Favorite Songs

What makes a song a favorite? As I look through the list of songs I’m doing on Wednesday and that are on my couple of favorite lists on my song laptop I am transported to the places where I learned those songs and the people I associate with the song and place. There are so many reasons to like a particular song. I tend to like songs that have some sort of melodic or lyrical depth to them - songs that leave me humming the tune or pondering over a twist of phrase or bit of truth I glean from them. I know that others like a song for a memory or a beat that makes them want to dance. We like some songs just because we heard them so often on the radio or at friends’ houses. I laugh when I really listen to those songs nowadays and realize there isn’t much to them. It doesn’t matter - they are part of me and always will be. And of course the songs we hear in our formative years tend to be our favorites. I don’t think that fact will ever change. So over the last three plus years I’ve been playing songs on Facebook and also on my website twice a week and keeping track of what I’ve played. Wednesday I’ll play the songs that have been heard and requested the most frequently on those shows, and it should be a lot of fun with some touching moments. There is something in the human condition that gives us real comfort and satisfaction to hearing our favorite songs.

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What have I been up to?

I had 11 senior facilities last week, and they were all so enjoyable. Highlights included a couple shows that were birthday parties. Luckily COVID was only touching a couple of these places, and I’m always hoping for the best for these folks and sending them healing energy.

My Wednesday online show was doing Spring songs, and there were some great ones to celebrate the season. It’s such a hopeful time of year, and I think we did it up right!

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests as always, and there were some interesting new songs and old favorites. This is such a supportive and inclusive group, and it’s such a pleasure to perform for them.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities that I’m looking forward to playing for as we transition away from Irish tunes and more into Spring songs and Easter approaching. I’m also playing for a memorial service Thursday morning where I’ll be playing “Bristlecone Pine,” which is such a comforting song.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be the favorite songs I mentioned above, and I’m really looking forward to a party atmosphere as we touch on so many group memories and good vibes. Come on out and join in!

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests, and I look forward to a reunion of sorts every week with these great folks. Throw me a request and come on out to hear it!

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That’s it for this week. I hope you are well and enjoying the seasons change. Do something to make yourself happy, and cherish those in your life!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Top Munch Bunch songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, March 29, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, April 2, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Spring

 Today is the first day of Spring, and I have to say that it doesn’t feel like it on my sunrise walks on the prairie with Beau yet. I recently heard a podcast with a biologist saying that there is always activity in the ground even in the deepest part of winter, but I’m not seeing any evidence on the surface yet. It seems like it has been colder in the mornings consistently than I remember for this part of the year, but I haven’t looked up historical temperatures. The feeling I get on our walks is that of a tired earth that has yet to wake up for the year. That’s okay. It seems to work like a rubber band that stretches to its limit until it pulls like crazy to the other extreme. The sunrise times definitely work like that. In the winter they change less than a minute a day until they pick up and start moving two minutes a day. I’ve written before that it makes this time of year into a kind of pensive state as we gear up in our lives and our minds for the “busy-ness” of summer. I used to always work like a busy bee with plans for the summer, but I do less of that nowadays as I age and as the pandemic has changed the meaning of time and anticipation. It’s a good thing all around. It reminds me of the end of a Walt Whitman poem called “O Me! O Life!” that I posted to Facebook a couple days ago. “That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” 

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What have I been up to?

I had 9 senior facilities last week, but one had to cancel with a COVID outbreak. Others have gone back to wearing masks for safety. It was still a fun week with St. Patrick’s Day and all the great Irish music and festivities, but I did feel for those who were out with COVID.

My Wednesday online show was Irish music, and it was great fun. I even had a shot of Irish whiskey to sip on as I played that didn’t help my stomach much, but it contributed to the heritage of the evening. I think that everyone had a good time!

My Sunday show was favorites and requests, and there were several new songs and most of our usual host of regulars that made the evening more than worthwhile. We have such a supportive and caring group of folks!

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What am I up to this week?

I have 11 senior facilities this week, and I’m looking forward to all of them. Being that it’s after St. Patrick’s Day I’m not sure they will still want to hear Irish music, but I’ll be playing my Irish guitar and wearing my Irish cap, so maybe they’ll get in the mood. It’s hard to work so much and dive so deeply into a season of music and then give it up overnight.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Spring songs, and I’m learning a few new ones that I’ve found recently. It’s such a time of rebirth and joy, and it’s fun to spread that anytime! Come on out if you’re up for an uplifting night.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. Sundays are consistently my most-attended shows, and the spontaneous nature of them with requests and the possibility of anything happening make for a fun evening. My encouraging group of friends make it very special. I’d love to have you in the audience if you have the time free.

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That’s it for this week. I’ve heard that many people are using ChatGPT to write things like newsletters and blog posts, but I don’t think I’ll ever do that. I treasure the mental stimulation and creativity that writing brings too much to inflict that on you. Enjoy the first days of Spring!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Spring songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, March 22, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, March 26, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Heritage

I wrote last week a little bit about my family’s ancestors and how a lot of the traditions of culture and music are lost to us. We don’t know the songs of our German or British forbears other than one hymn my grandpa liked called “Murmur”, and all we really know of their culture are a few family recipes that were passed down. My mother spent a lot of time researching our family genealogy, and I am so grateful for the lines she was able to trace to different places in the old country. Just a month before she died in 2015 she finally got confirmation that our ancestor William Bell came across the Atlantic on a boat from Ireland, and so I found out that we have Irish lineage as well as the other lines she found. So I have embraced a lot of Irish tunes imagining what they could have meant to William Bell and his family. When I sing “Across the Western Ocean” I think of them leaving family and friends behind to board a ship bound for America. When I sing “Galway Bay” I wonder if they sat and looked at that same place and smelled the salty sea air and felt the heather-scented breezes blow on their brow. I often feel the Ire rise in my blood that they must have felt when they were oppressed by the English during the revolution. Of course I have English blood in me too, so it’s a puzzlement! So here’s to our heritage wherever we come from, and this week I’ll celebrate my heritage in song.

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What have I been up to?

I had 8 senior facilities last week, but one had to be cancelled due to staff being out. I’m so possessed by Irish tunes now that my shows are really fun and high energy with a few sweet ballads and sing-alongs thrown in.

My Wednesday online show was Motown, Atlantic, and Stax R&B tunes, and it was so much fun. I was dancing to almost all of them as I played, and we’ll have to do another one of these soon.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and I couldn’t help doing a few Irish songs as well. As I said, I’m pretty possessed and obsessed with these tunes this time of year.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 9 senior facilities this week, and you know I’ll really be playing Irish songs all week including a couple St. Patrick’s Day parties. It will be a blast!

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Irish tunes for St. Patrick’s Day as well, and I expect it’ll be a night to remember. Erin go bragh!

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests, and I’ll get back to some of the great requests and good interaction that we always have on these shows. It’s a blessing to get to serve friends with great music and friendship.

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That’s it for this week. I hope you cherish your heritage and your family lineage. Even if it’s far distant from your everyday life there is a connection that can enrich your life.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Irish songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, March 15, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, March 19, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Appropriation or Appreciation

My Wednesday show will be the music of Motown, Atlantic, Stax, and other R&B and Soul tunes, and that has me thinking about the music I play and who I really am. I love to play all kinds of music, and I don’t really have one type of music that I grew up with. My family is far enough removed from the music of our predecessors that we weren’t really steeped in any one genre. I suspect that many of you grew up in a similar situation. My dad grew up with big band and jazz music, and so I heard a lot of that growing up. Kids in the ‘50s and ‘60s heard a lot of folk music in school and on radio and TV. My brother and sisters liked all kinds of much that I heard them play in the house from folk to Motown to rock. For myself I had an affinity for folk rock, R&B and historical music, and in my 20s I got into the blues. So what is appropriate and inappropriate for me to love and play? Of late, there have been many discussions about people going outside their lane and appropriating music or a look or approach that is inappropriate for them. I really don’t have a music that is appropriate for me other than what I grew up with - which is pretty much everything. So I’m left conflicted many times on what I should feel good about playing. I struggled with what to call my show for this Wednesday, and I finally just settled on the labels that created this great music that I love to play. And so I approach the music this week with affection and appreciation for the rhythms and melodies and musicianship that I love.

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What have I been up to?

I had 8 senior facilities last week, and they were so fun and rewarding. I always say that I love to play for these folks, and it’s true. Now that we are past Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras I was beginning to play Irish tunes for St. Patrick’s Day, and it was a blast.

My Wednesday online show of Alaska tunes was great fun with lots of new tunes and quite a celebration of the wild frontier that is still Alaska. I think everyone had a great time.

My Sunday show of favorites and requests was well-received, and it was so good to see so many friends and supporters. We always have such a celebration of community on these evenings.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities this week, and I know they’ll all be a sweet time. I love these folks so much, and I get to do Irish tunes for most of them this week although I’m always open to whatever they want to hear.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be Motown, Atlantic, Stax, and other R&B and Soul songs as I mentioned above. This will be a lively night full of great songs and spirit. Come on out!

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always. Sunday evenings hold some of my favorite moments of the week, and I’d love to have you in the audience!

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That’s it for this week. I’m not doing a special Irish concert in any outside venues this year, so I’ll be pouring all that energy into my online shows. It’s going to be a fun month! Next week on Wednesday will be my online Irish show!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of Motown, Atlantic, Stax, and more songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, March 8, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests 

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, March 12, 7-8:45 pm mountain time