I’ve been trying to remember the name of the angelic singer my dad always talked about. It’s been months and I haven’t been able to summon her. I resigned myself to never knowing because I can’t ask him anymore.
It was Eva Cassidy. You were right to recommend the tissues!! Thank you for writing this.
Also, her rendition of “Fields of Gold” is almost unbearably beautiful.
Aww. So glad her name came to you in this post. I first heard Fields of Gold when Michelle Kwan skated to it. She didn’t win gold but skated this final program perfectly and she was sobbing at the end. https://youtu.be/bKi_wHwImL0
In the middle of a bout of diverticulitis, I burst out laughing at the colonoscopy list. Hilariously apt. And TBH, when husband and self have our regular colonoscopies, the minute the solution begins to work, for some unknown reason, we start to laugh. Though by the end and before we go to the hospital, there's momentary panic that we may not be 'clean' enough.
When next I go into hospital (which may be a bowel re-section ), I'm taking that list with me!
PS: Our gastroenterologist takes stills as he works and always gives them to us with his report. Very pretty it is too...
My ma just had diverticulitis. Hope yours is healing. The pre-mix is the worst part of the colonoscopy. Hubby and I also have our inside jokes. It’s a must-laugh situation.
I heal and then get another bout, heal and so forth. My specialist thinks it's time for a resection before the worst happens. But this voice keeps whispering in my ear, when in doubt stay out.
I was very particular about the music that was playing when I gave birth to my children. Interestingly, I have not been able to listen to those songs since because the emotion they bring up is so intense. Amazing yes but just not the everyday kind of feeling good, more like a raw-opening- into-life type of sensation. I will go right back there with the first few strains.
I love that you included music for everything and also the music of nature! Well done.
Also Alex’s newsletter about the Pina Colada song was hilarious!
Oh I can imagine— the music you chose during a life-giving moment. Of course it can’t be played again. I want to know more. There’s an essay in there. Ie— what happened when you heard the song at a wedding or in the mall??
One time, when I was in public, I remember having a visceral response in my gut and then sort of tuning out the music. I played the songs (Enya! It was the late 90's so always Enya) in private and it felt like intense joy/pain. 'The future is so bright I gotta wear shades' type of joy/pain. Who sang that song? Corey Hart perhaps?
It's one of the few times I felt I had to turn away from the joy the songs invoked because it hurt too much. Whew, that's hard to explain. Maybe you can write about it for me?!
I love a mixed tape. I made one in high school of Bowie songs so good it got stolen (and I wasn't bright enough to have copied the song list; it was done on instinct, LPs to cassette -- you had to have your timing on point!). I have a current playlist on my iPhone that's over 24 hours long, and there are more songs I need to add to it. I have one of love songs, one for the gym (but ended my membership during COVID so it will need to be repurposed), for long drives, but I was on so much Versed and Fentanyl for my colonoscopy, there was no way to focus on music. I don't do Spotify or Apple Music. Screw the algorithm, I curate my own. (And, while I wanted it to be the US Festival, Rick Springfield popped my concert cherry.) Fun post, CK! xo
Because of all of my allergies, we have to go through everything they're giving me. The Versed was to knock me out and the Fentanyl was for the pain. I'm like, "I really need all that?" The doctor (a lovely lady) just nodded. Versed just makes me a zombie for a full 24. The Fentanyl must've worked because I didn't feel like I had a camera and other accoutrements up back end. I can think of better ways to spend a day off, though. And, yes, the Bowie tape theft broke my heart. xo
I always loved making mixtapes, and I still keep one cassette recorder/player nearby so I can play a tape when I find an old one in a drawer somewhere. I still have a problem with "shuffle mode" on music players or Spotify, since song order matters!
Side note: At each colonoscopy appointment, I ask the doctor if I can have a copy of the video, and he always refuses. Someday I'll get one and then I can produce a soundtrack!
May 17, 2023·edited May 17, 2023Liked by Good Humor by CK Steefel
Nice! I'm likely aging myself but getting older does that! When I was in college it was all the rage to make party mix tapes on a VCR! It was an engineering school so it seemed logical we were surrounded by people all trying to improvve something. Haha. The quality of the music was basically driven by how much tape there was so sound was "way better" than a cassette. When I got into the real world and had a party in my first apartment, I imagine lots of the people just thought I was weird. I love this post because I can't imagine anything not being accompanied by music. Almost from the beginning in my Substack I always included a song or two. I find I am either thinking about or actually listening to music when I am writing anyhow. I LOVE looking back on the songs I've linked in my Substack. Because of you, I opened my Substack music archive (alphabetical...surprise surprise). Whenever I open it I end up listening to one of my favorite artists (Aaron ?). https://youtu.be/zEqiKpQte4c -- Your writing is FUN! I agree with you about a song for EVERY OCCASION even a colonoscopy
Love Neville. So funny about the video playlist. I remember videos fondly. I still miss Blockbuster. You’re similar to my hubby in that he would have music playing 24/7. I’m the one who needs silence now and then.
Music is the one thing that can accompany life for me. No TV or news in background. I enjoy both but not if doing something else. I have a link on my homepage to all my Substack Music. Could be no one opens it besides me
This brought back a mixtape memory from 1987-88 with Whitney Houston’s I wanna dance with somebody!
Aww. We just watched the movie about her life. She was one of a kind.
This is AMAZING! Now I want one for cleaning up pet vomit.
That's a good one. Eminem has a song called Puke. 😂
I’ve been trying to remember the name of the angelic singer my dad always talked about. It’s been months and I haven’t been able to summon her. I resigned myself to never knowing because I can’t ask him anymore.
It was Eva Cassidy. You were right to recommend the tissues!! Thank you for writing this.
Also, her rendition of “Fields of Gold” is almost unbearably beautiful.
Aww. So glad her name came to you in this post. I first heard Fields of Gold when Michelle Kwan skated to it. She didn’t win gold but skated this final program perfectly and she was sobbing at the end. https://youtu.be/bKi_wHwImL0
Wow!! I’m going to check that out!
In the middle of a bout of diverticulitis, I burst out laughing at the colonoscopy list. Hilariously apt. And TBH, when husband and self have our regular colonoscopies, the minute the solution begins to work, for some unknown reason, we start to laugh. Though by the end and before we go to the hospital, there's momentary panic that we may not be 'clean' enough.
When next I go into hospital (which may be a bowel re-section ), I'm taking that list with me!
PS: Our gastroenterologist takes stills as he works and always gives them to us with his report. Very pretty it is too...
My ma just had diverticulitis. Hope yours is healing. The pre-mix is the worst part of the colonoscopy. Hubby and I also have our inside jokes. It’s a must-laugh situation.
I heal and then get another bout, heal and so forth. My specialist thinks it's time for a resection before the worst happens. But this voice keeps whispering in my ear, when in doubt stay out.
That intuition is real. You’re probably already eating the right foods. Sending healing prayers, manifesting…
I was very particular about the music that was playing when I gave birth to my children. Interestingly, I have not been able to listen to those songs since because the emotion they bring up is so intense. Amazing yes but just not the everyday kind of feeling good, more like a raw-opening- into-life type of sensation. I will go right back there with the first few strains.
I love that you included music for everything and also the music of nature! Well done.
Also Alex’s newsletter about the Pina Colada song was hilarious!
Oh I can imagine— the music you chose during a life-giving moment. Of course it can’t be played again. I want to know more. There’s an essay in there. Ie— what happened when you heard the song at a wedding or in the mall??
Yes, Alex is superbly funny.
One time, when I was in public, I remember having a visceral response in my gut and then sort of tuning out the music. I played the songs (Enya! It was the late 90's so always Enya) in private and it felt like intense joy/pain. 'The future is so bright I gotta wear shades' type of joy/pain. Who sang that song? Corey Hart perhaps?
It's one of the few times I felt I had to turn away from the joy the songs invoked because it hurt too much. Whew, that's hard to explain. Maybe you can write about it for me?!
Oh Enya. The pain is real. I heard Kate Bush is making a comeback. There’s definitely an expanded essay in there.
I love a mixed tape. I made one in high school of Bowie songs so good it got stolen (and I wasn't bright enough to have copied the song list; it was done on instinct, LPs to cassette -- you had to have your timing on point!). I have a current playlist on my iPhone that's over 24 hours long, and there are more songs I need to add to it. I have one of love songs, one for the gym (but ended my membership during COVID so it will need to be repurposed), for long drives, but I was on so much Versed and Fentanyl for my colonoscopy, there was no way to focus on music. I don't do Spotify or Apple Music. Screw the algorithm, I curate my own. (And, while I wanted it to be the US Festival, Rick Springfield popped my concert cherry.) Fun post, CK! xo
Haha. Rick Springfield!! Haha.
Regarding versed and fentanyl- shiiiiit. Why those drugs?
So funny about a cassette being stolen because the playlist was so good. You must have been devastated. Bowie! ❤️
Because of all of my allergies, we have to go through everything they're giving me. The Versed was to knock me out and the Fentanyl was for the pain. I'm like, "I really need all that?" The doctor (a lovely lady) just nodded. Versed just makes me a zombie for a full 24. The Fentanyl must've worked because I didn't feel like I had a camera and other accoutrements up back end. I can think of better ways to spend a day off, though. And, yes, the Bowie tape theft broke my heart. xo
I always loved making mixtapes, and I still keep one cassette recorder/player nearby so I can play a tape when I find an old one in a drawer somewhere. I still have a problem with "shuffle mode" on music players or Spotify, since song order matters!
Side note: At each colonoscopy appointment, I ask the doctor if I can have a copy of the video, and he always refuses. Someday I'll get one and then I can produce a soundtrack!
Now that would be fab. A playlist for the actual video. 🤣
We start with Dylan’s “Watching The River Flow”
Nice! I'm likely aging myself but getting older does that! When I was in college it was all the rage to make party mix tapes on a VCR! It was an engineering school so it seemed logical we were surrounded by people all trying to improvve something. Haha. The quality of the music was basically driven by how much tape there was so sound was "way better" than a cassette. When I got into the real world and had a party in my first apartment, I imagine lots of the people just thought I was weird. I love this post because I can't imagine anything not being accompanied by music. Almost from the beginning in my Substack I always included a song or two. I find I am either thinking about or actually listening to music when I am writing anyhow. I LOVE looking back on the songs I've linked in my Substack. Because of you, I opened my Substack music archive (alphabetical...surprise surprise). Whenever I open it I end up listening to one of my favorite artists (Aaron ?). https://youtu.be/zEqiKpQte4c -- Your writing is FUN! I agree with you about a song for EVERY OCCASION even a colonoscopy
Love Neville. So funny about the video playlist. I remember videos fondly. I still miss Blockbuster. You’re similar to my hubby in that he would have music playing 24/7. I’m the one who needs silence now and then.
Music is the one thing that can accompany life for me. No TV or news in background. I enjoy both but not if doing something else. I have a link on my homepage to all my Substack Music. Could be no one opens it besides me
Very fun concept. I bet Zoom and a colonoscopy can share a song.
Haha. Zoom to the toilet.