introduce you to the original with guitar FUZZ!
      timetravelwiththedrpeace

  9. L. Marie

    What gems, Laura! The father and son duet was lovely! They looked so happy as they played. (Now I wonder why the son had that Police Line strap on his ukulele.) And I can’t help sensing a theme with “Spirit in the Sky” and Buffy St. Marie’s “Spirit of the Wind.”

    • laura bruno lilly

      Linda: I wondered the same thing about that uke strap…great observation!
      Oh yes…did you know that Norman and Buffy are both Native American and came of age during the 70’s?
      I know you’re in the throes of winter’s worst right now, and I salute you! I hope your edits/rewrites are coming along.
      😉

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