 Near the end of almost every episode of Psychic Tapestry, Teresa gives a reading for someone who may not be listening at that moment, but would be listening later on to the podcast. These readings are always really good, and I tend to cheat, and go listen to the podcast later just so the reading can be for me, too. Is that cheating, when you hear a reading that sounds so good you want it for yourself? Maybe. But I’ve also been told that when you feel that a reading applies to you, then it does apply to you. You were meant to hear it, even if it’s given as a reading to someone else. I think a lot of songs are like that, too. The artist probably didn’t set out to create something specifically for you. But sometimes it feels that way. You connect with the music or a couple lines of lyrics and you just know that Frank Sinatra or Freddie Mercury or the Foo Fighters were channeling you at the moment they recorded that little slice of magic. Other times, you may hear a song you’ve heard hundreds of times before, but at the moment, it speaks to you, your life and your situation. In the mid-1970’s, my brother introduced me to Queen. They’d already had a couple hits on Top 40 radio in the U.S. (and were well on their way to becoming the Next Big Thing in the U.K.). I think just about every sports team in America adopted “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions” at some point, but the first time I heard it was on my brother’s record player. I didn’t feel that it was written for me and didn’t attach any special meaning to it. In fact, after hearing it ad nauseum at baseball, football and basketball games, I’m pretty sure I was sick of it soon enough. But their unique sound stuck with me. I bought their records and CDs (maybe even a cassette or two) over the years, and was saddened when Freddie left us, much too soon. And then, decades later, I heard “Don’t Stop Me Now” again. For me, this is one of the ultimate “pep talk” songs. It’s about confidence and just being the most amazing you that you can be. And it just feels like, even if you don’t already know it, the song is going to make you feel it and make you believe. If I may, I’d suggest listening to this song twice, even if you’ve already heard it a bazillion times. First, listen as the listener. Let Freddie and the band build you up. If you want to have a good time, give him a call. He’s gonna make a supersonic man out of you. Then, sing it for yourself. Feel alive. You’re traveling at the speed of light. You’re having a ball. Let yourself have such a good time, you never want to stop at all.
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Welcome to Ken’s Psychic Jukebox. I’m treading very lightly into this arena, as I am still, at heart, a skeptic (despite growing evidence to the contrary). But I get songs in my head, and Teresa is convinced that, because of my love for music, this is the way I receive messages. It’s tricky. The message could be for me, or for someone else. And the message itself could be in the song lyrics, or it could be the title. It could even be the artist, or the overall subject matter of the song. Or it could just be a good song that someone somewhere thought I should remember and enjoy. I thought I’d share some of these, sort of like our Crystal Wisdom of the Day. My goal here is two-fold. First, using this as a forum, I can convey the message, or at least the song, to a lot of people. Music is very powerful, and means so much to so many. Maybe the song will give you inspiration, or spark a happy memory. The other thing I hope to do is keep the music, and the artists, alive. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, or understand how (or why) Teresa and others are able to communicate with spirits, but I can’t help but believe that sharing their music and making sure they are remembered is a good thing. That’s why most if not all of the songs posted here will be from singers and musicians who are no longer with us. I won’t be attempting any kinds of readings here, and I won’t pretend that I can get your message to Elvis. Or vice versa. I’ll simply share the song, what I think it means that is important, or something significant about the performer. And I feel that a blog like this would have to begin with Elvis. I’m sure we all know the hits. Or we all SHOULD know the hits. And we know at least some of the Christmas songs and some of the gospel tracks. He had seventeen number one albums and thirty number one singles before his death in 1977. As great as those numbers are, he actually recorded around 700 songs!  The song I wanted to kick things off with is “Are You Lonesome Tonight” – a number one single for Elvis in 1960. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” was recorded by others before Elvis. In fact, it goes back to the 1920’s (and has a spoken part that was based on lines from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”). Al Jolson and Jaye P. Morgan are among those who recorded it before the King. It’s a song about heartbreak and hope, and that’s part of why I chose it for this first blog. But I also wanted to share something about Elvis. Elvis had a great sense of humor. When he would perform this song live, he would (sometimes) change the words to the spoken part to have some fun with the crowd. He also loved to laugh. I think that’s really important. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our day-to-day tasks that we don’t allow ourselves to see the humor in things. We’re too serious. In 1969, at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Elvis Presley was performing to a sold-out crowd. Arguably the most popular performer of the time (and probably of all-time), this concert was being recorded. So you have the number one performer in America, singing to a sold-out crowd in a show that was being recorded. A serious situation. But something happened during that show, and the specifics vary depending on who’s telling the story. There’s no video of this event, just the audio recording. But legend has it that a fan tried to reach for Elvis, or possibly one of his scarves, and knocked off or at least bumped the toupee of a man in the audience, moving the fake hair to a ridiculous angle. And Elvis laughed. He laughed a lot. It’s infectious. And try as he might, he just couldn’t stop, even though the band and his back-up singers kept going. While this video isn’t much to look at, give yourself a few minutes, and close your eyes as you play it, and listen to the music. And remember to laugh. |
AuthorKen Kessler has always been interested in psychic phenomena, and like Mulder on the X-Files, wants to believe. But like most, he tends to look for, and accept, rational explanations. (More) Archives
April 2018
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