practical decision

a home is house and has a housekeeper

and a soon to be mom is still a teenager

they made a practical decision

they made a practical decision

and when i was told i did not believe her

at 40 years old and she don't even know her

she's at the hospital now she's going to deliver

who lets their life be changed by a total stranger

she made a practical decision

it's just a practical decision

na

it's a just a practical decision

it's just a practical decision

and teen is allowed to be teenager

it's just a practical decision to love

love

A's request...

What is your song idea?

Beth is a 40 year old housekeeper in the house where I stay in the Philippines. She has a 21 year old daughter Wendy, and they look like sisters. When her friends ask, "Why did you not remarry?" She says, "I don't know!" Yesterday she had friends over to watch a movie. One of them was a woman who works at the orphanage where I teach, and one was her teenaged daughter who was 9 months pregnant. Beth, Wendy, the teenager and her mother all lounged on a bed giggling at the movie. Later that day the orphanage owner came by and said the teenager had gone to the hospital. He said she felt too young and poor to take care of the baby, so Beth would take care of it at the house while the mom decides whether or not to put it up for adoption. I asked Beth about it and she said "if the mother decides to put the baby up for adoption... I will adopt the baby." I asked if she was friends with the teenager or something, and she said no, but she had more money and time for the baby, and the teenager was very talented so she could go back to school and do well. The decision was just practical. She made it just that morning when they were all together watching a movie. That night I listened to Paul Simon's later album "You're the One." The song "Hurricane Eye" says something like "if you want to be a missionary let a stranger change your life." The song and the album as a whole is refreshingly self-aware with practical stories told with sensitivity and a sense of humor. The tone reminded me of Beth, smiling, saying "I will adopt." Any day now there will be a baby in this house where I stay. I walk down the warm, slanted, colorful streets and think how strange it is that I'd feel so at home living with strangers and writing stories about their lives.

describe your song in one word

home

Mr. Lincoln's starry beard

here's a penny, with a picture of lincoln

hold it steady, note the distance, across his bristly chin

there's a star there and another next to it

they are larger than a mountain and the world on which it sits

so the stars must be more numerous than we can know as mr lincoln's beard clearly shows

now consider the large and the small

note the seamless seamstress stitching pieces to the whole

now the ocean and the openness in bowls

see the cause and consequences of times familiar flow

our minds must be more wondrous than we can know if notions such as these can be supposed

and god is more wondrous than we can know if an atheist like me can say it's so

Second Star From The Left: The Spiritual Value Of Cosmic Insignifigance

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2010/07/16/128560305/second-star-from-the-left-the-spiritual-value-of-cosmic-insignifigance

by death she was not deterred

when the lion's mane washed ashore

and the swimmer's skin grew red and sore

an important lesson by all was learned

that by death she was not deterred

oh by death she was not deterred

for beneath the flesh her poison stirred

and made a mess of rye new hampshire

by death she was not deterred

strangely beautiful

her mane of tentacles

careful where they squirm

for by death she is not deterred

and the swimmers there who had all been burned

they gathered around to look at her

and by now you know the words...

by death she was not deterred

oh by death she was not deterred

Death Does Not Deter Jellyfish Sting

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/us/23jelly.html?ref=science

R136A1 (He put the mos' in the cosmos)

Made of plasma (super-heated gasses)

300+ solar masses

Yeah

Gravitation so mighty

What if the sun burnt 10 million times as brightly?

Yeah

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

Unlike humans stars grow smaller

But R136A1 you're still a baller

Yeah, Oh!

"Unlike humans, these stars are born heavy and lose weight as they age,” said Crowther, an astrophysicist at the University of Sheffield

What?? Yeah Yeah!

The tarantula nebula called me as a matter of fact

It told me to tell you, it wants its matter back

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

R136A1

He put the mos' in the cosmos

Star May Be Heaviest Ever Discovered

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/science/space/22star.html?_r=1&ref=science#

Of brothers and monsters

by B. T. Nook

there are monsters

in Korea

who feed on tight jeans

and irony.

thick glasses

are devoured

like they were kimchi

but brother, if you can wear your

heart on your sleeve

and believe in what you're doing

they will leave you be

the foul beasts

ache for vengeance

and late 80's fashion nightmares

they will feast on

the record store clerks

on their phones playing solitaire

but brother, if you are earnest

if you are sincere

you can walk the streets in the nighttime

with nothing to fear

they can smell scoffing cynicism

eleven miles away

but can't stand enthusiasm

so my brother you'll be okay

Pat's request

who is the imagined singer

Oscar Wilde

who is the intended listener

My Brother in Korea

ask three questions

How is Korea?

Why are Asian Hipsters so cool?

What does Acting smell like?

describe your song in one word

Metaphorical

Song of the grateful house guests

thank you for opening up your door

thank you for lending us the floor of your house

your bed or your couch

oooh

what we'd do without you

thank you for opening your hearts

for having fun and letting us take part

every once in a while i'll remark

oooh

what we'd do without you

what would we do without you?

what we'd do without you

what we'd do without you

A song for Robert and Emilie on the occasion of their engagement

I know a programmer, he works in native search

I know a publisher, she works with tiny books

and he just proposed to her because they're so in love

But that's not what they are, they're also other things

like they're poets and my dear old friends

and how can you ever know a friend, but by the ones they choose to love

and how can you ever know a friend, but by the one they choose to love

Video Cat by Megan!

Video Cat by Megan! The newest release from The Wiggly Tendrils is available for stream or download on bandcamp. The 8 song story book and EP was inspired by this fine work of children's fiction:

http://megancoleman.com/videocat

The music is designed to be listened to as you read along. It includes chimes which tell you when to turn the page. Try it. It's a wonderful audio and visual experience!

I've pasted the song request that lead to the album below. Kudos Megan for submitting the best song request ever!

Megan's request

who is the imagined singer

narrator/author

who is the intended listener

reader

ask three questions

1. Who is video cat? (http://megancoleman.com/videocat/)

2. How will he escape?

3. What is it like to be in a video?

Important lyric to use: (page 10) "the car cam clos and clos"

describe your song in one word

mysterious

Zoey is a dog (yummy!)

yummy ooo

yummy ooo

zoey is dog so she has doggie eyes

her favorite color is green even though she's color blind

she has furry ears she has a furry face

and she's not smelling you, she's imagining how you taste

and you taste yummy (you know it's true)

you taste yummy (oh yes you do)

waldo is man who is very hard to find

sometimes he's underthings some he's behind

once i found his hat, once i found his cane

but as soon as get a glimpse of him he vanishes again

he thinks it's funny (but it's so cruel)

he thinks it's funny

yummy ooo

yummy ooo

yummy

yummy

John's request

who is the imagined singer

Bob Marley

who is the intended listener

a snail

ask three questions

Where's Waldo?

Why do I smell so good?

What's Zoey the dog's favorite color?

describe your song in one word

Yummy

who can love this meaty man

oh call me Madison my friend

did you know from the patriarchs of abraham i descend

and the red sea will part for me miraculously from within

for i am leading this clan Canaan well I am that I am

who can love

who can love a meaty man

who can taste him

who can save him like a patient

better than I can

for i am leading this clan Canaan well I am that I am

who can love

who can love this meaty man

who can taste him

who can save him like a patient

better than you can

who can love

who can love this meaty man

who can taste him

who can save him like a patient

who can love

who can love this meaty man

who can taste him

who can save him like a patient

better than you can

Madison's request

who is the imagined singer

The Salami Man

who is the intended listener

Pepperoni Petra

ask three questions

What does pepperoni taste like?

When will I see it?

Will Moses part the red sea?

describe your song in one word

Meaty

know your own heart (i miss you)

you say the wind blows where it wants to

you say i talk so all the time

i make a killer risotto

i say know your own heart

western medicine

stimulants and sedatives

everyone trying to get at what they lack

spiritual animism

eastern herbalism

i miss you

you say know your own heart

western medicine

stimulants and sedatives

everyone trying to get at what they lack

spiritual animism

eastern herbalism

i miss you

i miss you

let's go

let's go let's go

Martin's request

who is the imagined singer

a young Kelly Ripa

who is the intended listener

an in-the-closet Lisa Loeb fan

ask three questions

How does wind happen?

Will eastern medicine meet western medicine?

What's a good recipe for a dessert risotto?

describe your song in one word

audacious

imagine me a palomino

imagine me a palomino

in the Philippines and filipino

imagine trees --the tallest trees though

imagine fleas grinding their tiny teeth slow

i wear sleeves or sleeveless go

and i'm the baddest kid in Cupertino

imagine me a palomino

in the Philippines and filipino

imagine peace but as achieved so

the cost of peace exceeds the properties though

imagine these, imagine also

the cast of Grease as conceived by Quentin Tarantino

imagine we believe in heros

who have the beans to ride the beasts that we do fear oh

imagine me a palomino

in the Philippines and filipino

when i ride

i ride

when ride

i ride

when i ride to do battle

i ride side saddle

when i ride to do battle

i ride side saddle

when i ride to do battle

i ride side saddle

when i ride to do battle

i ride side saddle

Olegario's request

who is the imagined singer

a leather jacket

who is the intended listener

a greaser

ask three questions

How can I ride a unicorn?

What are flies good for?

Which tree is tastiest?

describe your song in one word

Filipino

why can't we get along (mute the vuvezela)

mute the vuvezela

mute the vuvezela

what's this feeling in my body

probably martians probing blindly

they must see us like pangeas

they don't know we're incompleted

why, why can't we get along, why can't we get along

why, why can't we get along

why, why can't we get along

why, why can't we get along

why can't we get along

Sigal's request

who is the imagined singer

a disco jug band

who is the intended listener

all the nations of the world

ask three questions

why can't we all get along? (like when the earth was a single continent--gandwanaland/pangea)

Can we mute the vuvuzelas?

what is this strange feeling I have in my body?

describe your song in one word

rickety