Music Friday: "Hurt"

My daughter is thinking about songs to choreograph her solo dances to, and one of her two solo songs she's thinking about is "Hurt" by Johnny Cash, which is a cover of Nine Inch Nails.

I recently rewatched the episode about "Hurt" on Netflix's Song Exploder. 

I am a huge fan of Johnny Cash, but I think I like the original better. 

Today I'm providing videos of both. 

Music Friday: "A Boy Named Sue"

Today I"m featuring a classic from Johnny Cash. 

Enjoy it. 

Music Friday: "A Boy Named Sue"

Here's a classic that almost always makes me smile. 

Have a good weekend, folks. 

Music Friday: "Man in Black"

My daughter is obsessed with Cash's "Man in Black." I've heard the song at least a dozen times this week. I've played it in the car for her. I've played it on my iPod for her. She's played it every day this week on her iPod as she's getting dressed for school.

So here it is. You get to hear it too.

Music Friday: "Ring of Fire"

Speaking of Johnny Cash, one of my son's favorite songs is "Ring of Fire," another of my favorite songs of his. 

In fact, for a five-year old, he's a pretty good singer. He didn't get that from me. I'm a horrible singer. It must have gotten it from Mrs. Nasty. 

As Cash says, "Love is a burning thing./ And it makes a fiery ring./ Bound by wild desire,/ I fell into a ring of fire." 

Random Notes from a Crank

As I recounted in a February post, we renovated our half-bathroom. Recently we renovated our full bathroom on the main floor of the house. 

Below is home improvement porn.

This is the view from the doorway.

This is the view from near the tub/shower. Three of the walls are yellow, and the accent wall is a hue of blue called "bayside." 

This is the close-up view of the flooring, Allure "Limed Oak." 

I've noticed a difference in the water bill since we put in the new toilet in our half-bath. Now that we have the same kind of toilet in the main bath, I'm looking forward to an even cheaper bill. The tanks of those old toilets are so large that you could have stored a couple of beers in them. [I stole that image from an old Simpsons episode where Homer kept extra beer in the toilet tanks.]

The box the new vanity and sink came in was a huge box, which my five-year old son quickly decided to use in his room. Strangely enough, he wanted to sleep in the box a couple of nights, and we let him. Here's a picture of him asleep in his box, his cardboard cave.

Speaking of my son, as we drove through rainy St. Louis on Friday night, if there was ever any doubt about his loyalties in major league baseball, there is none now. It's clear he's a Cubs fan like his father. As we drove by the new Busch Stadium, he enjoyed booing the stadium because the Cardinals play there. Not exactly good sportsmanship, but I found it humorous. It was a highlight of the drive there for my daughter's dance competition out in Chesterfield. 

This past week I've had a Johnny Cash CD in my car, and my daughter has become obsessed with the song "A Boy Named Sue." In one day when I was carting her around to school and practice, we probably listened to it about ten times. Often over and over and over. I know how she feels because that was one of my favorite songs growing up, and it was one my dad introduced me to. 

As I was listening to Here We Rest yesterday, I had a realization. I don't know if anyone else has made this comment before, but my favorite song on that album, "Stopping By," is the yang to the yin of Cash's "A Boy Named Sue." 

I discovered a snack at the grocery store today: dill pickle flavored sunflower seeds. 

I have a hankering for buttermilk. 

Here's my on-deck reading shelf. 

Music Friday: "A Boy Named Sue" & "Hey Good Lookin'"

This Music Friday goes out to my parents.

My dad went in for a heart procedure on Tuesday, and there were complications. Thankfully, they got a stent into the lower artery of his heart. That problem coupled with renal issues almost ended his life, but he wound up in the ICU. He's in a regular room now.

My oldest brother has been staying with my mom, who has had heart problems of her own combined with diabetes and being legally blind. Once my dad's turned loose from the hospital, they'll both go to an assisted living facility where they don't have to worry about cooking food and will undoubtedly get much more social interaction.

So the first song for today, "A Boy Named Sue," is for my dad, who likes Johnny Cash. The father-son relationship in the song is much different than my relationship with my father, btw.

And the second song for today is Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin,'" which is a song my mom likes to sing when cooking, a song indelibly linked to her in my mind.

We're headed up to Iowa this weekend to help in whatever way we can.

Music Friday: "A Boy Named Sue"

Click HERE for the classic video of Cash playing in San Quentin.

This one goes out to all of those with "gravel in your guts and spit in your eye."