Tag Archives: Music

Songline Running


You’re a creative type? Love the buzz of that busy mind bursting forth new ideas? Of course! There’s only one little hiccup; a bug in the cranial software. It’s called ‘conscience’.

This little pest insists on telling you you should be exercising (just when you thought you’d mastered the fabulously healthy skill of dismissing all ‘shoulds’).  It gnaws at you with the ‘exercise’ message, ensuring you faintly recall a virtuous feeling you had when you did some years ago. But a huge groan keeps pace with conscience, fuelling an ongoing battle for songwriters like me, who are notorious for not exercising anything other than the mind. Until now.

Today,  a new sport, Songline Running, invented itself. And it’s not the regular sport of running with headphones on.  It goes like this:

You take up Songline Running, (having a name for something always helps).  In your first session, totally new, (and, you tell yourself, ‘vastly better’), songlines run through your mind as you run – (and, you tell yourself, this is the only way they come in at this level). Even miniature runs yield this quality of creative occurrences.  I call my miniature runs ‘shuffles’ …

Then follows the best bit. You treat yourself with the well deserved REWARD – (you might need to picture the reward before you begin, to get you out the door in the first place). And the reward is? Vastly better songlines of course, (or poetry if you’re a poet, novel ideas if you’re a novelist, and so on). You get to slam all that breakthrough, higher level brilliance into your songwriting software the moment you get home. Athletes call this a ‘warm down’ – you see them stretching in all sorts of gangly poses after the run. But for we ‘arteests’ the best ‘warm down’ is to ‘get it down’ … I’ve just completed my first Songline Run and I couldn’t wait to tell you!  I’m FULL of world-shattering new ideas.

Next time I post a song, you’ll be so impressed you’ll immediately take up the sport yourself, (that is, unless you’re already impressed with this triumphant little article, in which case, you’ll take up the sport now). OK. I’ve warmed down getting this all down. And I’ve popped those gorgeous new lines into my songwriting software, which I reckon is thanking me. Now it’s time for brekkies.

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May as well Laugh!


1. Dare I mention wrinkles? … waves of skin falling over skin?
2. Do you feel younger in ‘hide-the-evidence’ clothing?
3. Is your mental composure lost at the look of your anatomy while engaging in a forward bend?

Having answered yes to the above, I had to do something about it. I tried the gym … and lasted about two minutes. Then, breakthrough … a way to get my stubbornly sagging biceps to actual lift off point. This song, on my Still Dancing album, does the trick!

Gravity  

Good old Newton had a flash
Evolved the idea, gave it a bash
Wrote it on paper for all to see
And now we have the theory of gravity
What was firm is not so sound
What stayed up must come down
Look at great grandma and you will see
The long term effect of gravity!

Gravity, gravity
It’s all happening to you & me
We take it all so seriously
May as well laugh at gravity

What was tight is growing slack. You want your youthful figure back
But a face lift’s just a bit of messing around
When even your internals are falling down!
That’s nature – It’s all fine. She gave the solution
It’s in the mind. Forget the lines, and sing with me
May as well laugh at gravity

Gravity, gravity – It’s all happening to you & me …

But Newton’s in a grave situation
Physicists across the nation say
Our subatomic essence is totally free
Beyond the pull of gravity!

Quantum physics says your face consists of little – mainly space
Celebrate! It could be worse – Our essence is the universe!
So why not entertain this truth
And drink from the quantum fountain of youth?
You’re beautiful! Set yourself free!
May as well laugh at gravity.

Gravity, gravity, it’s all happening to you & me
We take it all so seriously
May as well laugh at gravity

© Radha Sahar, February 2009

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Filed under Download Song Lyics, The Music of Life, What's Behind the Song

Paws … Pause

BoomerAgeI like using humour when it comes to ‘don’t mention it’ aspects of being a woman at the esteemed ‘mature & wise’ stage of life … Enjoy!

Paws
© 2013 Radha Sahar

Women, they say, are like a book
Hard to read but it’s easy to look
They might dress up in leopard skin tights
They’re animal types
When they set their sights on you

They’re either apples, bananas or pears
But I say women are cuddly bears
They might dress down for menial chores
But love’s in store
When they wrap their paws around you

Now it’s time to pause
For more than a cup of tea
Yes it’s time to pause babe, and
Wrap your paws, your pretty paws around me!

Women are beautiful at every age
Even at the ‘don’t mention it’ stage
When we mention being very wise
Life brings many blessings in disguise

Now it’s time to  pause …

Women turn up with plates of food
Often in a playful mood
Wild cats or quiet birds in the nest
You are blessed
Coz they give their best to you

Now it’s time to pause
For more than a cup of tea
It’s time to pause, and
Wrap your paws, your pretty paws around me!

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A New Woman on the Honours List

What woman would you nominate for the Anchorstone & Star award? No doubt you’ve several in mind. Tell us a little about those special women – we can’t wait to hear about them!

Anchorstone & Star

Do you want to hear a picture of a walking inspiration?
She’s an open invitation to a heart that looks to love
She embodies truth and style. She is solid gold, she’s wild
She’s the quintessential woman, aunt or mother, loyal friend

You know when she’s around as faces light up everywhere
She has a place for everyone. Everyone has a place for her
When she wraps her warmth around you, you never want to leave. Her
Belly laugh is rolling thunder, casual chat a summer breeze

Yes, lovely lady, I’m talking about you
Trumpeting your praises – the whole country should be too
Awarding you a gong for how remarkable you are!
In our honours list you’ve won the Anchorstone & Star

You have a certain style – sort of ‘humble universal’
Embracing every goddamn soul and showing them you care
I cannot put my finger on what it is about you
It’s a privilege to know you, and a treat to have you near
Yes, lovely lady …

You have so much to teach me that I cannot find in writing
And I get it by osmosis over fresh date scones and tea
You’re relaxed & grounded, cruising through a list that’s overflowing
That reminds me, time is going. Friends! Your attention please …

If this song is pretty it’s her beauty – I’m in debt to her and
Call on you to call her name out loud, applaud and cheer
She says she’s just an ordinary person. We know better
She’s a winner, and we wish her her own stone & starbright year
Yes, lovely lady …

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Kids Sing Mr Tambourine Man Video

You’ve heard of our Kids Sing Bob Dylan album? We did a video of it too – The Starbugs Sing Mr Tambourine Man. It went viral. BUT once we clocked over a million hits, it was taken offline!? We were informed, (probably by a machine) that it had ‘unsuitable content for children.’ Take a look and see what you think … Luckily a keen fan posted it on their page and You Tube hasn’t caught up with them yet – so take a look while you can!
AI, (Artificial Intelligence) systems decide what music & videos are placed where nowadays. I guess AI is experiencing birthing problems …

Meanwhile let’s credit the kids. One viewer, commented, “That is simply incredible. I’m a lifetime Dylan fan, and I’ve never heard a better lead vocal of Tambourine Man than that little girl is doing. She is a truly great singer.”   Yes. At only 9 years old, Jessie has already won several world singing competitions … Then there’s Sarah, Ben, Roisin and  Jessica – they’re all fantastic! Pop into the UCA Music website and take a listen to the sample audio clips: make sure you scroll right down (on the thin red line), to hear them take Forever Young, and many other tracks, into new realms.

Make their day boosting their viewing numbers, leaving a comment, and spreading the word.

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Plant-Based Food Avatar Style

Free Food Image

Let’s journey to Planet Pandora, and see exactly how those Navi Aliens maintain perfect health and their slim, blue waists.

Dinner on Planet Pandora
Seems a balanced diet of plants and unprocessed, plant-based foods is all they eat there on Pandora. And it’s what our human ancestors ate way back in our primate days. Meeting up with all those gorgeous Aliens munching vegetation, I asked them “You’re not Vegan are you?”
They told me that, in common with vegans on Planet Earth, they don’t eat animal foods. But they are horrified at what can constitute ‘plant foods’ here on Earth: highly processed foods such as white flour, sugar, and oil. The Navi won’t touch them. They eat whole foods. 

Why don’t they eat Oils?
The Navi tell me that ‘healthy oils’ are the oils inherent in whole foods themselves. There is no need to eat that refined oil stuff we have on Earth: it is far healthier to not eat it. While oil is essential to their health, all the oil they need can be adequately sourced from plants – even the omegas. That goes for we humans too, they said.

Do the Aliens only eat Raw Foods?
They eat lots of raw, but they eat cooked too.  They told me this enables more balanced nutrition and better protein levels. They cook mainly the foods that are not healthy or easy to eat raw – e.g. potatoes, soy, dhal & beans, grains. Together with greens, these provide the Navi with complete protein, and billions of micro nutrients. They prefer including legumes & grains to the high intake of nuts & seeds, dried fruit and rare superfoods needed in a dedicated raw food regime.

Did this Way of Eating Originate on Planet Pandora?
It did. But it also did on Planet Earth at the same time – amazing eh!  With their extra-terrestrial powers, the Navi have been able to watch us down here on planet Earth. They were happy that plant-based wholefood nutrition formed the predominant content of the human diet for millennia. They knew that peoples such as the Inuit, the Tibetans, and others in cold climates evolved to eat animals; – they had no other choice). And they knew humans have always eaten some form of animal food to get Vit B12. But the masses ate much smaller quantities than we do today. The Navi are so evolved they even synthesize their own B12 – they reckon we’ll evolve to that too!

Well, thanks guys! I’m sold.  And the following  ‘Earthly’ credits are due …

The contemporary plant-based whole-food movement, where no animal protein is eaten, grew from research done by several American nutritionists, doctors and scientists. At the core are Dr T Colin Campbell, (Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Cornell University), Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, (heart surgeon, Cleveland Clinic), Drs Dean Ornish & John McDougall, John Robbins. (see the bios in the last section of the Presentation Folder).  Find out more on the T Colin Campbell Foundation website.

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Fun in the studio

David Radha & Geoff

NOVEMBER: The single is out – yey! I can’t wait to get onto the next one; I’m working on chord charts for all my songs in preparation, as I’m not sure what song we’ll tackle next … 

Working on kids songs in the studio at present, plus composing and recording some songs to help children learn to read.

Here’s  David Antony Clark (left), sound engineer, Geoff Duncan and your truly. Geoff is about to launch power-chord land on electric guitar –   Geoff, you’re great! And so is Evan Williams, our wonderful drummer.  Thanks guys!

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