Trav's Thoughts

Welcome to Five Degrees of Musical Progression, Volume 3!

I hope everyone had as much fun with this one as I did.  If you're just cruising by and have no idea what I'm talking about, the basic idea is to start with a song and then let something about the song...a lyric, the artist, the way the record was produced, etc...lead you to the next track.  And keep following that progression until you have a 5 song Set.

Easy peasy!

For Volume 3, I thought it would be fun for everyone to start with the song Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot.  Here's my progression.

• Track 1:  Sundown, Gordon Lightfoot.  The reason I chose this song is because of the many different interpretations that can be made of the lyrics.  It's a little sinister and a little sad.  It hints at bad men taking advantage of women in unfortunate circumstances, and maybe even makes you wonder about those women turning the tables on those men. 
• Track 2:  My selection of Creep from Radiohead was inspired by this lyric in Sundown..."When I find you've been creepin' round my back stair".  This song seems to continue the sinister/sad theme.  Perhaps the guy knows he doesn't deserve the gal, but then maybe he just doesn't care.  He's going to stay because she's special, but maybe he won't change even if he knows he should.  He'll tell you that's probably important, to know whether he should change, but he won't really believe what he tells you.
• Track 3:  My choice of Streetcorner Symphony from Rob Thomas was inspired by the group Street Corner Symphony, a Nashville acapella vocal group who performed the song Creep on the musical competition show Sing Off last year.  With this selection we take a leap in the other direction to a song with the positive message that even if it sucks right now, if you keep trying then maybe tomorrow it'll be OK.  But even if it still sucks tomorrow, there's always the next day.
• Track 4:  My selection of It's Alright as performed by Huey Lewis and the News was inspired by this lyric in Streetcorner Symphony..."Things will be alright, try to find a better life".  The song was written by Curtis Mayfield and was a hit for the Impressions in 1963, but I chose the Huey Lewis cover because it's performed acapella, which is a secondary tie to Track 3. 
• Track 5:  Curtis Mayfield wrote One Love.  Bob Marley and the Wailers released it in 1984.  It's a perfect finale for this Set.

So did you find the theme in this progression?  It's life in music.  You're going to have peaks and valleys from the moment of your first breath in this world until the moment of your last.  That's reality.

What we all have is control over our reactions and our choices.  It can get better.  We have to try and hang in through the rough times.  Then when we get good times, we should enjoy them but maybe put a little aside to keep as a bright light when next we drop into that valley.




Here's a bonus.  Since I couldn't find the group Street Corner Symphony on Playlist, click here to see a video of their performance of Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Stoopid embed police.

Now if you're just passing through and would like to join us one of these Fridays for our regularly scheduled Five on Friday, here's how you do that.

1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here.

2. Go to Playlist.com to make your Set of five songs. You may choose a particular theme to share with us, or post random tunes if that's your vibe for the day. You can simply post the Set, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing.

2a. Don't feel restricted by the tracks listed on Playlist.com. And don't be discouraged if the Embed code won't work. You're welcome to use any type of media to share your Sets.

3. Be sure to sign Mr Linky so everyone can visit your Set.

4. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday.

And every once in awhile, we'll do a twist on the basics, like today.  Go forth and enjoy music!