how it feels in the dream

a five year old brother

a grown sister, the open window  - a full moon

that is why we are so emotional, i say -

tell me about the windmill there, beautiful and still

a woman built it, and now it is still beautiful

i give comfort; the small brother keeps close

mom’s sewing basket, needles and pins fall out

i move to secure and contain – so we won’t hurt our bare feet

there is a presence, and a question
i answer well

then watch the departure line, belongings go -  things also, gone
another sister from before, she wears my silver shoes

leslie a.h. cochran

dream 08/24/15, 4:00 am
clouds 08/25/15, 7:55 am

i realize..

... although it seems sometimes that a huge percentage of music is about romantic love, failed romantic love, unrequited love - that's not all there is. obviously. but i like so many of those songs - can't do without 'em. what can i say? anyway, though i favor the moody minor chords, there's got to be an alternate playlist.  now where are those rose-colored glasses...?

"I Feel Good" -  James Brown
 that's a no brainer

"This Girl is on Fire" - Alicia Keyes
never actually heard this one, but when i search for upbeat songs there 'tis.  i guess when you want to puff yourself up to overblown proportions, or if you're feeling "iffy" - might work

still on a 'girl' theme, there's always Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
(and damn it - i do)

an obvious choice: Pharrel's "Happy"  although this can produce an annoying semi-permanent ear worm...

described as "even a sad song (from the Jackson 5) can make you feel happy"
hey- they're right- let's dance!!
takes me back to those sweet innocent days...   "I Want You Back"

"With a Little Help From My Friends" - The Beatles  , "lend me your ears and i'll sing you a song and i'll try not to sing out of key" (no promises)

"You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" - Joni Mitchell   - i've always liked this one!

"My Cherie Amour"  - Stevie Wonder   - pure bliss
1969,  8th grade, Brian Flaherty..  how did i delve back into love songs again..?

"Do You Believe in Magic" - John Sebastian
Well, YEAH!  think we have a winner for today...

guitar therapy

giving my one song and songwriting a rest for a little while; just messing around with other stuff. still rusty on what i used to know, which wasn't extensive. but i am playing a lot and wanting to learn something new. not sure why I let my guitar gather dust. now the years fall away and it’s water flowing under the bridge. we hug each other; feels right. 

it was suggested that i get a mike (thanks Jeff) -  so i did. still have to practice getting right on top of it and keeping my volume up. also experimenting with video editing, so i put a reverb on these clips and used a posterize filter with Adobe Premiere Pro. have to see if i can get higher quality/larger file size uploaded.

this song is sort of a bitter lament, but i only chose it because it's all minor chords, just 3 - simple.  and it is well within my limited vocal range. "I Just Don't Understand" was written by Kent Westberry & Marijohn Wilkin, first covered by Ann-Margaret and then the Beatles.  but i only know the cover by Spoon.  just now listening to Ann-Margaret's version - i like her voice.

i prefer the vocals on the first clip.  but the strumming technique is better on the second, a few misses though and guitar overpowering voice.  after i practice this song another 75 times, it might start to sound ok.

samsung galaxy6 users may have a problem loading this video, still troubleshooting...

a bridge

youtube clip

a clip from my song, oh heck.. i guess it's called 'crazy talk'. i kept it really simple, chord-wise and lyrics too. i decided the melancholy can stay.  i am advocating more deep listening than talk for myself of late. this isn't an instrumental so, i gave the words a shot.

my beloved E minor plays a part, although another enthusiast recently advised me to use it sparingly. too much of a good thing and all that. so there's two verses, a break, whatever this is - a bridge or chorus, first verse again. experimented with adobe premiere pro for this clip of what i am calling the bridge.

note: video not supported in samsung galaxy s6

08/15/15     © 2015 words and music, leslie a.h. cochran

while my guitar gently...

..tolerates my general roughhousing and questionable vocal skills...  of course it can give back as good as it gets, biting into and slowly callousing my coddled fingertips. you know how with anything it can hurt while you're learning, but you don't want to stop?  because of the payoff on other levels. because you actually want to learn more. several times i actually checked to make sure they weren't bleeding. yesterday, i had new lighter steel strings installed. just means i will be able to play a little longer before it gets uncomfortable,  at least until i develop more formidable callouses. checking their progress - pinkie not so much, but ring, middle and index have new character. yeah i'm so tough now - hah.

i love the minor chords, truly i do. E minor for instance is the love of my life. there is no substitute for that sweet yet melancholy sound. any excuse to sneak Em into a song...it's that compelling. there's also an "easy" version of F# minor - that elusive Iberian, previously unavailable - now we share a casual friendship over coffee or perhaps a hoppy IPA. lately any song i want to play, within reason, i'll give it a go - but if the chords involve too many digital gymnastics (pesky barre chords still a struggle) well then, no.

more fun though to play the one song i wrote, the only one so far. it's done, yet i'm still tinkering.  perhaps i should whittle down the whining, and wait - where's that silver lining?  there needs to be a bright one, in a song that at first listen is more than a little glum. the chords could use some work, the first part sort of blah: G C, G C, G C,  followed by Em C, Em C.

mopey songs with a measure of hope are in my nature, if my other writing is any indication.
trying to imagine a poem or song where i wax ecstatic about how great everything is.
nah - i'll take the sweet with the melancholy any day.

accident ?

So as revealed in this view of my thoracic cavity, the 5th rib is fractured. A strange accident, but nothing is an accident.  Lessons from medical science - I really do look like this, under the layers, a bleached white skeleton, now with a brand new break.

The ribs cradle several organs, a beautiful structure, like an open cage. The 5th rib is a "true" one, connected to the sternum. Not "false" or "floating" like some other ribs. Number 5 also has biblical references. Someone smote someone else just under it - he died.  Adam might have gifted Eve his 5th rib - one close to his heart.  Medical maps, biblical babbling. What does it mean to me, why did it happen?

Not watching out for myself I think - my body temple, my heart. Doc says it will take 4-6 weeks to heal. Think I am at week 1-1/2. Radiology tech tells me I have "pretty ribs". Oh shucks, bet he says that to all the ladies.

real words , sometimes too real

i had a thought..

don't actually remember it

just that it was a good one

maybe it was part of a daydream

about answers
written on slips of paper

like fortunes only better

the questions, quiet 

but the scrolls, unfurling, 

they ask to be read, to be considered
they are very clear, which is nice

i just remembered the thought -

the words want to have a space, a place

inside
but you have to be careful, if you let them weave a way
into your being

it's almost impossible to remove them,
especially since you are convinced that you want them to stay

more to do

right action
i am not without it
even underwater
not helpless
these moves
not insignificant
expand incrementally
and with intention
recognition
taking
the flying leap -
walk, find, to be with
right action


lahc 08/02/15