More Songs

I hit a nice milestone on Saturday, May 2: I am caught up on working up the songs in the list on my phone! Yay! And on the day after I got the MMT review/summary posted! 2x yay!

I used to keep lots of lists in my pocket exocortex iPhone. But then I would forget what lists I had. So I started keeping 1 list. I create a new 1 on January 1, so the current active list is named "2020" (duh). I started putting month names in at the beginning of the month in ALL CAPS.

80% of what's in the list is songs to be worked up. Everything else, I have started placing a category name after the entry, like "movie" or "music group".

A new song, which is not already in my songbook - the OnSong app on my iPad - can come from a variety of sources:

• it can come up on my "hit parade" - the music that is always playing in my head - and I'm like "Oh, that's a good song, I should do it."
• 1 of my bandmates says they want to play it.
• someone at a gig or a jam requests it.
• someone else at a jam calls the song and I don't totally hate it.
• the house band at a jam, in which I might be called to fill in, plays it.
• I hear it on the radio, TV, etc. and go, "That's not a bad song, it goes in the list."
• I kept reading, prolly in the Rolling Stone daily email newsletter, where everyone and their brother was posting their recording of "In My Room" for the pandemic. So it went in the list. Not particularly a fun song to play.

Last winter, on January 4, 2019 I was in a bicycle collision with my wife and I went down. I was like, "OK, that wasn't too bad, a few scrapes." - and then I noticed that I could not move the tip of my left ring finger. I had popped the tendons, giving myself a "mallet finger".

I was very relieved when, after 10 weeks with the finger splinted, the tendon did reattach itself, and I regained close to 100% of the finger's function. Really not bad for 67 years old.

During the 10 weeks in the splint, I could not play guitar. Actually, after the swelling on my left pinky finger went down to where I could fit a steel slide on it, I practiced slide guitar every day for 9 weeks. I don't suck quite as much at slide as I used to. The main thing I learned, and put into muscle memory, was that your right hand has to deaden the strings you aren't playing.

But as soon as my finger healed, I went back to regular guitar - chords, FTW! Eat your hearts out, sax players! I've only played slide maybe 2x since then.

While I couldn't play chords, songs were going onto the list, but they weren't coming off. The last step of working up a song is playing it, and I couldn't do that. So I got months behind.

Hunkering down from the pandemic has its up side. Starting March 28, I started taking 2-5 songs off the list per day, and, as mentioned, finished Saturday, May 2. 93 more songs.

The 1st 3 are from Coral Stone Band practice March 12. I played at the Beach Box jam Sunday, March 15; Coral Stone Band (sans moi) played there Monday, March 16; our gig Tuesday March 17 at North Naples Country Club was cancelled, as were all gigs thereafter - the pandemic had arrived.

So here's the 93 new songs, in the order they were added.

1. mony mony by tommie james & the shondells in E
2. hang on sloopy by the mccoys in E
3. land of 1000 dances by wilson pickett in A
4. maniac by michael sembello in Bm
5. don’t leave me this way by thelma houston in Am
6. counting blue cars by dishwalla in Am
7. suffragette city by david bowie in A
8. kashmir by led zeppelin in D
9. josephine by the wallflowers in A
10. unchained melody by the righteous brothers in G
11. waiting on the world to change by john mayer in D
12. blue and lonesome by stones; memphis slim; little walter in Dm
13. in spite of ourselves by john prine; iris dement in C
14. put your lights on by santana in Am
15. long tall texan by murry kellum; lyle lovett in C
16. learning to fly by tom petty in C
17. cheap sunglasses by zz top in G
18. oh well by fleetwood mac; joe walsh in E
19. lean on me by bill withers in C
20. just the two of us by bill withers; grover washington jr in Em
21. keep on smilin’ by wet willie in G
22. stuck on stupid by ronnie baker brooks in A
23. jungle boogie by kool & the gang in G
24. rock and roll woman by buffalo springfield in D
25. too many dirty dishes by albert collins; tab benoit in G
26. forever man by eric clapton in Bm
27. i can’t stand it by eric clapton in Am
28. it makes no difference by the band in G
29. eminence front by the who; pete townsend in Fm
30. dear john by norah jones; ryan adams in F
31. back to louisiana by delbert mcclinton in C
32. maybe by alison krauss in C
33. i want a new drug by huey lewis & the news in A
34. the power of love by huey lewis & the news in C
35. i can see clearly now by johnny nash; jimmy cliff in A
36. you don’t love me by allman brothers in A
37. one of these nights by eagles in Em
38. to love somebody by the beegees in G
39. rye whiskey by tex ritter; woody guthrie in G
40. beautiful boy (darling boy) by john lennon; yoko ono in D
41. big boss man by grateful dead; elvis presley in G
42. the same love that made me laugh by bill withers in Dm
43. tuff enuff by the fabulous thunderbirds in B
44. she’s got everything by the kinks in G
45. she caught the katy by the blues brothers; taj mahal in A
46. victoria by the kinks in G
47. can’t take my eyes off of you by frankie valli in D
48. nite owl by dukays; gene chandler in A
49. riot in cell block no. 9 by the blues brothers; the coasters; johnny winter in G
50. betcha by golly wow by the stylistics; prince in D
51. running on empty by jackson browne in G
52. dancing in the dark by bruce springsteen in G
53. beyond the sea by bobby darin in F
54. god bless america by irving berlin in G
55. north to alaska by johnny horron in C
56. when it’s springtime in alaska it’s 40 below by johnny cash; johnny horton in A
57. whispering pines by the band in A
58. porcelain by red hot chili peppers in A
59. politician by cream in C#
60. the first time ever i saw your face by roberta flack in G
61. i ain’t gonna stand for it by stevie wonder in A
62. misty by johnny mathis; ella fitzgerald in D
63. get back by the beatles in A
64. sweet emotion by aerosmith in A
65. have i told you lately by van morrison in E
66. fly me to the moon by frank sinatra in C
67. american girl by tom petty in D
68. breezing by george benson in D
69. feeling you by omar; stevie wonder in Ebm
70. the joker by steve miller in G
71. you oughta know by alanis morissette in F#
72. get down tonight by k.c. & the sunshine band in F
73. good man gone by coco montoya in D
74. i will always love you by dolly parton; whitney houston in C
75. this is how we do it by montell jordan in Em
76. give it to me baby by rick james in C#m7
77. that’s all right, mama by elvis presley; the beatles in E
78. a long december by counting crows in G
79. i don’t mind the waiting by omar in Bb
80. love rollercoaster by ohio players in A
81. moonlight feels right by starbuck in Em
82. you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling by the righteous brothers; hall & oates in C
83. i’ve just seen a face by the beatles in G
84. helpless by csny in D
85. on my own by patti labelle; michael mcdonald; burt bacharach in G
86. i knew you when by billy joe royal in C
87. never ending song of love by delaney & bonnie in C
88. under the bridge by red hot chili peppers in E
89. i won’t dance by fred astaire; frank sinatra; ella fitzgerald; jerome kern in G
90. dream a little dream of me by the mamas & the papas in G
91. baby (1971) by os mutantes in E
92. in my room by the beach boys in G
93. let’s face the music and dance by irving berlin; fred astaire in Am