A Middle of the Night Music Post: Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet

I heard this song on the radio and was reminded of how much I like it, especially the intro. I had to look it up and was a little surprised to see that it came out in 2003. Seems like I've heard it around for longer than that. But I'm always glad to listen to it again.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Thanks for the Memory - Bob Hope and Shirley Ross

This clip always gets me right in the feels, as they say, every time I see it. I don't know if any scene in the movies better captures a sense of melancholy nostalgia and bittersweet love. By the way, I've never seen the movie it's from, THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938. The whole thing is on YouTube, as well. Maybe I ought to watch it.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: End of the Line - The Traveling Wilburys

They played some snippets from this song on a recent episode of THE SIMPSONS. Yes, I still watch THE SIMPSONS. I liked it, didn't recognize it at all, and so I had to look it up. I'd heard of The Traveling Wilburys, of course, but I'm not sure I ever heard any of their music. But after listening to this one all the way through, I love it. Some of the lyrics speak to me, as they say. The ones about being old, of course, but how you should keep going to the end of the line. That's my plan.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Mirage - Steve Cole

I like this song because parts of it sound like it could be the theme song from a 1960s British TV show produced by ITV, full of international intrigue and adventure. When I listen to it, I can see the opening credits quick-cut montage featuring picturesque scenery, beautiful women, and ugly guys with guns.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Golden Dawn - Carlos Dengler

 

Sometimes on a dark night of the soul, you need music that's soothing. Or at least I do.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: The Last Pale Light in the West - Ben Nichols

 

I love raspy-voiced singers and world-weary songs like this. They resonate pretty strongly with me.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Oooh-Ahh (Catalina) - Mindi Abair

 

I really like Mindi Abair's music, and this one is perfect for the middle of the night when a guy's spirits need a little lift.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Winged Hussars - Sabaton

You know it's a weird night when I'm listening to Sabaton at two in the morning, but hey, sometimes that's the way it goes.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: I'll Love You - Joe Sample

Man, this is really a restful, relaxing song. Just what I need on a night like this. 

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Come As You Are - Mindi Abair

Mindi Abair is one of my favorite musicians, and I really like the easy-going vibe of this song. Sometimes, especially in the middle of the night, you want to wallow in melancholy, but sometimes you want something to lift your spirits. This song does that for me.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Under the Canopy - David Arkenstone

I don't think I'd ever heard of David Arkenstone, but I heard this song on the radio the other day (the Spa channel on SiriusXM) and immediately liked it. It sounds to me like it ought to be the theme song from a two-fisted, pulpish, jungle adventure movie from the Fifties starring, say, John Payne and Rhonda Fleming. PIRATES OF THE CONGO! I'd watch that.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Rainy Day Song - David Garfield and Herb Alpert

I've been a Herb Alpert fan for close to 60 years now, and it's great to hear the instantly recognizable sound of his trumpet on this new song. I had all of Alpert's albums with the Tijuana Brass during the Sixties and played them constantly. In more recent times (the past 20 years), I've been a frequent listener to his album SECOND WIND, which includes my all-time favorite song of his, "Fandango". I don't believe I've ever posted that one. Maybe I will the next time I can't sleep. For now, enjoy this one.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Lujon - Dan Fontaine and His Orchestra

I've posted the original Henry Mancini version of this song before, but it was quite a few years ago. And this is one of those cases where I think the cover is better than the original. Dan Fontaine and His Orchestra do a great job with older music like this. When I'm having trouble sleeping, like tonight, and battling one of those dark nights of the soul as I often do, I find music like this really soothing. If there are any songs those of you reading this find particularly soul-soothing, I can always use some recommendations in the comments.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Shaker Song - Manhattan Transfer

I love this performance beyond all reason. A while back I posted the original instrumental version of "Shaker Song" by Spyro Gyra and said that I'd post the vocal version by Manhattan Transfer, but I never got around to it. Let's remedy that.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Something For Cat - Henry Mancini

I came across this video a few months ago and must have played it a hundred times since then. The animation is cute and appeals to my fondness for the Sixties, but I usually just listen to the music, which really resonates with me. It's from the soundtrack of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, and I've seen that movie so I must have heard the song in it, but I don't recall it from that at all. Instead, to me it sounds like it should have been the theme song from an early Sixties private eye TV series, and I can almost see the opening montage in my head as I listen to the music. I was a huge fan of PETER GUNN and 77 SUNSET STRIP and all the others from that era, and this would have fit right in. One of these days I might just write something like that. It would be a pretty limited market, but it sure would be fun.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Saloon Showdown - Antti Martikainen

As the saying goes, Spaghetti Western Metal is the musical genre I didn't know I needed . . . until now. Recently I've been listening to this and other songs by Finnish musician Antti Martikainen, and they're all great writing music.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Grazing in the Grass - Hugh Masekala

They play this song on an insurance commercial (I think) that's running on TV these days. When I listened to it on the radio and liked it more than 50 years ago, I never dreamed I'd still be hearing it all these years later.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Shaker Song - Spyro Gyra

I'd been trying to remember the name of this song for a while, when it suddenly popped into my head that the Manhattan Transfer did a vocal version of it. So I checked Manhattan Transfer songs on YouTube and that led me to the original. Both versions are excellent. Maybe I'll post the vocal version next time I'm awake in the middle of the night.

A Middle of the Night Music and Pages Post: What Now My Love - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

I've posted this song before, but here it is again because I heard it on the radio and it was one of my favorite songs when I was in high school. I was that weird kid who liked easy listening music as much as rock. Rock was what I listened to in the car and when I was with my friends, but I had a good FM radio in my bedroom that I got for Christmas one year, so I usually had an easy listening station playing (FM in those days was mostly easy listening stations) while I sat in my recliner and read paperbacks and comic books.

Anyway, when I heard it on the radio, I had one of those odd solipsistic moments when I wondered if everything that's happened in the past 53 years is just an extended fantasy sequence, and it's actually still 1967 and I'm still sitting in my room listening to Herb Alpert and thinking about what might be coming in the future. I don't really believe that, mind you . . . but I can see the appeal of it.

I was on a nice little run with the writing for a few days, averaging around 15 pages a day, but then real life kept me busy all day and I haven't gotten anything written the past two days. That will probably continue for another day or two. I always get antsy when I can't write, but sometimes that's the way things work out.

Assuming any of this is actually real.

A Middle of the Night Music Post: Blue Rondo a la Turk - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

"Take Five" will always be my favorite Dave Brubeck song--and one of my all-time favorites, period--but this one is mighty good, too. And this performance really takes me back to that era.