Musical Monday: Home Sweet Home

If you happened to see my Six Word Saturday, you'll notice that today's Musical Monday is an obvious choice:

Homeward Bound, Simon & Garfunkel

Oh, how I love the harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel! (Between MM and the iPod 10, I've written about them several times.) Can you believe how young they look in this clip from 1967? At only 26, they'd already had achieved huge success. Truly amazing.

This early hit perfectly illustrates the way their voices blended so beautifully and so seamlessly. It's as if these two were born to sing together. They could've easily spent their entire careers cranking out hit after hit but decided to split at the height of their popularity in 1970. One can only imagine the music they could've gone on to make together.

Funny, but I don't know anyone who doesn't like at least one Simon & Garfunkel song. What about you?

For more Musical Mondays, check out Jori and Diane.

Six Word Saturday: Homeward Bound

Today we're participating in Six Word Saturday! Cate's meme comes from the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. The book was based on Ernest Hemingway's short story, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." The idea is to tell a story or describe your life in six words and the book is a collection of these. Such a great idea!

While I pack up my things and get ready to end my vacation, it seemed like a good idea to quickly jump on board:

Saying goodbye to London, homeward bound.

Apologies to everyone I've missed in the past week. Promise to stop by and say hello when I am home and all settled.

Wordful Wednesday

I took this picture of the Palace of Westminster (aka the Houses of Parliament) from across the Thames on the London Eye. That's the big Ferris wheel built by the city to commemorate the millennium. At almost 450 feet tall, the Eye offers incredible views of London, an expansive city that dwarfs my hometown of New York City! In typical British fashion, it was pouring the day I went; you'll notice the overcast sky in this photo.

I've been to London several times but the architecture never fails to take my breath away. Apparently the Parliament was built in a Gothic style to look much older than it really is. I never would have guessed that it's only 270 years old. (It was rebuilt after a fire in 1834.) The history, dating all the way back to the Saxon times, is incredible.

For more Wordful Wednesdays, stop by and say hi to Angie.

Musical Monday: I See London...

Even though today's Musical Monday is hardly upbeat with its theme of nuclear destruction, violence and social criticism, it's been in my head since I stepped off the plane.


"London Calling," live tribute

It's tough to find a good version of this song online, so I've chosen this tribute to Clash lead singer Joe Strummer at the 2003 Grammys. Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Elvis Costello, Steven Van Zandt were solid choices; all are largely influenced by punk and politically controversial in their own way.

Apparently there was some controversy over this performance (some criticized it as a butchering of a classic) but I think it was perfectly gritty with just the right amount of angsty outrage. Ironically, Costello is the only Brit in this foursome but they all sold the powerful chorus: "Cause London is drowning/And I live by the riverside..." Just one complaint: Was it too much work to memorize the lyrics? The obvious staring at the TelePrompTers was just a little embarrassing.

So, what's stuck in your head these days? Upbeat or otherwise?

For more Musical Mondays, check out Jori and Diane.

Sunday Citar: Summer Holiday

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." — St. Augustine