Robert Cray "Deep In My Soul"

I dashed down to the basement.

Now that I have kids, a wife, and you know, stuff, many of the symbols of bachelorhood have been relegated to the basement.

Like the giant tower of CDs.

It was my kid's birthday party.  So the house and backyard were packed with nearly 20 pre-schoolers, plus their parents (many of whom I only really know from drop-off) and various relatives.

And my wife said, "Can you put on some fun music?"

So I dashed down to the basement and came back up with a 1/2 dozen discs that I had quickly picked off the shelf, assessing that they'd be generally acceptable to the crowd.

That was a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, which meant that it was time to give the house a big clean, since we were having family over.

I found the pile of CDs from my son's party, still next to the stereo.  And seeing the names of the spines made me laugh.

Ray Charles
Al Green
Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish
Otis Redding
James Hunter

What appeals to pre-schoolers, grandparents, Dads forced to take their kids to a birthday party on Saturday who are trying to enjoy themselves by drinking a beer, Moms who are enjoying the company of other Moms who understand their struggles better than their spouses and Grandparents who look at their grandkids and remember when they were the hosts of these chaotic preschool parties?

What appeals to all these groups?

Soul Music.

It cuts across all demographic lines, works for all groups, creates the right mood.

Soul Music makes the party.  Even a preschool one.


I mention this, in part, because Robert Cray has a new album called "In My Soul."  It's his tribute to classic soul music.  And for our Friends of mvyradio Drive, we're giving folks a copy of the record if they donate $100 to support our non-commercial station.  Think about making that donation, and getting your own disc of music to make your party just right.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Robert Cray, “The Forecast Calls for Pain”

From time to time, I'm inviting other voices to contribute to Every Day I Write The Blog, to speak on their area of expertise. So without further ado, here's the All Time Top 5 Songs Mentioning Coffee, written by Guest Blogger Alex Scofield of Coffee Hero . . .

The first two lines of my favorite Robert Cray song:

Coffee for my breakfast
Shot of whiskey on the side

Abject desperation conveyed in 10 words. These lines set the tone for a song that’s funny, grim, and moving – and the title’s great, too. A relationship is about to go south, and Cray is going to start the day with a jolt of caffeine and alcohol, and an otherwise empty stomach. Nothing good is going to come of this.

“The Forecast” kicks off Cray’s “Midnight Stroll” album, in which doomed relationships are a recurring theme. In this song, signs point to an empty future; in “Consequences,” the relationship is doomed in the present tense; on “Bouncing Back,” he’s recovering from a doomed love that ran its course sometime in the past. But it’s the empty-stomach coffee that launches “Forecast” that provides the most visceral sensation of the whole album. Don’t try it at home, kids.






Alex Scofield is a freelance writer who lives in Bourne, Mass. He is a contributor to CoffeeHero.com