I have been a user of iTunes since 2011. This service has allowed me to bring music back into my world and to reconnect with so many great songs from my past. One of the things that I really like about music is that so often a given song has a strong association with a time or moment in my life. I have also found that every now and then a recent song inspires me. So, I thought that I would share my latest five downloads and a bit about my thoughts on each song.
- Iron Hand - Dire Straits (1990) - I began to check out the 25 year old album On Every Street by Dire Straits recently when I, by chance, had stumbled across the title track. I then began to work my way through the other songs on this release. Iron Hand is a soulful dirge about the often unnecessary and efficient violence of warfare.
- When it Comes to You - Dire Straits (1990) - Another tune from On Every Street with a melody hook that pulled me in and compelled me to listen. About the nastiness of someone who wants out of a relationship.
- Piano in the Dark - Brenda Russell (1988) - The day after I finished my last exam as a senior in college I quickly left that life behind and
transported to a new life in a new state as a graduate student. Suddenly everything that defined my comfort and familiarity was replaced with awkward and new. The first morning that I woke up in my dorm room this song came on the radio and spoke to me about connection. Boy does this one take me back to that scared but eager young man.
- So Many Tears - Regina Belle (1987) - Enduring my final heartbreak in highschool and feeling like I was doomed to be alone for the rest of my life, I ran across this song that expressed my hurt, my frustration, and my longing so well.
- Rock of Life - Rick Springfield (1988) - As I was finishing high school and starting college, Mr. Springfield was running in a bit of a hot streak and his popularity was on a roll. This album was quite strong but it was the last that he would put out for nearly a decade as he had a bit of a burn out and his muse departed. This song is a loud, infectious rocker, but if you listen to the lyrics you can get a sense that this is an artist who is running on fumes and needs to get away.
