Happy Friday, peeps!

I assume you’re all getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day, which sadly falls on a Monday this year (BUMMER! School night!). But if you get into that sort of thing, there are tons of celebrations all over the place, and I’m sure you’ll find SOMETHING to do.

In the meantime let’s talk a bit more about music. On Wednesday, Women and Words had author Lynette Mae and singer/songwriter/musician Cole Armocida over to talk about links between literature and music. As some of you know, Cole wrote a tune called “Rebound” to accompany Lynette Mae’s latest release, Rebound.

And yesterday, R.G. Emanuelle blogged about how as we age, we tend to maybe get too busy to keep up with things like music scenes, but we sure do remember the songs we grew up with and that accompanied us into adulthood.

Every generation has a “sound.”

I think you know what I’m talking about. There are certain songs/genres of music that define certain eras in your life. You can probably tell me exactly where you were and what you were doing when you first heard [insert song title and artist here]. Music, like smell, is a powerful memory trigger. You hear certain songs, and suddenly you’re right back where you were when you first heard it. Or when it became a “special song,” associated with a specific event in your life.

Music has played a big role in my life, too. I have my faves, as we all do, but I also check out new tunes and try to at least watch the current music scene(s) if not actively participate. Streaming services like Spotify and Pandora lend themselves to discovering new tunes pretty well, I think (I do both of those, if you must know). And I read Rolling Stone mag, which also helps. 😀

In terms of writing, yes. I do listen to music while I write. Everything I write has a soundtrack, and the music I listen to while I’m writing helps me set the mood for what I’m working on, and helps me visualize the sets, if you will, and what the characters are doing and feeling. Different scenes and different genres call for different songs and different types of music.

So in the spirit of thinking about music, here’s a little soundtrack for your St. Patrick’s Day festivities!

For the stompers among yuh:

Gaelic Storm, “Rag and Bone”
The Tossers, “Emerald City”
Dropkick Murphys, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”
Flatfoot 56, “Brotherhood”
The Rumjacks, “An Irish Pub Song”

For the more circumspect and traditional sounds kinda celebrators:

Maura O’Connell with Karen Matheson, “Down By the Sally Gardens”
The Dubliners, “Whiskey in the Jar”
The ShamRogues, “Sean South from Garryowen”
Sinead O’Connor, “I’ll Tell Me Ma”
Mary Black with Emmylou Harris, “By the Time It Gets Dark”

Whatever your tastes, stay safe and don’t forget to dance. Happy Friday!