This is the cover from George Michael's 1990 Listen without Prejudice Vol. 1. I listened to the album feverishly for weeks after buying it at Sam Goody the first day it hit record stores.

Of all the songs on in it (all of which represented an anti-commercial sound Michael seemed to be going for!) the most powerful is "Praying for Time" and it's just as meaningful and relevant today as it was over twenty years ago.

The words to the song go:



These are the days of the open hand
They might just be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we'll take our chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned his back and all God's children
Crept out the back door

And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too much too late
Well maybe we should all be praying for time

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh, you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year

This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say what's mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much but I'll take my chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can't come back
'Cause he has no children to come back for

It's hard to love there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time


Other stand-out tracks on the album are: "Waiting for That Day," "Heal the Pain" and "Cowboys and Angels." The singer never appeared in any of the videos from the album and used a 1940 photo (called "Crowd at Coney Island") as the cover.

A planned Listen without Prejudice Vol. 2 (originally scheduled for sometime during the summer of '91) never materialized, most likely due to Michael's problems with Columbia records.

There's one 80s memory I just can't block and I associate it so strongly with "Shattered Dreams" by Johnny Hates Jazz that I still shudder to this day when I hear that song.

Memory is amazing...but also somewhat unreliable. Witnesses who saw the same event will each often recall it happening differently and our own personal accounts of things from our pasts don't always hold up to what actually happened.

I try to let go of bad memories whenever possible, but find the topic of memory itself fascinating. That's why I can't wait for my copy of Moonwalking with Einstein to come in at my local library.

Here's a little bit more about the book:

Moonwalking with Einstein


I find that memory is usually kinder than the actual event behind it. I wasn't particularly happy in middle or high school, at least I don't think I was, but whenever I hear songs like "The Lady in Red" I suddenly find myself feeling peaceful and almost wonder (on nights when adulthood seems harder than being a teen ever was) if maybe it really was simpler back in the 80s.

But then I realize I'm deluding myself. Surely it wasn't as bad as I thought at the time, but neither was it a time I'd want to revisit. Even happier times aren't necessarily times we would want a time machine to take us back to...we survived yesterday and lots of times were probably great, but it's old and the future is fresh and new, no matter that it might seem harder to face because it's fresh and new. 

The old and familiar is comfortable, even if it wasn't always good. I'm a firm believer that (in the grand scheme of things) there's no such thing as "the good old days." It's a fairy tale and often "the good old days" were only good for the people in control at the time....

I've only been using Kava Instant Coffee for about a week, but so far I love the taste! Whether I just add water or water with some milk thrown in, I feel like I'm drinking coffee and still get that wonderful "I can be a morning person!" kick from the caffeine.

And with the acid-neutralized aspect to it, I feel so much better than when I drink the usual. Kava coffee goes down easily without leaving an aftertaste or having heartburn or acid reflex to worry you.

Overall: a wonderful substitute for the real thing when you're on the go in the morning or don't own a coffee maker!! It's not gourmet (obviously!!) but it's a terrific impersonation:)

I just bought my first book off of Apple's ibooks. It's called Zombies, Vampires and Philosophy and like another pop culture tie-in (The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh of Homer) is surprisingly deep and provocative...more on this soon!!

For weeks after we bought it with our allowance, my sister and I played the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack almost every Saturday night, dancing our heads off and misunderstanding lyrics to songs we were probably too young to be listening to in the first place. (We were seven and eight, respectively.)

So many years later, I still listen and dance to this awesome album, but I notice that it's not as light-hearted and "Oh God, not disco!" (an attitude I had about the album all through the 80s) as I remember.

The tracks are more intensely driven than they seemed when I was a little girl and some sound as if they have been brushed by a little bit of panic. On "You Should Be Dancing" (Bee Gees, for anyone who may have forgotten) there's a fierce guitar you don't often find in disco.  The song reminds me of  Flashdance's "Maniac," which came out a few years later, in that you're not dancing because you want to dance, you're dancing because you have to dance.

On "Night on Disco Mountain" there's a mania that's downright scary. It sounds like someone's life is about to end...which may be why this song is played during a scene in which Tony and his reckless friends are playing around high up on the Brooklyn bridge.

Even "Disco Inferno" (so amazing for a really great work-out number!!) is fierce and commanding. Lighter fare (such as "Boogie Shoes" by K.C. and The Sunshine Band and the somewhat geeky, but totally lovable "Open Sesame" by Kool and the Gang) is definitely as I remember it, but Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" somehow sounds sadder than ever!