Tweets go 'round the world!

Twitter connects us all. Today I posed a question on twitter hoping for an answer regarding the release of a CD from a musical group that I am pretty fond of; The Pet Shop Boys. What I found was that my tweet was picked up halfway across the world. Just like when I share an experience with another musician.

Here is a screenshot from http://www.petshopboys.co.uk The Pet Shop Boys Official site in the UK.

Yep, that's me Chris Peterson. 

By the way, I still don't know when or if this album will be released in the US. Looks like I may be ordering an import!

Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape (Tracks 25-29) The END Finally!

Here it is the end of the marathon that has been the tracks from Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape. If you've been reading and following along you have got a glimpse of what music I was into my senior year in high school. At least the start of my senior year.

Track 25: Is It Me: Huey Lewis & The News. From the album Picture This. This is another tape I WORE out playing in my walkman. Looking at some of these songs; this one, a couple Chicago songs- I was wavering with my self esteem. I guess all teens go through that. Mine had to do with trying to be more than friends with girls. Thank goodness I conquered that fear. It would have been hard to meet Tammy and have the wonderful life we have, if I was too shy.

Track 26: Every Breath You Take: The Police. I have always liked this song. When I added it to this play list I don't think I was paying attention to the lyrics. Not quite the song you want to hear on a date.

Track 27: Waltz Of The Flowers: Fantasia Soundtrack. Being in concert band and jazz band I developed an eclectic taste in music. Here is where shines through. There is awesome music in Fantasia.








Thanks for tagging along on this musical journey from 1991. That was a long time ago, but a part of my life that I never want to forget. I was lucky to have a lot of good friends. We had a lot of fun. When else would just hanging out in a deserted hallway before class been fun. (Right guys!). Thanks to all the people who made that fall fun! Dain Johnson, Robert Weaver, Darin Turpin, John Shumate, Joe Lammers, Athena Stallcop, Janel Kirkman, Laurie Hawkins, Megan Curtis, Bill Hankins, and many others...

And I can't forget BOLT! Ray Sagarik, Rob Kennedy, Rob Pearson, &  Shane Blacker. The lunch in the 500 BLDG hallway that started it all.

Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape (Tracks 21-24)

More tracks from the 1991 Homecoming mix tape. It's funny to see what I listened to then and that many of those same songs are still on my iPod.

Track 21: Slipping Away: Information Society. This debut album from Information Society is great. Good tracks that keep you moving. This one, however is more of a ballad.

Track 22: Song For George: Eric Johnson. I don't really know who George was, but I like this song. This album did win the Grammy in 1992 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Track 23: If She Would Have Been Faithful: Chicago. Another Chicago tune. I always liked this song. Not that I ever really had someone be unfaithful. I did have a friend date a girl that I really liked, and he knew it. I was too chicken to make a move, so he took her out- they hit it off and dated. What could I have done. It's water under the bridge now. I'm a different person than I was in high school... aren't we all!

Track 24: Repetition: Information Society. More Information Society. Kevin Kahle would love this tape. He loves Information Society.

Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape (Tracks 13-16)

To continue on the trek of Homecoming songs...

Track 13: Chasing The Wind: Chicago: Uncle Danny was a huge Chicago fan & so am I. So when this album came out I bought the tape. This is the only song that I can remember from it.

Track 14: Kiss The Girl: Soul II Soul: Another song from Simply Mad About the Mouse. A great rendition of The Little Mermaid song. I just liked it.

Track 15: Beat 70: Pat Metheny Group: Uncle Danny was also a huge Pat Metheny Group fan. I bought this tape at his recommendation. I don't know where it went, but it was good to listen to when I mowed lawns.
 

Track 16: Trademark: Eric Johnson: Another track from A Via Musicom. My introduction to Eric Johnson. I think Uncle Danny would have liked him too.

Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape (Tracks 12-14)

Homecoming mix tape cont'd- Continuing on our walk down memory lane. At least my memories.


 Track 12: Song For My Father: NHS Jazz Band
In 1990 the Nampa High School Jazz band competed at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. This song was recorded from one of those performances. Mr. Kennedy & Mr. Stone were the band directors at that time.

                                                                     

Track 13: Bear Necessities: Harry Connick Jr. This is another track from "Simply Mad About the Mouse" the Disney tribute album. It's a good track. I listened to that tape a lot.

Track 14: Bizarre Love Triangle: New Order. This is the original version from "Brotherhood". It's a classic.

Homecoming 1991 Mixtape (Tracks 9-11)

So on this homecoming date. I started driving a restored "Model T". My grandfather had restored it and it was the first time that I was going to drive it myself (no Dad tagging along). Well, after dinner it died. There was a problem with the battery. So I finished the date driving the family station wagon; a caprice classic. It was still fun though...

Back to the songs...

Track 9: Who Do You Give Your Love To?: Michael Morales. This was a track that I just really liked. I can't find it anywhere. I did just find a youtube version.

Track 10: MotownPhilly: Boyz II Men. This is an awesome song. It's hard to imagine a world without Boyz II Men. This was their first hit! I love the A Capella break in the middle.

Track 11: Think: Information Society. This was the first single from "Hack".

I couldn't get enough of it. I'm pretty sure that I wore my tape out listening to it.

Homecoming 1991 Mixtape (Tracks 6-8)

This is the third installment of the mixtape from Homecoming 1991. Did I mention that the girl I took to the dance was a cheerleader? That's right, a band geek (1st Trombone) took a cheerleader to homecoming!

Track 6: How Long: Information Society. This was from the newest album at the time: Hack. I think I wore that tape out listening to it so much.

Track 7: Hit Me Like A Hammer: Huey Lewis & The News. Hard At Play was the album this song was from. I listened to it all summer mowing lawns. It only made sense to include it on this mix tape.

Track 8: Walking Away: Information Society. From the Information Society album Information Society. This track was played at the stake dances all the time. Kevin Kahle loved spinning this record. Yep, we had the 8 in single that we'd play at the dances.

Homecoming 1991 Mix Tape (tracks 3-5)

On the way home I listened to the next few songs from the mix tape that I made for Nampa High Homecoming 1991.

Track 3: When You Wish Upon A Star: Billy Joel. This was from a tape I bought "Simply Mad About the Mouse". It was a compilation of artists covering Disney songs. A lot of differing styles. I remember listening to then... not sure where that tape ended up.

Track 4: Can't Stand Losing You: The Police. I had recently purchased a copy of "Every Breath You Take: The Singles" and this was from that tape. Not sure what this has to do with Homecoming or dancing.

Track 5: Man From Snowy River: Main Title. I really like this soundtrack. It relaxes me. It lasted me through two years on a mission in Southern California and I still listen to it today. Like I said before I have very eclectic musical tastes.

Instant re-visit: Twitter connecting us all!

Looking through some posts in the past and I thought I'd revisit a post from last fall. There power of social media is amazing! Enjoy~


From October 03, 2010....

When I was in high school one of my favorite bands was Huey Lewis & The News (still have them on my iPod). There are many groups that I listen to and have ripped onto my Mac and then to my iPod. One artist is Michelle Branch. A little background. Michelle Branch released The Spirit Room in 2001. I had no idea who she was or anything. Spring of 2002 my brother-in-law, Tim moved in with us for a few months after moving to Idaho from Arkansas. One of the many CDs he brought with him was Michelle Branch The Spirit Room. I really liked it and wanted a copy myself.

Fast forward to 2010. My daughter Selah is 8. Earlier in the week we went to Grandpa & Grandma's and they had purchased a new karaoke machine. Guess who was on the demo cd- Michelle Branch "All I Wanted" from The Spirit Room. Selah listened to it, sang it and loved it. So later that evening we went on YouTube and searched for Michelle Branch songs. A few days ago she asked that I put some Michelle Branch on her iPod, so I did. Later that night she was at the kitchen table listening to her iPod and copying down the lyrics to "All I Wanted". Then she sang it to me. Then she sang it to Tammy & I.

The next day I went on to twitter and sent the following message to @michellebranch (I already know I put the wrong age for Selah)

This is the response I received.

In Junior High I wrote a letter to Huey Lewis & The News. A month or so later I got a post card back with their signatures on it and a form letter thanking me for being interested. That's how it was THEN. Now I send a message to the artist and within a few hours she wrote back. Thanks Tim for introducing me to Michelle Branch & thanks @michellebranch for the music that connected me & my daughter!

Twitter. Connecting us all. Who knew.

Walkman...

I heard on the radio that Sony was retiring the cassette walkman. This is a sad day for portable music enthusiasts. I got my first walkman in Jr high. This was a sony walkman (remember Mega Bass). Previously I had a couple other portable cassette / radios that were ok, but they were always wearing out. I listened to them alot! In Jr high I lived too close (less then 1 mile - .8 miles) to ride the bus so I walked. Many days I got dropped off by my parents on the way to work, but when the bell rang to end the school day at 2:25 PM, I was on my own and walked home. That walkman was a great walking companion.

During this time I didn't have a drivers licence so the easiest way to independently go to a friends house was on a bike or hoof it! Many nights I remember walking home in the twilight listening to my walkman. Whether it was Huey Lewis & The News, Information Society, or Jimmy Smith... I never walked home alone. I could picture myself in another place listening to that music. I was not in a quiet Idaho town... I was in Chicago listening to Count Basie or Wes Montgomery...or watching Bono belt out With or Without You.

I stopped using my aiwa iteration of the walkman in college. The library would have been too quiet without it. Since then I've had a few iPods and I love 'em, don't get me wrong... But there is something with the hum of the tape motor and how when the batteries got low your favorite song would play just a little slower, letting you know it was time for new ones. walkman you were a good companion and you'll be missed.

Free Christmas Songs...

I am totally into free stuff. In fact there are two blogs that I am constantly checking Hey It's free and The Freebie Blogger. Sometimes they overlap, but you can't have enough free stuff. Well here is a free thing that will be going on until Christmas that I wanted to pass on. Amazon.com is giving away a free Christmas song download a day until Christmas. They announce a new one each day. The downloads won't last forever so hop on over to Amazon.com and add to your Christmas music library. I don't think that you can ever have too many Christmas songs.

CD... Ever bought one of those?

Remember CDs? In this day of digital downloads and iTunes and Amazon MP3 it can be hard to remember the time when if you liked an artist you bought their CD put it in your car CD player or took it home and listened to it. There would be some songs you had heard before on the radio, others you liked instantly and still other songs that you weren't crazy about. But over time many of these songs would grow on you and you liked them. What about song order? There was a time when songs were put on an album in a certain order for a reason. One track flowed into the other sometimes seamlessly. You did not know where one ended and the other began.

As I was driving the other day I thought of this and how there are many songs that I don't listen to as much as I used to because the shuffle of my iPod or iTunes does not get to them often enough. So I have started listening to albums from start to finish, the way the artist intended. I listened to "The Joshua Tree" by U2 from track 1 to 11 and it was as good as I remembered it.

Apple has tried to rekindle this a little with a new feature in iTunes called iTunes LP. I know that I have ripped nearly all of my CDs into iTunes and that those lost tracks are there waiting for me to listen again. I am going to take the time to do what I used to do and listed to CD, whether in iTunes or my CD player.

New Order? Nah, Bad Lieutenant --> Oh Yeah!

Never Cry Another Tear. When you think of break ups don't let it get you down. Bad Lieutenant wants you to move on.

Many things....

Many things are happening in my/ our life with the next 24 hours... But I found something that I wanted to share.The Pet Shop Boys are performing in Seattle this weekend and on the page for the venue they are performing at they had this cool little widget. You can play a song, mix a song, even try remixing a song. So enjoy and... I'll keep you posted as things happen...

FULL SCREENhosted by playlive.fm

Something to Share...

It has been a while since I posted. Many things keeping me busy. End of summer activities, camping, back to school, and baby coming in September.If you didn't know we are having a little girl. That makes girl #2 and 2 boys and 2 girls overall. That's right even teams! As summer winds down there will be more to write.

However I wanted to share a video that is pretty cool. You can read about it here.

U2 |MTV Music

Friday Night... The Very Most

Tonight was something unique for Tammy and I. We had a date. Not a let's hurry and grocery shop while the kids are at grandmas date; an actual date. With a daughter at a birthday party and the two boys having a play date with their cool uncle; mom and dad are free to have fun. So tonight we went out to The Flying M Coffee Garage and watched Connecticut Four and The Very Most.



Some context. Having grown up in Nampa I remember when the Flying M was a Firestone tire shop. It's nice to see a space transformed for a new use. They even re arranged the letters from the Firestone sign to "Finestore". Also, Jeremy Jensen guitarist/ vocalist for The Very Most is from Nampa. We attended school together and for a time when we were first married Tammy and I lived next door to his parents.



It was a great show. Connecticut Four took the stage first and played a great set. They offered to barter their EP CD for a floor to crash on for the night. I couldn't convince Tammy that our living room would work. The sounded great. You can listen here.



Second was The Very Most. The reason we came tonight. What a fun show. Indie-pop made to order! The music was great and the venue was awesome. But I have to say that the best part was being with Tammy.

It reminded me of when we were dating and first married just the two of us. Together. At times when it was too loud to talk Tammy and I texted one another.



Fun times. Great music. Amazing company.

I want to be... Forever Young!

Forever Young.
I want to be Forever Young.
Do you want to live Forever?
Forever,Forever.

I want to be Forever Young!
This year things are and have happened that make me look at my life. I turned 35. Although I don't feel it, I am not as young as I once was. In August my dad is getting re married. I never really saw that happening. Now it is and it's great. His fiance is really nice. They are very happy together. Also, my grandfather passed away. I no longer have any grandparents living. I am 35 so that is not unusual, but it makes me question my own mortality. I have been out of high school 17 years and we are expecting our fourth child this August/September.



Who am I? What have I done? If 17 year old Chris Peterson met 35 year old Chris Peterson, what would he think? What would he say? What advice would 35 year old Chris Peterson give him? Would I tell him that his family will change immensely and that it is all part of a grand plan and that life goes on. Would I tell him that he will meet someone that will change his life for the better and that he'll love more than anything else. Would he need to know that there will be more to life than cassette tapes (see MP3s). Would I let him know that a two year mission will be harder and more rewarding than he ever imagined. And that it will effect his life forever.



I don't think I would. I might share with him what I've (we've) done. Gone to college. Graduated from college. Married a beautiful/ wonderful women who gives my life meaning and inspiration. That he WILL have a family and to be ready to be a great dad. I would not be the person I am now had I not experienced all those things and more. Life is not easy, nor simple. There are the complicated unimportant and the plain and precious that make life interesting. I can't wait for our new little baby (girl #2) to enter our home and see the love that awaits her from this family Tammy and I created.



I have lived. I have so much more living to do. Can't rest or reflect for too long. I've got to catch up with the eight, six, and four year kids ahead of me. That fourth child is coming quickly.

Youth is like diamonds in the sun,
And diamonds are forever.
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever...

Here's a link to the song... Below is the video...

Genius...

iTunes. Heard of it? If you are reading this blog post then you probably have. I have used iTunes since version 1 in 2001. After getting an iPod in 2004 iTunes became more important as I used to organize the songs on my iPod.


One of the more recent additions as a feature in iTunes is Genius. You know when a friend recommends a band or a song because they know you like another band? Well, that is what genius does. It looks at your iTunes library and finds songs that would compliment the initial one you chose. I have 4615 songs on my iPod, so using genius helps 'mash up' songs that I might not have put together on a playlist myself.


I recently created a genius playlist for the song "A Little Respect" by Erasure and the list that follows are the results. It made a day driving to Twin Falls and Back a lot more enjoyable. Give it a try and see what songs in your own library you have been missing!

ELEW

There are a few things that I listen to in my car as I commute to work and home each day. My iPod. Over 4500 songs never gets old and I always hear something I like. Idaho Sports Talk. Sports talk radio for the drive home. I can't get enough of the Broncos. NPR, KBSX 91.5. I started listening to NPR in high school. I would tune it in on my Walkman in sophomore English class while I was "reading". Now I listen while I drive. You can always hear new and interesting stories on NPR. Well this past week I heard a story that I wanted to share about a piano player Eric Lewis.

Here is the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105698629



Here is a video of him playing

I want to share a story...

While driving to Twin Falls yesterday I heard a song on my iPod and it reminded me of a story. I would like to share the story with you. In a following post I’ll discuss the story a little. Read on.

Somewhere in the old world in a small, poor country live John and Mary; they are in love. They want to have a life together, so they get engaged. Mary is expecting and so John decides that he needs to find more steady employment as work in their small, impoverished country is not dependable and pays very poorly. He wants to have a life worthy of his family. To earn money for his young family John decides to head to the neighboring country to find work. He has been told by the men in his town that there is work in that country and that you can easily send money home. John knows that this would help out tremendously with Mary and the baby that will soon arrive.

John sets the date and starts the journey to neighboring country and takes with him the bare minimum to survive; water, a bedroll, what little money he has and a photo of Mary. He kisses his future bride and leaves their small cottage in the woods. He hikes through valleys and hills to reach the country where the work can be found.
John knows that this will not be an easy journey, but he is young and knows that Mary is praying for his success and quick return.

To travel to the country where the work is John finds a travel broker that can help him make his way to where he can find work. John, being from a small town and not knowing the intricacies of getting work in the other country is grateful that he can find a broker to help. The broker he finds is the best in the business (at least he has been told); the broker is Yote. John tells Yote, “I want to work in the City. Tell me what I have to do. Tell me what it will cost.” John has been told that Yote has the experience needed to help him go to the country and find work to be able to send money home to Mary and the baby.

Yote and John start their trek to the country and on the way John tells Yote about Mary and the baby. He also tells Yote that when he returns and he and Mary wed they will be a proper family with a proper home. He even shows Yote his picture of Mary.

Yote however did not have pure intentions. As they walked through the countryside toward the location where they would enter the other country Yote killed John. Yote took his money and possessions and left him to die in the woods. All that he left with John was the photo of Mary.

After a few weeks of not hearing from John, Mary was worried. She began to wonder what might have happened to John. Did he make to the country to work? Had he even made it to the city and found the man to help him get work? Was he mistaken for a criminal and shot by the army? She didn’t know. So Mary went to look for John. Not knowing what happened she could not find him. Mary never knew about Yote, or what happened in the woods. She never knew that John died tightly gripping the picture he kept of her. That those who found his body, not knowing who he was buried him there in the woods with the photo he held in his hand.

Mary never knew what happened to her John. Poor Mary. Poor John.