A Friendly Musical Visit Every Day

 I have been seriously struggling with PTSD lately. Flashbacks are frequent, and they draw me completely out of this world--or, at least, out of this time zone.  Out of this time.  Out of now.  I want to be here , where it's safe and there's love, but instead I'm there and it feels so real. I don't even know I've left the here-and-now until I'm back, trying to shake off things I don't want to think about.  Last week, my partner and I walked to the convenience store to buy milk. On our way there, we heard an alarm sounding. We weren't sure whether it was a car alarm or if it was coming from the business across the street. It was hard to pinpoint.  On our way home, we could hear the alarm again. This time, we realized it was coming from a garbage bag at the end of someone's driveway. It was a smoke detector that wouldn't stop sounding. It was garbage day, so I said to my partner, "I guess that alarm will just keep going until it gets crushed

This ad used to play on the American TV channels we got when I was a kid. My cousin and I sang this jingle constantly, laughing our little heads off, because in my family the word "fart" was basically a swear word. We did not say it. We had to say "putt" instead. So to hear this TV commercial advocating farting for fun was just the most hilarious thing we could think of. Ah, to be six again... If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click her

My partner and I were just doing a crossword puzzle where one of the answers was "gadget" and my partner instantly said, "Inspector Gadget! My kids loved that show."  I loved that show too, though I remember almost nothing about it except that the Get Smart guy did the inspector's voice, and he had a niece named Penny. I thought Penny was a cool name, when I was a kid. I never met a Penny until I was in high school and a friend's mother went by Penny--short for Penelope. My friend laughed that once a telemarketer called and obviously wasn't familiar with the name Penelope, because he asked for "Pen-elope." Like you're going to elope with a pen.  If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check them out from your local library.  Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely. I'm also an  Am

When I was a kid, I thought this song was about the stars. Listening to the lyrics now, as an adult, I realize that's not at all what it's about. But when I heard "the night has a thousand eyes" as a child, I pictured the dark sky dappled with thousands of shining stars and they were all watching out for you. Not a bad image. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to sign up:  http://eepurl.com/R4b11 See you soon! Giselle

My partner doesn't often make special dinner requests, but yesterday he asked if I could make a quiche. Usually we cook meals together, but quiche is all me, just like omelettes are all him.  I'd just pulled this quiche out of the oven and I was listening to a playlist of hits from the 60s when this song came on. My partner swept me into his arms and danced me around the kitchen, and it was the first time I felt like I was actually taking the cues I was supposed to take from him. I do not know how to dance, and I usually try to lead, but I don't know how to lead, so I usually end up stepping on his toes. But this time I listened to his body and let him take me. It's only a galley kitchen. Not much room for dancing. But if you like getting close up with your partner, I guess any space is big enough.     If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check the

I've been doing disco dancing workout videos on YouTube lately and this song plays during one of them. It was the only song in the bunch that I couldn't identify. I would try to listen for lyrics, but I couldn't make any of them out. I asked my partner if he knew the song, but he didn't. I tried to ask the robots that live with us, but they were not helpful. It was a days-long mystery. Finally, I listened to the workout video with headphones and was instantly able to pick out a line, which I plugged into Google. Google immediately knew those words were from this song. The mystery is solved.  I would never have guessed I was listening to Marvin Gaye. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 hop

I've been singing this song around the house all day, and I'm guessing that's because I heard it somewhere and it planted itself in my brain. My best guess is that I heard it in one of the workout videos on YouTube I've been doing to try to get myself back into shape.  When I was self-isolating in a small apartment for three weeks, I became extremely inactive. A big part of that was fatigue. I didn't have the energy to do anything. I spent almost every afternoon in bed. I only got up in the morning to make myself breakfast so I could take my AM batch of pills.  I only got out of bed in the evening to make myself dinner so I could take my PM batch of pills. But I'm trying to get moving now. Part of that means actually leaving the house. Part of that means exercising at home. And exercising at home means listening to lots of 80s music. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my b

I've been flipping through my novel Fortune's Diary (a book from the Lesbian Diaries series that totally flew under the radar) and in one scene Fortune and her crush Maya are in downtown Toronto eating shawarma and listening to a busker. The busker is singing Cornflake Girl, a song Fortune has never heard before. When Maya tells her what the song is called, she thinks the title is hilarious. My best friend in high school put this song on a mix tape she made me. Ah, memories... If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers

Often I forget that I once made an album of... ummm... music. I almost feel like there should be a question mark, there: ummm... music? Yes, it's music. Let's have some confidence, shall we? It is definitely music and I definitely made it. I'm just not sure how to classify this music. I think I created most of it more than a decade ago, although I only released the album a couples years back. It hasn't exactly made me a household name. Probably doesn't help that I hardly ever tell anyone about it. The trouble is, I'm very self-effacing and I have difficulty taking pride in anything I create. That's a pretty sucky place to come from when you create things for a living. But here we are. And here's some music I made. I picked this song to play because I wanted to well you about the weird background sound. I don't know what you call it because I no longer have a brain--thank you, menopause. Anyway, let's call it the background sound. To create i

You can blame/thank Heartbeat for this one. I think it's a thank rather than a blame, but I guess that all depends on whether or not you like Jethro Tull.  I actually didn't know what song I was hearing, initially. This song was playing over a chase scene where the Heartbeat coppers were trying to catch a murderous hippie. Luckily, I was watching the show on my PVR, so I could rewind it and play it back and try to make out some song lyrics. I can't tell you how much trouble I had picking out even a few individual words. My hearing is not what it used to be.  But I figured it out, eventually. Lucky us! If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 bu

Yesterday I was telling you about stamp collecting. The reason my partner and I were talking about stamps in the first place is that a friend of his used to collect toy cars. This friend recently sold his entire toy car collection and decided he was going to collect stamps instead. My partner and I were talking about collections and collecting, and it occured to me that there's nothing I collect and there's nothing I feel inclined to collect. I enjoy that other people have fun collecting things. I'm not anti-collecting. But for me, having grown up in a hoarder home, the idea of collecting is kind of mashed up with accumulating. I know there's a difference, but I have a compulsion to get rid of things rather than keep them. But, you know, if I HAD TO collect something... I mean, stamps are small. They don't take up much room. Although, having said that, I bet there are stamp collectors with rooms full of stamps. If you're wondering how you can support me

When I was in Grade 3 (that's how we say "Third Grade" in Canada), I joined the stamp club. I bet that sounds pretty nerdy, but either it was super-cool or else all my friends were nerds too, because we all joined the stamp club. It was held after school in a small, dark room, which sounds creepy, but it wasn't.  I can't remember the teacher's name who ran the stamp club, but every week he'd hold a draw for us members, and the winner got a set of stamps he was giving away. One week, I won Disney stamps. I forget which country they were from. I think I might have given them to Sweet, because she was a Disney fanatic, but I hope I didn't give them away.  As I so often mention, I'm getting nostalgic, and part of that nostalgia is wanting things from my childhood. Like those Disney stamps. My paternal grandmother gave me stamps when I was in the stamp club. She'd placed them in two sheets from a large photo album. I have no idea where she got them

I've been recording nursery rhymes and children's songs for my granddaughter for over a year, but I haven't had the confidence to actually send them to her yet. Everything has to go through my stepdaughter, obviously, and I often feel bashful about all the silly things I create. I love singing, but then I worry that I'm Hyacinth Bucket-ing all over my stepfamily. Maybe I enjoy the sound of my own voice more than other people enjoy it. That's very, very possible. I just don't know. I haven't recorded this song yet, but I'd like to. I think I could do it justice. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 t

I do still own this CD. I bought it when it first came out (in 1999? Wow...) and I remember being so proud of it. When I had my best friend over for dinner at my first apartment, I played this album and she was like, "Ugh, turn it off! I HATE baroque music!" heh It came to mind the other week when I was isolating my diseased self at my apartment and my partner was three hours away at his house. He wrote me an email one evening to tell me the classical radio station we listen to had just played Karina Gauvin singing Where'er You Walk, and it brought him to tears. We've listened to Where'er You Walk here on more than one occasion, because it's a song that holds meaning for my partner. You can read why in this previous post: https://friendlymusicvisitor.blogspot.com/2020/05/songoftheday-whereer-you-walk-from.html If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for a

I was singing "Stacy's Mom" as a method of self-soothing (hey, it works) when I started to wonder: did the band Fountains of Wayne name themselves after Wayne Fontana? Turns out the answer is no. They named themselves after a garden centre. But did the garden centre name themselves after Wayne Fontana? Probably not. Another somewhat relevant question would be: how can I, as a fully-fledged queer person, embrace such a heterocentric tune? Well, I grew up with it. And, anyway, this song is from the 60s. Gay people weren't invented yet.  If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also re

I figured we should listen to the original version of a tune we heard sung by Lynda Carter yesterday. Who sang it best? Who's to say? I'm not here to judge. I'm just here to provide daily listening material to you, my dearest friends. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to sign up:  http://eepurl.com/R4b11 See you soon! Giselle

You can blame/thank The Mary Jo Pehl Show for this one, because this condensed version of Lynda Carter's Rock 'n Roll Fantasy appeared in the preshow of last month's edition. I was going to play the full version for you (it is available on YouTube), but playback on external sites has been disabled. But this segment is possibly the most memorable. Possibly.  I'm truly very sorry for everything you're about to see. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on t

I often wonder whether other people hate themselves as much as I do. I certainly hope not. I wouldn't want the world to be as miserable as me. When I was self-isolating, I needed to order something medical for delivery. At this point, I hadn't left my apartment in a week and a half. I got an email from the delivery company saying they didn't drop off my purchase because I wasn't home. I cannot tell you how angry this made me. I was definitely home. I hadn't been anywhere but home in more than a week. I was enraged that they were telling me I wasn't home when I was. Nobody ever knocked on my door or anything. I am here! Give me my medicine! It got me wondering whether "normal" people find these little hiccups so infuriating. I get so mad about stuff that's not a super-big deal. I get madder than I should, and it makes me wish I were someone else. I'm so tired of being angry. I've been angry for decades. I need some peace. Maybe if I were

I wasn't joking yesterday when I said YouTube keeps pitching me suggestive songs from the 30s. I kind of can't believe this is real. It's from 1931, apparently. "I stroke it every chance I get..." If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to sign up:  http://eepurl.com/R4b11 See you soon! Giselle

YouTube seems to have decided I only want to listen to suggestive songs from the 30s from now on. This one is from 1938. Like most things, it makes me think of menopause. My whole life, these days, is illness and menopause. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to sign up:  http://eepurl.com/R4b11 See you soon! Giselle

I was in the mood for a little jump back/kiss myself. Hope you're in a similar mood. Damita Jo Freeman is our robot dancer.  If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to sign up:  http://eepurl.com/R4b11 See you soon! Giselle

Five years ago, I took down the curtains in my living room to launder them. I never put them back up. I know this sounds like sheer laziness, but the reason I didn't put them back up is that I couldn't believe how much light came in my windows without them. Light is great some days, but not so great when you've got extreme photosentitivity. So I spent nearly a week in my bedroom, which does have drapes, because I needed darkness. It was never dark enough, of course. Even at night. This is life in the big city, after all. When I was finally able to emerge from the bedroom, I started watching Heartbeat again. The episodes are saved on my PVR, and the TV is in the living room--where the light is. I had to come out of the darkness to get my fill of songs like this one. (By the way, my baby sister says that PVRs are an "old people" thing, which I find funny, because I think of them as new technology. We are definitely of different generations.) If you're wond

As I mentioned yesterday, the most strenuous thing I've been able to do lately is watch cozy mysteries (or just listen to them, if my eyes were hurting too much).  For a while, now, I've been trying to figure out which Midsomer Murders episode taught me the very important lesson that detectives on mystery shows aren't allowed to make friends. All I could remember about the episode was that Barnaby (the original Barnaby) goes to some seaside town and befriends a guy who sells fish.  It took me quite some time, but I finally tracked down the episode: it was Season 9, Episode 4. Down Among the Dead Men .  At the start of the episode, Jones questions the murder victim's taste in music and holds up a couple CDs, one of which is Mario Lanza.  Barnaby replies, "Mario Lanza is very good." That made me laugh, because the classical music station my partner and I listen to often plays Mario Lanza and we both groan, then chuckle. My partner's late parents loved Mario

Covid made me want nothing more than to rewatch old cozy mysteries I've already seen a thousand times. That's probably because I couldn't make it through an entire episode of anything without falling asleep. So I rewatched Rosemary and Thyme, which I never tire of, despite having watched the entire series too many times to count.  Pam Ferris's character sings this song at the end of one episode. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) 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 . I also recommend subscribing to my newsletter. I generally e-mail subscribers with a weekly update, and I would LOVE to have you on the list.  Click here to s

Well, I'm still testing positive for COVID (two weeks later), but I'm going to start posting songs of the day again starting tomorrow. My mother and my brother both had COVID for more than a month. Tomorrow I'll miss my third Skype session in a row with my granddaughter, so I'm obviously gutted about that.  Even though the government no longer seems to care what you do when you've got the plague, I've been self-isolating since I tested positive (in fact, since before I tested positive, because I was too sick to leave my apartment) except to take out my smelly garbage and pay my rent. I didn't encounter any other humans when I did those things, so hopefully I'm keeping the world safe from disease.  As always, I recommend subscribing to my newsletter, because I've been sharing some particularly personal stuff with subscribers lately--info I don't feel comfortable plastering all over the internet at large. I generally e-mail subscribers with a week