Chick. . .

 . . . bull?

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage'" says Chick-Fil-A's Dan Cathy.

First, what God and what judgement are we talking about here?  Second, where or in what direction would a fool shake his fist in order to express this silly sentiment?  Third, this imaginary being to whom he is expressing this anger actually holds an opinion about what the word 'marriage' represents which holds WHAT relevance?

It's only a matter of time before opinions like Cathy's will be totally irrelevant, part of a tiny minority, no longer newsworthy, and dismissable as those of a mere crank.

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
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Hear Ye. . .

. . . Hear Ye!!

This is the Day. . . April 2, 2013

My new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music release BLACK & WHITE then BACK is now available at www.cdbaby.com.  The first exclusively solo acoustic piano music release since 2008's critically acclaimed 'Put A Finger On It'. 

BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges- life events that we have all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of an old song you remember from childhood, have flashes from your first date with that special person, recall the evocative aromas from the kitchen while visiting your grandmother, remember your favorite summer vacation . . . or maybe even the first time you fell in love.

BLACK & WHITE then BACK is a digital download-only release brought to you by Boskey Dell & Sylvan Glade Records and www.cdbaby.com.

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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April. . .

 

. . . second. . . 

Coming April 2, 2013
to http://www.cdbaby.com

Creative Musician Ray Jozwiak's new, digital-download only, solo, instrumental piano music release BLACK & WHITE then BACK transports you to aural locales inhabited by emotions, sentiments, memories, hopes, joys and challenges we've all encountered. You may even hear a snippet of a song you remember from childhood, have flashes of your first date, recall aromas from the kitchen when you visited your grandmother, remember your favorite summer vacation or when you fell in love.

BLACK & WHITE then BACK will be available through digital distribution only (www.cdbaby. com).

"RAY JOZWIAK is back with his gonzo piano, boldly taking us to places no-one has gone before, not even him!  (Rod Deacey, Board Member of the Frederick Acoustic Musicians Enterprise (FAME), Musician, Performer, Writer, Poet, Organizer, Emcee, Bluesman 11/20/11)

". . . Anywhere he dabbles along the piano keys, he produces sonic glitz forming impressionistic images. . . " (Susan Frances, cdreview.com)

". . . He’s got some terrific ideas there and an unusual approach to rhythm and song structure. These are fantastic assets and more than one of his songs could find tons of fans who appreciate music which isn’t the same ol’ same ol’ all the time. . . "  (Paul Sedkowski, Fairplayformusic.com)

What do YOU think?

http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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Marketing. . .

. . . at it's worst. . .

To my dearest love
Or current resident
Sending you these lines
To show you how much I care
How can I convey
To you this sentiment
You're the one for me
My dearest
Please insert your name on the dotted line_ _ _ _ _

There's no obligation
There's no purchase required
There are over five thousand
Who are qualified
And eligible to win the grand prize
Rules and regulations
Must be read carefully
Entries must be postmarked by the thirtieth
At quarter to three

To my dearest love
Or current resident
Sending you these lines
To show you how much I care
How can I convey
To you this sentiment
You're the one for me
My dearest
Please insert your name on the dotted line_ _ _ _ _


Once I made a solemn
Vow to someone I knew
And I thought her vow was also solemn too
But I thought with my heart
And didn't see it through
Not that any lesson
Of great value has been learned
Such experience should teach us something good
Or maybe I enjoy getting burned

It's not a weakness to be
Predisposed toward sharing
I might survive all alone
But I'm just not that daring
Desperate men will seek desperate measures
to get what they think that they need

To my dearest love
Or current resident
Sending you these lines
To show you how much I care
How can I convey
To you this sentiment
You're the one for me

My dearest
Please insert your name on the dotted line_ _ _ _ _


You're the one for me

My dearest
Please insert your name on the dotted line_ _ _ _ _



The Dotted Line
©1997 Raymond M. Jozwiak




What do YOU think?
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newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

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Can you explain. . .

. . . the meaning of this bumper sticker:

"GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS ESPECIALLY OUR SNIPERS"
My first thought is the same as Lt. Dan's first thought below. But Lt. Dan obviously gave it much more benefit of doubt than I.

Following is from a blog called, "The Diary of Lt. Dan"
". . . this whole "God Bless Our Troops" thing. Bumperstickers abound that contain some version of this sentiment. I saw one today that said "God Bless Our Troops. Especially Our Snipers." When I saw that I thought, "What a wierd thing to wish for." And then I started thinking about how it was meant. The obvious and ugliest meaning is the "Bless them that they can kill a lot of our enemies from far away without being noticed so they can come back home safe." To me, that doesn't seem like something God would be particularly fond of, since the poor sap at the business end of the .50 is one of His children, too.

Another meaning I thought of was "Bless them so that they will be safe, since my son is a sniper and I don't want him to die." This version seems to be more allong the lines of what God might be interested in, since it is about saving life, rather than taking it. However, the sniper in question is at war, and is out to kill other people, so in a larger sense, him getting killed is (while tragic) only fair. You can hardly be a soldier who does his job and expect the soldiers on the other side to not do theirs, now can you?

The last meaning I thought of was this one, but I doubt highly that this is what the author of the bumper sticker meant: "Bless our snipers so that they won't be able to find any enemies to kill from any kind of distance, since all of the enemy soldiers will have laid their weapons down and made peace so that we don't have to kill anyone anymore so everyone can go home to their families and live happy, peaceful, productive lives." Now that is a sentiment I think God would be completely on board with. . . "

Although I cannot agree with the concept of a theistic, invasive "God", I like the Lt.'s sentiments. But then, Lt. Dan is more highly evolved than many earthlings.

What do YOU think?
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Academically speaking. . .

. . .Why is WHATSHERNAME songwriting at it's best?

Hard to believe, but this song is over forty (count em, 40) years old! I remember when I first heard it. Not where I was, what I was doing. But really HEARING the song, and (even in my innocent youth- I was about 12) being very moved. And to be moved by such an 'adult' experience, I, even in my youthful innocence, had sincere appreciation for the skillfully conceived and constructed piece of music/lyrics that I had just experienced.

WHATSHERNAME (see my post of May 9th) embodies so much of what I strive to achieve in my songwriting. It captures a real human sentiment accurately and without preachiness, posturing or pretense. (Guess I should call that the three Ps???) A complex life situation is encapsulated in simplicity of presentation, something that on the surface seems (and sounds) easy, but which is, in fact, very difficult to accomplish. Thus is the ART.

The easy, swinging, lounge-type, yet very conversational rhythm belies the doubt and uncertainty that the speaking character is soon to reveal as the two old friends meet, presumably in a bar. Our leading man is very polite, inquiring about his friend's family, possibly mutual friends, and revealingly tells him, "Who me? Oh I'm great." And then under the guise of inquiring ". . . for a friend", our hero gets to the point. "Do you remember. . . a girl that I brought here, before I got married a couple of times at the end. . . " The same relative chord pattern, this too complex while sounding 'easy', accompanies the verse as the tempo decreases and the drama increases leading into the chorus.

The irony in the chorus is brilliantly expressed.
"Whatshername? She hardly knew me;
Now her name means something to me.
I wonder if she ever got over me?"
He can't remember her name (or CAN he?) but he's inquiring of her "for a friend" and he's wondering if SHE ever got over HIM!
(See what I mean by brilliance?)

Then, the crux of the story, our hero says,
"Anyway I should be flattered
For yesterday at least I mattered
Where did it go?"
'For yesterday, at least I MATTERED'

A 'mid-life' crisis probably. A universal sentiment, or doubt at least.

A little rationalization, '. . . all things considered, I've done fairly well. . . ' He confirms his love for his wife and then, during the second chorus indulges in his fantasy once more and concludes.

One gets the feeling that he's not gonna jump off a bridge, he probably won't get drunk that night and continue reminiscing. He'll stay with Ruth and the kids, probably retire to Florida eventually. But one does get the feeling that the memories of his old 'love' will return on a regular basis, as sometimes those memories do.

Such is life.
Wish I could write a song like that!
Cheers Paul! (Noel)

WHATSHERNAME
Stookey/Dixon/Kniss- Neworld Media Music Publishers ASCAP
(from Album 1700 by Peter, Paul and Mary)


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ANOTHER SHOT
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