"Hot Summer Day" by It's A Beautiful Day

Me in Chantilly, Virginia in Summer 2000 - the humidity...

Rachel Update 7-Aug-2015: I decided to pick one song for this because I'm making a mix tape of the songs from this blog and I don't want to put the whole album on the tape.

I've decided to post a favorite album, instead of just a song on Sundays.  I've loved this album for years.  I think the only hit from it was "White Bird".  For a while it was out of print, in the late 80's I saw it selling for $50.  Hmm, I was just looking on Amazon and it must be out of print again, new copies selling for $80.

1. White Bird: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrFCwvlw0cs
2. Hot Summer Day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxaoJdfVw9w
3. Wasted Union Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EIYL7yzUFE
4. Girl With No Eyes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1hdGEWHD6E
5. Bombay Calling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEKg9qyEQmw
6. Bulgaria: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ohwAjCI4VM
7. Time Is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNoVgp9rKA

"Tomorrow We'll See" by Sting

Rachel update 11-Jun-2017: I've been meaning to update this post for a long time!  Even before I discovered that I was transgender, this song was a part of me.  Deep down inside, I had to have known!  I had such an affinity for this song.  I could just always relate.

Both the original videos that I posted have been blocked.  I'm very disappointed that one of those videos had a very nice explanation of how he came up with this song.  I can't find that video, there is part of the explanation in the video I marked "live explain".


I just so love this and the image it creates:

The streets are wet
The lights have yet
To shed their tawdry luster on the scene

My skirt's too short
My Tights are run
These new heels are killing me

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=576vw_qbqLs
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKk-LsWgK8Y
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huoa2Ylnmz8
YouTube (live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjvKC4cW0ZY
YouTube (live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bJXrhp48kU
YouTUbe (live explain): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S3m921Abtw 
YouTube (live 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5I-Z26l3uY
YouTube (live 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujV12qcOSqQ
YouTube (live 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ov9ibLfSO0
YouTube (live audio): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvA_az4TkME

YouTube (acoustic cover): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMCjjDR9JUs
YouTube (acoustic cover): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyHHXLGXHd4

Original post:

I love music that paints a vivid scene, tells a story, and makes me feel some deep emotion.  This song does all three very well:  "The streets are wet.  The lights have yet to shed their tawdry luster on the scene..."

YouTube (dead) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUEQRiXkA0
YouTube (Live-dead LOL): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh8sy9cyrqQ

"Zigzagging Through Ghostland" by The Radiators

Yet another photo of Tiffany and I in Washington D.C.

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

I decided I wasn't doing the alphabetical thing right.  I have been mostly posting older songs and I really wanted to mix it up more.  So I'm going to restart wit the A's and try to post more of a variety of older and newer.

I also decided to be flexible if I hear some song that I want to post just go ahead and do it.  Since I was listening to this song on my iPod earlier today, I decided I would post it for today's song.  I love the line about "I pray the Lord my soul to keep, but he always gives it back to me".

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNoGH24SQz4
Live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFdk_rRDj54

"The Runway" by The Grass Roots

Me at the Washington D.C. Mall in 2000

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

This was the last song that got on the charts for The Grass Roots.  I love the line "This hotel has hot and cold running heartache in every room".

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mywMl_Xxlbs

"Hypnotized" by Fleetwood Mac

Another photo of Tiffany and I in Washington D.C. in 2000

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

Getting back to the alphabetical thing today.  Here is my favorite Fleetwood Mac song that I didn't even know existed until the late 80's.  How could I have missed such a great song?!?   Thanks to a great radio station that played all sorts of stuff that I had missed when they originally came out, I did finally discover it.

YouTube (fan video?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcbEqVJ-HFw
YouTube (Oregon photos): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZeTlMpnfHk

"The Kaleidoscope Affair" by Swing Out Sister

Tiffany and I in Washington D.C. in 2000

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

First a huge happy birthday wish to Andy Connell!!!

I wanted to post one of the many SOS instrumental songs to celebrate Andy's birthday today, but there are so many I dearly love.   Once again, I had a terrible time choosing just one!  I finally decided on this one because it puts me in that mellow mood and I just get lost in it.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwyAzTvQ1I

"Fortune and Fame" by Naked Eyes

You guessed it, me at the Lincoln Memorial

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

My plan has been to post a Swing Out Sister song on Mondays, it's a good way to start out the week.  But since it's Andy Connell's birthday tomorrow I thought I would post this week's SOS song tomorrow.

I've listened to this Naked Eyes song many times the last few days and I decided to share it today.  "Isn't it strange how fortunes can change.  It's one slip away".

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukljrZEUVf8

"Sunny Sunday" by Joni Mitchell

Chad and I up Parley's Canyon in 2000

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018:  added photo above.

Rachel  update 23-Mar-2017:  added more links on YouTube:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT4MmbiIox4
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p36kUX3ojYE
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBRppmWyWmQ
YouTube (live audio): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIAkFPg-i4

Original post:

I'm taking a break from the alphabetical thing for another Sunday song.  There doesn't appear to be a video on YouTube with a studio version of the song.  But this video from BBC2 is kind of fun.

Live BBC2 in 1994: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KX4tQ6uBV0

And you can hear the original studio version here:

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Joni%2520Mitchell/_/Sunny%2520Sunday?ac=joni%20mitchell%20sunny

"From The Beginning" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer

West side of Food Court at the ZCMI Center Mall

East side of Food Court at the ZCMI Center Mall

Rachel update 25-Dec-2018: Added a couple more photos from the ZCMI Center Mall (see yesterday's post).

Rachel update 24-Feb-2017: one of the links was dead, so I've added some new ones.

I'm thinking back to the days when I was "dragging the 'vard" and wondering what it would have been like if I had realized I was a girl back then.  Of course being transgender (a tranny) back then was really not accepted at all.

I decided some time ago that I can't play the "what if" game.  Regretting the past really does no good.  It was a good time what I came out, almost the same time as Cailyn Jenner was excellent timing.  Having someone with high visibility do the same thing was very good for me.

OMG!  I was just looking up Caitlyn and she has denounced Trump's rescinding the transgender bathroom policy!  That is AWESOME!  I will have to write about this in my blog post for today, 24-Feb-2017 the day I'm writing this update.

The alternate version is kinda fun.  At first I though perhaps they had just added a little reverb and maybe boosted the bass.  But the instrumental part (starting at about 7:20) at the end is significantly different

YouTube (topic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1tq0e10U4c
YouTube (pictures): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKI0d6TMlhM
YouTube (album): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47S-lRwoK7c
YouTube (lyrics): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3epPMa5rq0U
YouTube (alternate): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWWT_EUvl70&t=4m14s
YouTube (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570W6DKg_Oo

Original post:

It was easy to make the selection for "E" today.  I've loved this song for almost 40 years.  I still remember listening to it while we were "dragging the 'vard".  Still love it to this day and still play it over and over.

YouTube (dead): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBvGZP4srZA
Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=570W6DKg_Oo

"Hanging on a Heart Attack" by Device

Going into the food court at the old ZCMI Center Mall

Rachel Update 25-Dec-2018: Added photos from the old ZCMI Center Food Court and since the original link is dead, added some new links.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqED_NN5o3Y
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKvFPoPfcRE
YouTube: (Live TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EasirwBlClU
YouTube (Topic-Album): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqa8nx6OCGs

Original post:

I was having a terrible time trying to decide what song to pick every day.  And then I noticed that I had put up Ambrosia on Tuesday, BTO on Wednesday, and I was thinking about Christopher Cross yesterday.  Then it hit me that those were ABC, so I thought I would try to go through the alphabet for a while.

But picking a "D" was still difficult.  There are several songs by Dido that I dearly love.  But I got "caught up in the music and the space you save" and chose this one.  :)

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kykts8xH8q4

"Hunger" by Christopher Cross

Photos taken when SueZQ and I were in San Francisco in 1999

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018: added photos above.

Rachel  update 14-Feb-2017:

Funny it worked out that I'm planning to tweet (RachelTransSLC) this post today, Valentine's Day.  The lyrics to this song feel especially relevant today:

Out on this island, far from the cage most will know
Nothing was sacred, no other footprints in the snow
You took me down girl, down to a place where I don't go
Now I hunger for you, baby I hunger for you

The trace of you on my fingers, laughs at the rain
Opiate angel, the Jones in my vein
Something so desperate inside, something I just can't explain
Baby I hunger for you...  baby I hunger for you

Holding on to something pure
Holding on to something pure

Out on this island, the wind in my soul is never still
This weathered asylum, just can't keep out the chill
I'm scared that I'll find you, I'm scared even more I never will
Baby I hunger for you...  baby I hunger for you

I hunger...

They describe that feeling so perfectly!  I especially love the line "I'm scared that I'll find you, I'm scared even more I never will".   Yeah...

Original post:

I just discovered this song in the past couple of years, but it instantly became one of my favorites.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkmrMWlOFco

"Lookin' Out For #1" by Bachman Turner Overdrive

My Buick Gran Sport Stage 1 in the left lane

Rachel  update 26-Dec-2018: Added photo above.

Rachel  update 13-Feb-2017: Just added a few more links and made links to Wikipedia for the car and tape:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4_0Pt3HAR8
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_1bn9xwVfA
YouTube (live TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMJ3AueOmk
YouTube (live 20??): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtVV-VFkG0
YouTube (Guess Who?): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ePwfUh9x-g

Original post: 

This song has some great memories for me.  I first heard it while I was helping my best friend sand the body of his '69 Mercury Cougar.  Later I remember playing it on an 8-Track to test an amplifier I had just built.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woN3s7qeEDo

There are also many live versions on YouTube, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ePwfUh9x-g

"Apothecary" by Ambrosia

This was my #1 favorite song for many years, it is still one of my top favorites.

Rachel update 12-Feb-2017: Just an extra comment that I have probably listened to this song more than any other song ever.  For decades after it was released in 1978, this song was my go-to song for...  I don't know... working through how much I hated myself then.  The operative line being "How can I do this to me?".

I remember talking to my therapist in the 90's about why I liked it, but then added "... or maybe it just has a great piano riff".  LOL

I don't know how to explain how weird Gender Dysphoria is to a cisgender person.  But now I'm happier than I've ever been.  I'm very proud to be a trans-woman or perhaps more accurately a transsexual.

Since I added a really old photo (circa 1999) of me in yesterday's (18-July-2011) post. I thought I would add a recent photo (taken 8-Feb-2017) for contrast:

Rachel update 5-Aug-2015: here we are 4 years later and there are several videos for this song on YouTube.  Score!!!

And there is even a live version that's amazing!  That is SO cool after all these years!

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSAYxqoDIZg
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgF36PMIa6w
YouTube (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ttF-kPvBxc

Original post:

Unfortunately, I cannot find this song on YouTube or Last.fm.  I guess it had to happen sooner or later because so many of my favorite songs are obscure.  :(

I found the lyrics on MusicBuzzer.com: http://www.musicbuzzer.com/ambrosia/apothecary-song.html but the YouTube video it links to is wrong.

You can download the MP3 from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Apothecary-Album-Version/dp/B001OGPTGO/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1311100665&sr=1-1

"The Vital Thing" by Swing Out Sister

Rachel  update 11-Feb-2017:  Just thinking how funny life is!  When I made this post over five and a half years ago, I had NO clue I would one day own and wear a pair of shoes with heels that were "spiking and five inch".  LOL!

Just listening to this song for like the bazillionth time right now and it still literally sends chills down my spine.  The saxophone is just so sexy and the little snippets like:  "The heel was the vital thing you see.  The heel was... had to be spiking and five inch..."  It's so ethereal and sensual!

To Corrine and Andy and all the folks who have helped and worked with you, I can never thank you enough for all of the beautiful and wonderful music you have created!  You have made an incredible difference in my life!

The words and music you have written, have touched me so deeply and brought me so much joy.  In addition, the trips I made to San Francisco to see you live at Bimbo's 365 Club were some of the best trips of my life.  I love you!

YouTube (Topic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYggsWD_zVQ
YouTube (Topic-Take B): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u3G7ffWo6I
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RyW0k0OgiA
YouTube (Take B): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K5Q49FhZVU
YouTube (Take B): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2NSjHYwQIA

Original post:

Another wonderful Swing Out Sister song. This song was the inspiration for the name of this blog, because music is my vital thing.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOxiisSVc7I

"Sunday Afternoons" by Vanessa Daou

Randy and Gaylen standing by my cars at Bonneville Raceway 

Rachel update 26-Dec-2018: added photo above.

Update 5-aug-2015: corrected the title, I mistakenly left the 's' off the end of "Afternoon".

A perfect song for Sunday Afternoon.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucazv_2snaw

"Runaway" by Freur

Main Street in Salt Lake City - many years ago

Rachel update 26-Dec-2018: Came across some photos I scanned in on an old hard drive and added them above.  I think they were taken on Main Street in Salt Lake City.

Rachel update 7-Feb-2017: I originally missed posting this on the 16th and I didn't know how to mess with the date back then.  I'm going to mess with the date now so it appears on the right day.  Adding some more links too!  The "live" version is really cool...

YouTube (Topic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUhTtVMr_fk
YouTube (12"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzvLtBeXWDg
YouTube (live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cZrGl1vjQc

Additional note: Some members of Freur later formed the band Underworld.

Original post:

This song came on my iPod yesterday and decided I should post it, so I didn't forget about it. But then I forgot to post it anyway... :(

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzvLtBeXWDg

"A Perfect Day to Chase Tornados" by Jim White

State Street in Salt Lake City?

Rachel update 26-Dec-2018: Came across some photos I scanned in on an old hard drive and added them above.  I think they were taken on State Street in Salt Lake City.

---

Rachel update 6-Feb-2017: I found some more interesting videos for this song on YouTube.  I just love the "Radio Silence" video where he talks about this song and how it was one of the songs he wrote because he was suicidal and they were a desperate attempt to "convince himself to stay here on this planet".  After the song he also recounts a story about a lesbian couple that came up after a show and talked to him about this song and how it helped them.

I remember I instantly connected to this song the first time I heard it.  Maybe I picked up on the feeling of being depressed and suicidal.  I could certainly related to that.  I was depressed and suicidal much of my life.

He also talked about how this song was therapy, that "even though it doesn't make any sense (at the time) to continue as a human being" ... "keep going, what you're afraid of in life" ...  run toward it rather than away from it".

When I realized I was a woman, I was terrified to reveal that to the world. It didn't make a lot of sense to enter into all the drama that would almost certainly cause.  But it finally came down to the realization I had to do it anyway.  I just had to run right at it.

In the end it was absolutely the right thing to do.  I've said it many times now in my blogs, being transgender is the best thing that ever happened to me and I had no idea it was possible to be this happy.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHJdeaAgO8
YouTube (Radio Silence): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjUS5byTQRA
YouTube (live): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Df-aepfOAs

Original post for 15-July-2011:

I found this song on a CMJ disc years ago and fell in love with it. It is from the album "Wrong Eyed Jesus". I was kind of surprised that it showed up on Last.fm and YouTube, but there it is.

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Jim%2520White/_/A%2520Perfect%2520Day%2520to%2520Chase%2520Tornados

YouTube (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziZbNuZoX0Y

"Things Have Changed" by Bob Dylan

Me at the Women's March in Las Vegas on 21-Jan-2018

Rachel update 27-Apr-2018: I've decided to add some photos from the present time into these old blog posts to make them more interesting.

Original Post:

This is another song that I can listen to over and over and I still want to hear it again.  The lyrics are so intriguing.  "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie."

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9EKqQWPjyo

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan/Things+Have+Changed/Things+Have+Changed

"Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye

Me around 1995 flipping (in jest) my roommate Debra off

Rachel update 27-Apr-2018: I've decided to add some photos from the present time into these old blog posts to make them more interesting.

This photo was taken in the apartment at 54 Elizabeth St.  Funny, I was driving down 2nd South today and I was looking at the condos they are building south of the Salt Palace, thinking there was a little park in that spot before.

It was the park I sat and talked with Debra just before she had the accident on 4th South and 9th West and crashed her car into the flower shop that used to be on the southwest corner.  I still remember that day it was Sept. 21st, 1996.

Original Post:

To quote Joni Mitchell in her "Artist's Choice" CD: "It excites me from the downbeat - the way the drums roll in - the suspense - the approaching storm of it".

Like Joni Mitchell I can play this track over and over and still want to listen to it again.

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Marvin+Gaye/Trouble+Man/Trouble%2BMan%2B%2528Trouble%2BMan%252FSoundtrack%2BVersion%2529

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usl-h5f-8W0

Lyrics.com: http://www.lyrics.com/trouble-man-lyrics-joni-mitchell.html

"Taxi Town" by Swing Out Sister

Me from around 1998

Rachel update 7-Jul-2018:

Found some old photos from around Halloween 1977 into 1998.  The roll of film was developed 16-Mar-1998.  Funny my hair is about that long again now.

Original Post:

"Taxi Town" is the B-side to "Where In The World".  It is tied with "After Hours" (yesterday's song) for my #1 favorite song of all time.

The music sets the perfect mood and the lyrics are genius.  "Sinister in the silence it's keeping.  There's no escaping, when you don't know what youre running from."   It paints such a vivid scene for me.

"Taxi Town" isn't on last.fm but I did find it on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Yd2Q3gLZg

"After Hours" by Swing Out Sister

Me in 2017 - It's crazy to think my hair is naturally this curly

Rachel update 27-Apr-2018: I've decided to add some photos from the present time into these old blog posts to make them more interesting.

This photo was taken in the Spring of 2017 by my wonderful friend, Cat Palmer, for a Transgender art project she did.  She is an amazing photographer, I highly recommend her:

Cat Palmer Photography: http://www.catpalmer.com

Rachel update 31-Jan-2017: I've been thinking the last few days maybe I will start tweeting links to my blog posts.  Then I was looking through all of the tweets I've gotten the last few days and got even more depressed.

I started thinking it would be stupid to post silly (and really lame) tweets about music, with all the horrific things going on right now.  But on the other hand, maybe it would be good.  Because music is what has carried me through all the good times AND ESPECIALLY the bad times.  These songs are the soundtrack of my life!

Anyway, this is my very first post a few months after I had been diagnosed with MS and then lost my job because of the issues I had from the MS.  As I say in the blog header I tried for years to make a list of my favorite songs.  It never worked.  So on this day in 2011 it occurred to me I would simply pick a song and post it to a blog every day and create a list that day.

With everything happening in life I've missed days that I hope to go back and fill in.  But as of today I have over 1,400 songs posted and if I am able to fill in all of them them there will be over 2,000 by this date (31-Jan-2017).

Anyway, this song is definitely one of the songs that really carried me through.  It is like a 5 minute escape...

YouTube (Topic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaaqvZ9h9bE
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bnyq_6_a8
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rah4nX6SLw
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaZCAcTkBQI


My original post for 11-Jul-2011:

This song is tied with another Swing Out Sister song for my #1 favorite song of all time. It sets the perfect mood for me. When I'm listening to it, it is like I'm in another space and time.

Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/music/Swing+Out+Sister/_/After+Hours

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9EgUz3qP2k