A Friendly Musical Visit Every Day

Yesterday we listened to a Cat Power cover--as track called "Salty Dog." But a cover of what? A cover of whom? I did some digging (well, I looked at the wikipedia page for the album) & the song "Salty Dog" is listed as Traditional. However, the original artist is listed as Papa Charlie Jackson, a popular Blues artist and banjo player of the 1920s. While Papa Charlie Jackson's performances of Salty Dog Blues do exist on YouTube, the ones I listened to sounded degraded due to age, which made them difficult for me to hear. Instead, I chose a rendition by Mississippi John Hurt. I can't say for sure how this tune morphed into the children's song I enjoyed in the 80s, but I'm satisfied with my investigative work. Hope you've enjoyed the journey! If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly peo

I'm a-cruisin' for a-Blues'n. When I searched YouTube in hopes of figuring out the inspiration behind Sharon, Lois & Bram's "Candy Man, Salty Dog" , this Cat Power track was one of the first that popped up. It's lovely, and it jives pretty well with the Sharon, Lois & Bram track, but it comes from a cover album. So what's it a cover of? More on this tomorrow. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . But you don't HAVE to do a

Let's start simple. As you may recall, yesterday we fell down a Salty Dog rabbit hole . When I sang a few bars of Sharon, Lois & Bram's "Candy Man, Salty Dog" to my partner, I speculated that perhaps this was an old song? Related somehow to Sammy Davis Jr.? He is the Candy Man, after all. This song doesn't seem to relate to yesterday's (or does it? I don't know!!!), but let's have a listen anyway. Back to the Salty Dog mines tomorrow. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff b

Just because I host a daily music blog doesn't mean I know everything (or even anything) about music. I'm an amateur--in the sense that I love music. I'm IN LOVE with music. Plus, I don't get paid to do this. The other day, my partner and I drove by a bar called Salty Dog. I asked him what that meant, because it reminded me of a song. He said a Salty Dog was a sailor. I wasn't sure how that fit with this Sharon, Lois & Bram song I grew up knowing and loving. I'm still very confused about the whole Salty Dog thing, which, as often happens, has led me down a rabbit hole: a salty dog rabbit hole. After a cursory glance at the internet of definitions, "Salty Dog" could also mean "libidinous" or a favourite person (best friend or lover, for instance). So now I'm wondering: how is this a kids' song? More tomorrow. For now, there's this. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits ever

This song just popped into my head. Not sure why. It's not summer and I have no plans to go on holiday. In fact, travel is a point of contention between myself and my partner. He's been all kinds of places. I've been nowhere. Travel seems scary to me because I've never done it. I'm counting on him to push me out of my comfort zone and encourage me to take a trip with him--starting small so I can dip my toe in. I've never been on a plane. I'd rather stay home and watch travel shows on TV. Then I find out about places around the world without the heavy lifting or expense. My partner doesn't understand being afraid of travel, which is a hurdle. He doesn't even seem to understand being afraid of something because you're middle-aged and you've never done it. I call it a class thing, because I wasn't raised in a household where travel was even remotely a thing. But neither was he, so I guess that doesn't hold up. Plus, my sisters have bee

This Valentine's Day, my partner prepared a lovely steak for me. Over dinner, we managed to depress the hell out of each other.  All my fault. I made the mistake of saying, "Let's talking about love." After about three minutes of bewildered silence, I said something along the lines of, "I'm not so sure love really exists. I think most of what we consider to be love is just childhood stuff playing out. It's issues or needs or codependency or I-don't-know-what." My partner asked, "If love doesn't exist, then what's the point in all this?" I said, "I don't know." This version of Ave Maria, sung by Jessye Norman, came on the radio at that very moment and we both burst into tears. I do believe in love, but I suspect romantic relationships are its basest expression. Because I believe that love is kindness, and we are often most unkind to those we are supposed to love best. If you're wondering how you c

I spent yesterday nostalgically listening to Air Supply. Clearly, my new thing is much-derided groups and artists, because I'm also weirdly into The Carpenters right now. Probably because I'm at that stage of new love where I don't yet despise my partner. It's only a matter of time, I'm sure, but until then... there's this. (I'm not exactly an optimist--can you tell?) This song made me laugh, when I listened to it yesterday--for the first time in decades--because, at this time of life, the idea of "making love out of nothing at all" takes on a new meaning. My partner is a senior. I'm not, but my body thinks I am. I'm going through all kinds of frustrating changes, including a drastic decline in sexual function. I miss my responsive little 19-year-old body. This body is... not that. It helps to have a sense of humour about aging, otherwise you get lost in the past, missing what you no longer have. The running joke (in my head) is tha

The other day, I watched a video of kids listening to disco. When this song came up, I was like... wait, wait, wait... this is music from my time. I'd never in my life considered it disco. Suddenly, I was re-thinking my life in big ways. Then this thought occurred to me: today's children listening to disco would be like me, as a child, listening to music from... when? The 40s or 50s? Wow, life takes every opportunity to make me feel old. Or, my brain does. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking

This weekend, I took a much-needed day off from hospital duty to go to the symphony. I've never seen the place so packed, but it was no surprise, with a double-bill like Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto and Scheherazade. Elim Chan did a powerhouse job. I couldn't believe my luck when I found this video of her conducting Scheherazade on YouTube. Witness the journey! This concert was an experience, I tell you. The tickets were my belated Christmas gift to my parter (and also his Valentine's Day gift, because I haven't been terribly organized lately...) and he went on and on about how much he enjoyed the performance. It feels good to give a gift the other person genuinely loves. Even better when I get to share in it! If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers

It happens to be a holiday as I write these words. It's Family Day, an excuse for a day off work in February. I will be spending the day with my family. That's the one nice thing about having a family member in hospital for weeks on end: I end up seeing siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins more often than usual. When my grandmother was dying, I spent tons of time with my aunts. We all said the same thing: the circumstance is less than ideal, but it sure is good seeing you every day. I like my family. One of my grandmother's nurses asked her, "What did you do to raise kids who stick together, even as adults? I see so many families who come in here, and they're fighting with each other, and everything's a disagreement. Your kids aren't like that. I want to raise my family like yours." My grandmother didn't have an answer for the nurse.  In private, she joked with us that if you want to create strong bonds, raise your kids with an abusive father

This post is the first piece of work I've done in days. I don't even remember the last time I opened my computer.  I schedule these posts in advance, and luckily I did a big batch last week--lucky, because I've been too exhausted from hospital visits to even think about work. I'm coming apart at the seams. Caregiving is exhausting, especially when it's not in your nature. And this is caregiving someone in hospital, where she is already being cared for expertly by nursing staff. I know I shouldn't complain. I should feel grateful that I'm not the one in that hospital bed. I should feel grateful that my mother is receiving treatment for her cancer, unlike her neighbour who is deemed too old to treat. There are so many things I should feel grateful for... and I do... but I'm also tired right down to my bones. The other day, my partner went to my apartment to spend time with the cats. The plan was that I'd meet him there after spending time (6 hour

I only know this song from the film Ghost World , but it popped into my head today because it features the word "rare." My mother is having an adverse, life-threatening reaction to her cancer treatment. Her surgeon says this is "rare." Same thing about the form of cancer she has: it's a common cancer, but a "rare" form. Everything about my mother's health seems to be "rare," which makes it all the more difficult to treat. My siblings and I are left grasping for the next moment. We never know what will come next. Things have gone from bad to worse to worse yet to really quite bad. I don't know when it'll get better.  I don't know if it will. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my bo

I've been listening to rook&nomie's album me&you on my way to the hospital and on my way home every day.  It's the album I'm hooked on right now, and it's helping me cope with my mother's illness like you would not believe. I saw Rook mention, on Twitter, that this is probably the last album they'll be making together. Now I sad, because their music really appeals to me. Soft and screamy, just how I like it. Head on over to  https://rookandnomie.bandcamp.com  and stream the holy hell out of  me&you .  Buy now ! If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Inf

Love this song, but I'd never actually heard this original version until YouTube shoved it in my face. It's been an exhausting week of hospital visits, but I'm always eager to tell you about what's going on in my life. Thank you for reading my posts. Keep coming back. It helps me to know someone cares. It's very easy to convince myself I'm all alone in the world. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . But you don't HAVE to do any of that. I'm

My brother led me through the forest, from my mother's house to the hospital. After she was released prematurely, we'd rushed my mom to the emergency room. Horrible experience. It's hard enough spending your days caring for a loved on in hospital, but waiting in ER while staff fucks up everything that can possibly be fucked up is excruciating. Now I know why they post those "verbal aggression will not be tolerated" signs all over the place. The care my mother received was beyond careless, and what could we do? Wait, frustrated, only to find out someone else had screwed up something else. The next morning, after my mother had been readmitted, my brother offered to show me a shortcut from my mom's house to the hospital. This shortcut involved walking up a steep hill in the woods... in  the snow. I learned that I am too old and too out of shape for such undertakings. As we ducked through brambles, I could think of nothing else but Hansel and Gretel. Despite

Not a bad song for Valentine's Day, is it? This tune has been stuck in my head for days. Not sure where it came from, but I'm not complaining. My relationship with my partner does feel like it's at this phase: lots of firsts, still figuring out how to live together and navigate the world side by side. It's an adventure, especially at this stage of (my) life, when hormonal changes create a lot of chaos. Last summer, a neighbour a couple floor above me must have been going through some shit, because he brought his speakers out on his balcony and BLASTED Carpenters music for hours. Usually I get annoyed when people play music that loudly, but when it's Carpenters... that's just weird. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my

The thing about buying opera tickets in August is that you can't possibly anticipate that your mother will be undergoing surgery in February. Well, not when it's a cancer-related surgery, because those are the ones the medical professionals get on pretty fast. I had heaps of guilt leaving the hospital three days after my mom had surgery--especially to see an opera. But my mother encouraged me to go and enjoy the evening with my partner. She wanted to hear all about it, after the fact.  One year, we bought an opera subscription together, so hearing about the opera seemed nostalgic for her. The Barber of Seville was very colourful and entertaining--exactly what I needed at the end of a stressful week at the hospital. I'm glad we went. My mother has been released from hospital, by the way. She is strong and she's trying to do stuff she's not supposed to do, so it's a challenge to get her to lie down and recuperate, but my siblings and I are doing our best to

My mother underwent surgery last week as a fairly drastic form of cancer treatment. It didn't go as well as planned, which is going to mean a longer than anticipated recovery time. Running a business is no picnic when you've only got yourself to rely on and you're spending every waking hour taking care of a sick family member. That's why I wrote this post , which I have shared before and will probably share again. I hate asking for help , but I could really use it at the moment. The day of my mom's surgery, I walked past a young man who worked at the hospital and he was singing this song. Haven't thought of it in years. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my

I warned you a while back that I'm suddenly into disco. I keep hearing that it died, but I see no proof of this. The music still exists. I'm listening to it right now. How can it be dead? Disco lives, baby.  It lives as long as we listen. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . But you don't HAVE to do any of that. I'm very happy to get a daily visit from you, so just keep coming back. Oh, and I also recommend hitting the "Subscribe" button at the

It's time for a fun song--a funk song. I've never actually seen this movie. I've never even been to a car wash. So I'll leave it to you to provide your own internal memories of car washes and/or car wash-themed movies. Be at one with your nostalgia. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . But you don't HAVE to do any of that. I'm very happy to get a daily visit from you, so just keep coming back. Oh, and I also recommend hitting the "Subscribe&

Here's another song that mesmerized me, as a kid. I remember asking my father what it meant, that line about "there ain't no one for to give you no pain." He told me it meant that, if you're alone, no one can hassle you. I must have taken those as words to live by, because I've spent my life alone, until now. The good thing about a midlife crisis is that it forces you to question long-held beliefs, and often you find that they're just not serving you any good at all. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change w

Another song from my childhood. As a kid, I was mesmerized by this song. I thought it was called "Summer Dreams." I also thought the lyric was "blowing through the castles of my mind." I named my favourite teddy bear Castles in its honour. While we're on the topic of teddy bears, my partner is slowly working away at unpacking stuff in his new apartment. Well, he's had the place since last year, so it's not THAT new. But I can always tell when he's been unpacking, because another teddy bear ends up somewhere in our bedroom. I asked about the first one. I figured he'd had it since childhood. He wistfully told me his first girlfriend gave it to him. I haven't asked about the others. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fi

Continuing with the theme of songs from my childhood, I specifically remember camping, as a kid, when this song was big. My sister who is next to me in age found a huge boulder near our campsite and we'd climb onto it and JUMP off, singing a pretty butchered version of this song. I have a picture of us sitting on this rock. Sitting--not jumping. My sister is eating an apple. As an aside, my mother had a dress very like the gold zebra stripe one in this video. Except my mother's was silver and black, not gold and black. She got it second-hand from our next-door neighbour, who was right on top of the trends in the 80s. My mother just wore whatever other people gave her, as did we kids. I wore boys' clothes until I was five because all my older cousins were guys. Fostered a lifelong love of corduroy and plaid. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tel

As I schedule today's post, I'm preparing to head out to my mother's house. Her surgery is coming up very soon and I'm kind of losing my shit. Maybe the cinnamon buns and coffee are to blame, but I feel like I've developed an ulcer over the past few hours. I'm so afraid of losing my mother and becoming an orphan--a 40-year-old orphan, perhaps, but lots of people have told me you feel that way no matter your age, once you've lost both parents. Why am I being so negative? Just because she has cancer doesn't mean she's going to die tomorrow. I need to get it together. My brain is bad. I'm incapable of foreseeing positive outcomes. I always assume everything that can go wrong will. I'm listening to music from my childhood tonight.  It's helping me feel close to my family. I also wrote this blog post about how you can help me . Financially. Yikes. The F-word. It takes me a huge amount of mental and emotional effort to ask for help, but t

The other evening, I was folding clothes on my partner's bed. He walked into the bedroom with his arms full of laundry and playfully asked, "What are YOUR clothes doing on MY side of the bed?" We proceeded to fold laundry together. I watched him go at it and said, "Wow, you could work at The Gap!" He agreed. He is an excellent folder. I couldn't stop smiling. That's when this song popped into my head. I'm not fancy. I don't need expensive dinners and vacations. I don't even want that. I'm the type that goes for quiet nights at home. I like domesticity and togetherness. That's the kind of stuff I remember. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local libra

Here to satisfy your need for nostalgic 80s music videos, we have Belinda Carlisle. I always thought she was Australian because an Australian girl I grew up with really liked her. Or maybe her mother was named Belinda. I don't remember. Anyway, Belinda Carlisle isn't Australian, based on my cursory glance at a Google search. But this song sure takes me back. Just popped into my head this morning while I was quietly fulfilling my 50s housewife fetish by wearing an apron and baking banana bread for my partner. He doesn't share my kinks, so I just play by myself. He's got no idea what's going on. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patr

Feist's Mushaboom popped into my head this morning as I watched parents walking their children to school all bundled up in winter coats. I've never wanted kids, but now that I've reached the age where it's less of an option, there's a bittersweetness to seeing cute little children out there in the world.  Gets me RIGHT THERE, you know?  It's not that I actually want to be a parent. It's mostly just the realization that those years have passed me by. Gets me feeling old. Most things do, these days. I've chosen this fun Laila Biali cover of Mushaboom for you to enjoy, and I hope you do. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  P

I'm currently formatting and uploading large print editions of my books. As I was scanning the proof of my lesbian novel The Other Side of Ruth , I noticed mention of this song. In the book , Ruth is an unhappily married woman who falls unexpectedly in love (or, at least, in lust) with a queer twenty-something neighbour girl. The scene in which this song appears takes place at a Halloween street party. Ruth finds the tune very arousing (I suspect she's not listening very closely) and gets super-turned-on by it. Very sexual scene, but that can be said of most scenes in The Other Side of Ruth . I have such affection for this novel. Ruth is so very flawed and she fails the girl she falls for in so many ways, but I can't help loving her. Mostly because I based the character on someone I wronged irl. Pro-tip: Absolve your sins by writing books about the people whose lives you've ruined! If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits

My partner and I spent last weekend embroiled in our best argument ever. Most people probably don't classify their arguments in terms of good/better/best, but I do because it's taken many months and much couples counselling to get him to argue with me. Used to be that I'd yell and he'd cry. That is not a satisfying argument. When I yell at someone, I want them to yell back. That's the whole point of an argument. When you get riled up enough to yell at someone you love with all your heart, the truth pours out. I'm pretty good and just telling people what's on my mind (I also pee with the door open, so I don't exactly need privacy--physical or emotional), but my partner is so afraid of hurting people that he clams up and says nothing. Usually. A lot of interesting information came out of this shouty showdown. Most notable was the fact that my partner is still hurt by the fact that I rejected him YEARS ago. I'd even asked him, in therapy, if he wa