A good Tuesday morning to all. I guess most of you are back at work and school today. Feeling kind of inspired again today myself, but I no longer have those commitments. Not that I don’t continue to learn and keep active, just no job or classes to attend.

Music always helps things move in the right direction. Do you remember the days when the DJ on the radio had control over your playlist? Whoa, I just dated myself.

I was just thinking back when I started to listen to music on the AM radio in the car in the early 60s. There was still a record player in the house that played 78 rpm vinyl records. And I still have some of those from my parents. The holiday music was nice, but they had some big band and orchestra records that were kind of upbeat.

I believe in 66 I got a 33-rpm record player and stereo. Music took on a whole new meaning because of two things. The sound quality on FM and more progressive formats introducing new music and albums instead of early Beatles singles on 45 rpm disk.

I’ve gotten so tired over my lifetime replacing my music. Albums, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, iPods, MP3s, iTunes and Streaming.

When I found out that the new models of the car I like don’t come with CD players, I decided to keep mine for much longer. It’s got all the technology I need so I’ll just rebuild it as it ages.

I like listening to instrumental music when I paint. I like classic rock most of the time but especially when driving and exercising. I like ballads when reflecting on something. There are a couple songs (Hey Jude, Wish You Were Here, House of Pain), that give me pause and make me miss some close people.

Blues and Motown sometimes while writing. Maybe some hard rock while photo editing. Maybe that is why I’m so ruthless when first going through fresh images. It does help my pace though.