New Playlist

You may have read my previous post about the songs on my “prison-pod” music player.  Well, gradually, when I can, I’ll buy more.  So here I present my current prison playlist (with no apologies for however corny or lacking in artistic merit they may seem):

Everybody Hurts by REM:  The first cool band that I liked in high school, hard to make out the lyrics, parents didn’t care for them, Michael Stipe had attitude.  Listened to Radio Free Europe over and over, trying to make out the words.  This song came along later, when Stipe started enunciating, but it’s one of my favorites, with understated emotional power.  Message is all in the title, we’re not unique in our suffering, try to hang on:  “If you feel like you’re alone, no no no, you’re not alone!”

Through Glass by Stone Sour:  What ever happened to this band, anyway?  This song says a lot about what it’s like to be in prison, stuck looking out through a pane of glass, unable to interact with the world, though sometimes tantalizingly close.  “How do you feel?  That is the question, but I forget you don’t expect an easy answer.”  In here we do appreciate those of you who understand that asking us how we’re doing can be a more complicated question than if you asked someone on the street.

Ain’t No Man by The Avett Brothers.  I have very fond memories of attending an Avett’s concert with my wife.  This song for me is all about the refrain:  “Ain’t no man can save me, ain’t no man can enslave me, ain’t no man, a man that can change the shape my soul is in, there ain’t no body HERE who can cause me pain or raise my fear, ‘cause I got only love to share, if you’re looking for the truth, I’m proof you’ll find it there.”

Alive by Pearl Jam (aka Mookie Blaylock):  Did you know this band was originally named after NBA basketball player Mookie Blaylock, who wore the number 10, hence the title of their seminal work, Ten?  Yeah, I know way too much about this band I love so much.  They played this song at a concert my wife suffered through for our anniversary (Thank you!!!).  Angst, anger, determination – that’s what the song means to me.  “I’m still alive!”

Bad Blood by Ryan Adams (covering Taylor Swift):  Dude was able to just transform this song in his own style.  I’m no Taylor Swift fan, but I can appreciate her songwriting a little more after hearing this.  No big message from this song.  Just like it.

Bittersweet Me by REM:  When Stipe sings, “I couldn’t taste it, I’m tired and naked,” I feel like he’s speaking directly to me.  In here, you often feel stripped down to the basics, to the essence of whatever you are.  Even in this so-called “easy” prison, I have seen guys who did not like what they discovered when forced to face themselves.

See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth:  My daughter recently went to a Wiz concert, so thought I’d check out his music other than Black and Yellow.  Maybe not a typical song for him, but I like it and its message of seeing those I love again.  “Our friendship turned to a bond, our bond will never be broken, the love will never get lost.”

Heaven Live:  A band from my 20s and early 30s, mine is a live version from the Paradiso in Amsterdam.  “I don’t need no one to tell me about Heaven, I look at my daughters and I believe!”  I hold my head high and stay strong for my kids.  They deserve that from me.

Fight Song by Rachel Platten:  Okay, no I can’t defend this song, except to say I like it, maybe mostly for the theme – “I got a lot of fight left in me!”

I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy:  A memorial to Biggie Smalls, with gospel singers and a Police sample.  Corny, maybe, but it’s kind of sweet to see a rapper do a sentimental tune in honor of his fallen homey.

I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz:  “I won’t give up on us, even if the skies get rough, I’m giving you all my love, still lookin’ up…God knows we’re worth it.”  This one brings tears to my eyes.  Probably wouldn’t have had the same effect before, but in prison it gets to me every time.  Makes me think of my family.  It is dedicated to my wife and children.  There is a lot I do not know, but I guarantee them that I will not give up on me and I will not give up on our family, on US.  I Love You Guys!

The Muse by The Wood Brothers:  Flat out one of my Top Twenty favorite songs ever.  Used to crank it at home all the time.  I remember one day while I was stripping paint or something at home, my wife and kids came in and I turned around, voice at full throttle, to see them laughing at me.  “Times like these so sweet and so true and thinking that’s the last thing you wanna do.”  How I miss those little moments of joy.  I hold them close in my heart every day, and pray there will be more to come.

So, folks, there it is, laid out for your approval, contempt or even scorn.  No, these tunes may have no place in musical history, but they help me get through the day.  If I could, I’d shake each of these artists’ hands in sincere thanks for helping me make it through this difficult time. Where is Casey Kasam when you need him?