Mario Biondi: This Is What You Are

Listen to THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzccDy94Zg     

Greetings loved ones. Spring has sprung, summer is en route, and life is picking up speed. Adults and children alike are growing, warm weather animals are returning, and here I am, locked in a warehouse until 1:30pm, when I can head to the park and watch the butterflies meet between the leaves, ask the park bench grandmas if they're enjoying the day, convincing myself that being stuck inside 40 hours a week is somehow better than what Tilikum and Shamu had. Too soon for Sea World jokes? F*ck that place, it's definitely worse than having to be here. Why does knowing that not make me feel better? Don’t call me dramatic, but the negativity and my newly returned teenage angst might just make me one.

It takes time to understand that not all thoughts and feelings we perceive as negative are actually negative, or even real. Often times, what is felt as negative exists in reality as simply the truth. Well, the truth is what I try to tell 100% of the time here. Since this is the case, I’m going to keep that going by talking about a discovery that took me from not liking an artist to fully appreciating and enjoying them.

Let me ask you this: is there any music you don’t like?

 

    I met a dude a few months ago at the bar where I play music on Saturdays. Just a guy who frequents the watering hole. Sometimes he strikes up conversations with me about daily life or music. Eventually we came to a point where he admitted to me that he quote, "hates The Beatles". I'm not gonna sit here and tell you The Beatles are the best band in the world,  but I will argue fallacies: do you mean to tell me that out of 229 recorded tracks, not including live and studio variations, that you can't find one redeeming quality about a single track? I find that hard to believe. I don't find it hard to believe that you're full of shit. 

That moment taught me a lot. It made me realize that I didn't want to be that kind of music appreciator. I wanted to stay open, I wanted to hear beyond what first meets my ears: try new songs by the same artists, try to understand messages that don't necessarily relate to me, feel what I haven't felt, do research and find reasons to appreciate music for what it is. Even if I personally don't like it, at least I can see why other people do. 

However...sometimes, you just know yourself, and you know you really don't like what you're hearing. Got any songs in mind? Let me know why in the comments, and then, think about it again, and tell me something you decided you liked about it after revisiting it.

So now that I've worn out the psychological talk, I'm sure you want to know what this mysterious song I don't like is. Let me tell you a story...

Hey, wait a minute. You've seen this image before. That's right, this is from last weeks blog. Rare Tunes, Sieste on the beach, where I talked about Alex Ligertwood and Spirit. Love that tune. You know what I don't love...the song right after it. 

I'm Her Daddy by Mario Biondi. The song starts like this:

How do you do Lucy?
You sure been hard to find
I heard you had a daughter
Six years old and I
Just can keep from cryin'

Six years and Lucy oh Lord have mercy
That's a long time
That's a long time...

Is she pretty?
Has she grown?
Does she sleep well in a room of her own?
Can I see her?
Does she know...
Yeah I'm her daddy
I'm her daddy...

 

...K. Let's talk about it. If you haven't listened just go to the bottom of this and come back or it's might not make sense. First of all, I don't want to sit here and bash another artists choices, especially about a band and a singer that I actually really like now, but listen...this song, is not good. There. I said it. Are you happy now? Let's talk about why.

The lyrics, the melody, and the instrumentation don't match. If you read the lyrics, you're clearly getting a heartbreaking story about a man who just found out that he's a father after 6 years of not knowing. It's a dramatic story that in the right context and musical structure, could be received appropriately. Now, is there a "right" context, is there a "right" structure? No. You get to have fun and decide that. 

Now you’re probably wondering what I think, and how I stay open while still having a strong opinion.

Here's the thing: a song is a song, and there are many factors that make a song what it is: mixing and production, lyrics, singer, singers vocal approach, melodies, guitar bass drums etc. There's a lot about this track I enjoy. The sax solo is killer, the band is tight yet relaxed as hell. It's mixed well. It's a "good" track in those regards. For me, these lyrics are weird. I feel like I'm listening to a swanky old school Disney Villian be creepy and weird. I'm laughing as I'm saying that because it sounds ridiculous. But really, the music is just not meant to support this kind of message. The music is great, really. Very cool vibe. Not for this context...in MY humble opinion.

And staying open — Mario Biondi has an incredible voice. I was so turned off by the lyrics initially that I couldn't hear anything else. I've listened to it a handful of times now, and it's grown on me. However, I can't ignore those things I'm feeling. That's why I wanted to find out who Mario Biondi and the High Five Quintet are. Who's insanely rich voice is this and why am I not hearing it on the kind of track it deserves?!

So, what did I do? I went digging of course. I looked through Mario Biondi's catalog, and I was surprised at what I found!

 

 

Mario's voice was featured as the voice of The Hook-Hand Thug in the Italian dub of  Disney's "Tangled." He is far more well known than I would have guessed. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but usually compilation albums like Rare Tunes have a couple handfuls of underground artists. Mario is world famous. I shouldn't be surprised especially since the song right before it was Spirit by Alex Ligertwood (Santana).  It makes me want to look into the album even further. 

Upon exploring his discography further, I wanted to click on whatever sounded good to me. I'm sure you know what I mean. I saw a song titled This Is What You Are. Okay Mario, tell me what I am.

 My mind was immediately changed. Fun percussion, jumping bass, steady ride, and in comes Mario's voice...

Take me up and let me down
Hold me when I'm sad
Take my eyes to look around
Take my ears to listen to the stars
This is what u are 

*cue horns*
Knock me down knock me out
Make me feel shy
But when you hold me in your arms
I can just forget the tears I've cried
This is what you are  

 *cue string section*

 Now we're rockin'. Now we're in it. Before I was listening to the track from the outside of it, but now...now I'm in it. Fully immersed. It felt natural, seamless. The tune met my ears effortlessly.

I ran to the YouTube comments. I wanted to know what other folks were saying. Who cares what Rolling Stone says, I want to know what the people think!

13 Million views from folks all over the globe! Some share mistaking him for Barry White, others romanticize drinking a glass of whiskey with a lover and listening in a hidden speakeasy. Here's some of my favorite comments:

 

 

 

I guess I'm gonna have to dive into Handful of Soul! I love seeing folks from all over the world connect through mutual music taste; people from all different backgrounds and stories, sharing why the music is important to them. At a concert, music unites us. We all come to a place to appreciate and enjoy. In the modern world, we can also gather in the YouTube comments and get all kinds of sentimental and excited. 

The internet is seemingly dividing us more and more every day, and yet, here — where music is all about love and appreciation, people seem more connected than ever. At least by my own internet standard.

 That's the thing about being on socials. Everyone's experience of it is different because of the algorithm. Somehow, the algorithm led me to Rare Tunes, which brought me to Spirit, and then to I'm Her Daddy, which sent me to Mario and This is What You Are. 

This Is What You Are hit me like your first sip of ice water after walking around the Zoo in the middle of August. I love these lyrics, I love the horns and strings, the band is super tight. I love how this melody hardly changes. Mario delivers it so well. The way the song is structured feels like a tune I'd hear in a movie like Chef (Jon Favreau), when shit hits the fan in the restaurant, but everyone's keeping their cool, and flowing seamlessly through the kitchen like a choreographed dance. It's the kind of music that makes you want to get up and do things. I'd say the same about tracks like What'd I Say by Ray Charles. When the groove comes in, your legs just get movin' and your mind feels sharp, or as the kids would say, locked in. 

I almost missed something beautiful because I reacted too quickly…I went back, and I thought about it. I wanted to question my disdain for a piece of music that would have hit me completely differently if it was in another language. I wanted to understand why I felt the way I did. I have a better understanding now, and I truly feel that if we all made that kind of effort towards music, the industry would change drastically. Imagine if we made that kind of effort for each other: an effort to understand what's uncomfortable, an openness to trying flavors and combinations we would normally turn our noses at. Friends, I want to encourage you to become a professional listener:

1) Listen to everything 

2)  Listen to it at least twice 

3) Ask yourself what you like and don't like about the music

4) Ask yourself why

5) Listen to it a third time

They say "don't judge a book by it's cover", but in the music world, you could walk into wherever they sell music, and pick out a CD, a tape, an 8 track or Vinyl, and decide, "this is the one", just because of the cover, and a lot of the time, you're right. Judge an album by its cover, it could help you find something you love, or hate, but either way, you've got something to talk about, and that's the whole damn point.

 Stay tuned, professional listeners. —BD 

Hey, if you wanna get these blogs straight to your email...

 SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK <— Click there! 

Feel free to tip the scribbler and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/berlyd 

Listen to THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzccDy94Zg

 __________________________________________________________________

Quick ending credit notes for those who are really reading...Blog number 22 folks. It's pretty exciting. Next blog is my lucky number 23, and I'll talk more about my excitement and joy...as I always do. Have fun, be safe.

 

Spirit (feat. Alex Ligertwood): Siesta On The Beach

Listen to SPIRIT: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1phuZFCUyVk&si=oFkiPSjTvDKCHJTt 

Well hello nerds. It is I, captain delirium, reporting live from the beginning of the end of a tumultuous, spine cracking, migraine inducing week. Every eye twitch and forsaken dish in my sink has brought me to this Friday moment; a moment where I can finally sit down and pretend I know what I'm talking about for 5-10 minutes worth of reading. It has been a "feeling" week, sandwiched between major upswings bursting with new love and light, and hoping the grip of my fists can help me keep "it" all together when the pendulum flies the opposite way faster than my own blink. It's the kind of week that only music and love making can save. I'm no Carrie Bradshaw, and this isn't that kind of column, but I can certainly shimmy my way into a positive reality by thinking thoughts like...

 I close my eyes

I imagine a world without pain, or suffering 

Somewhere to live where there's peace and understanding

Where people can be unafraid and be loved the way it's supposed to be

And all humanity works and lives in harmony 

Feel the spirit 

Hear the spirit

Touch the spirit of love

Know the spirit 

Teach the spirit

Spread the spirit of love

Listen friends, you don't need to know church to know gospel. Gospel is the truth. This right here? This is the truth. A few weeks ago I came across an album that popped up in my research I was conducting for another article. What had me immediately? None other than the album cover. I loved everything about this cover. I love the title choices, love the setting sun that's printed into the background, the relaxed look on each of their faces, and selfishly, they're doing exactly my favorite activity: nothing. 

Nothing on the beach! That's the direct translation of sieste. You're welcome. I'm not spelling that wrong by the way. I had to look into it. Siesta, which is what I was also thinking it was, is in fact "Nap" in Spanish. Sieste however, seems to be French. Voila. De rien.

Anyway, RARE TUNES in big letters at the top. My favorite. Combined with a sieste, on the beach?! I close my eyes, I imagine a world where I'm doing that right nowwwww...

I kinda do that everyday. On my lunch break at work, I always have my beach chair with me. Me and my chair we go to the park down the street from the office and plop ourselves down there in the thickest, softest grass this side of compton. Sun is almost always shining at that time and I close my eyes, I imagine a world without pain, or suffering...*COUGH* sorry that keeps happening. I just really love a sieste anywhere.  

*chefs kiss* It's going on my wall for sure

Do you guys know what a ghost kitchen is? Essentially it's an established restaurant that decides, "Hey, we already sell X, and all these items I buy that can make X, can also make Y...so I might as well also start selling Y, but, under an alias via food delivery apps." Rare Tunes Sieste on the Beach is essentially that. It's the ghost kitchen of records. Someone took all these obscure tracks, re-releases, or even repackaged/renamed recordings and threw them on a chill/ambient/jazz combo number 5. From that we got Spirit. Yayyyyy.

Where does Alex Ligertwood come in to all this? He's the singer of the tune, and guess what, you've probably heard him before. Unless you've never heard Santana, which is possible, but also, what are you doing?  Alex Ligertwood was the lead vocalist for Santana, across five different stints, from 1979 to 1994. Pretty wild huh? The music world is always unfolding in ways that surprise me. There’s no clear, verifiable connection between Ligertwood and this song: no commentary, no interview or info floating around.

 And you know what, I like it like that. Not everything needs to be known. 

Maybe that’s what this week has been trying to teach me. Not how to control everything, not how to hold it all together so tightly...but how to let something good reach me anyway.

The world isn’t perfect, but we can still find places where it feels like it is.

 Normally I get into the soft folds and the intricacies of the instrumentation. I’m going to keep it simple this time because really, the answer is simple. The mixing is perfect, the vocals are soulful and passionate. You can hear that the band and the singer are playing and singing from truth. It’s honest. It’s fun, celebratory, reflective…I view this tune with a level of importance, message wise, and sonically, like I would talk about Let it Be to a stranger. Let it Be has a nostalgic connection that I feel amplifies the level of “goodness”. You might think, “how could you compare the Beatles to this?”. It’s not about comparing. It’s about how I feel the message, the intention, and the love that went into making it. 

This is a beautiful song. It takes me from my inner turmoil, back into reality. In my reality, the spirit of love is what living is all about. And that wonderful, beautiful sentiment, just happens to be wrapped up in the most groovy, rockin’, danceable package. Don’t get me started on Alex’s vocal riffs and those horns, I’ll be here forever. Bravo Alex, bravo band, bravo RARE TUNES. 

Stay safe, stay in love, stay tuned —BD

Hey, if you wanna get these blogs straight to your email...

 SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK <— Click there! 

Feel free to tip the scribbler and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/berlyd 

Listen to SPIRIT: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1phuZFCUyVk&si=oFkiPSjTvDKCHJTt

 

 

Polly Paulusma: Back to the Start

Hey Audio Freaks. I hope your week’s going alright. It seems a lot of us are having a tough one for various reasons: money's tight, work is rough, not getting enough sleep. We're all going through it together, and there's something relieving about that. I'm yawning as I type this and try to find the energy for the things I love after using all my energy on corporate BS all day. Yea, Little Ms. Positive's forever long fuse is shortening...slightly. 

Despite my shortening fuse and the harsh realities aside, I always know that music will find a way to bring me back to life without explanation, without warning, and without expectation. Music doesn't talk back you know. 

Well...I guess it does...

My inspiration for this piece is the concept of the song itself, Back to the Start. I'm going back to the beginning, where I'd hear a song, had no way to look it up, and just had to hope I'd hear it again. Luckily, I can still play songs over and over again, but I haven’t gone to another song, I haven’t looked for interviews, history, or any info at all. All I've got is this song, the story of how it found me, and the feeling of how fucking awesome it is. Let me tell you a story...

A Thursday in March 2026

Thursday, March 26, 2026. 2-6-2-6.

Just figured I'd say that the double 26, spiritually, suggests shifting focus towards achieving internal peace, to nurture your relationships, and suggests finding balance between material and spiritual needs.

I had just finished up an artist showcase where I was the featured artist at Mike Ford's open mic. Mike Ford is a local artist that runs the open mic over at one of my favorite spots in the South Bay, Project Barley Square. Used to be an old English pub till the fam over at Project Barley collaborated with them to keep it alive, and it sure is alive and well.

There are beautiful old school chandeliers, a fireplace, comfortable outdoor patio...a very cozy vibe for a brewery. And you can bet that Project Barley always has great music, no matter the location. This particular night at the Square was special. Everyone in the room was so lovely and warm. I opened up to the audience about my social media addiction and having been away (8 weeks now), and Mr. Ford and his audience received me with open arms and wonderful questions. I played my songs, we chatted, it was a great evening. Thank you Mike, and thank you Project Barley for always supporting local acts. I will link all of their info at the base of this article.

It was about 10:45, maybe 11pm already. The air was nippy, and my senses were buzzing after pouring my life into the room. I could feel the tip of my nose and my cheeks buzzing. I knew I had to be up for work at 6:45, but when my friends invited me to jam after my show, I couldn't say no.

En route to Hermosa Beach, the streets were empty. Really empty. There's something about Torrance. Its own 180s have striking differences. It's a whirlwind in the day with cars everywhere, families trekking across this little-big town. But at night? You can feel like the only soul on earth. Suddenly the roads are wide open and you can hear the hum of the street lights.

 

I don't remember what I put on in the car, but by the time I got to the King Harbor sign, a song came on. One hit, and boom. "You've got something to hide, and you can run all you like 'cross plains and over mountains." What? What is this? I'm listening. I was experiencing love at first sight in its full purity. By the time the second chorus came in, I was already singing along with it. My diaphragm started to tighten and I started to full-belly laugh. How did this happen? It's like I've been listening to this song my whole life. It sounded like something that was familiar, but I also knew that I definitely had never heard it before.

This was that song, Back to the Start by Polly Paulusma. I parked at the studio and I couldn't even get out of the car without finishing the third play. I was singing with my whole heart, I was feeling every word as though they were my own. I had a great jam till about 12:30 with my buds, and then got back in the car and put it on again immediately. The song had infected me in the most childlike obsessive way. I must've listened to the damn song 100 times in the course of 3 days.

 BACK TO THE START, AGAIN

If you've been here for a while, you know I'm a Youtube music user. The Youtube music algorithm astounds me. I don't know how it works, but I know that whatever they're doing to get music out there to people, I really feel like it's working. I'll take a look into it deeper at another time and we can chat about it.

 I went hunting on her artist page. 259 subscribers. My impression is that the Youtube music subscriber numbers are far more accurate than other streaming services. Most of the time here, the subscribers are active listeners. So what you may see as small, because social media has skewed your view of what "a lot"
 is, are actual listeners. I digress, this is a topic for another time as well. 

I wanted to allow this song to breathe into my life without going on a deep dive on Polly too soon. I wanted to savor the moment like I was waiting for an album to come out after a single drops. But of course, I got curious. Why was I the only "like" on this tune? It was too good. It didn't make sense.

I found lots of her music but again, haven't listened to it yet. I'm so stoked to dive into her discography like a bottle of wine; let it breathe and savor it. I'm allergic to wine, I don't know why that was my example. Lets go with a good cheese instead. Let it age, take small bites, savor it...I'm hungry.

 Polly has this sound that feels like a friend telling you that everything is going to be okay. A pat on the back, or a package that arrives that you forgot you bought — you come home and it's on your doorstep, and it feels like Christmas morning on a Friday in April. Sounds like a grounded, openhearted presence that suddenly appeared in your life when you were the most ready for it to arrive.

 Here's something cool: I did find a second posting of this tune on her album pictured at the top, Fingers and Thumbs. The major difference I'm hearing between the "radio edit" and the album version is the mix. We've talked about the mix many times, but for those who are new, we're listening to the levels of volume across all the audio we're hearing: guitar, bass, drums, vocals, back up vocals, etc. 

There are also a handful of fun, tiny details that are different between the two. The intros are different (album version has an organ intro), the musical break in the album version is longer, and yes the mix is different. A major, MAJOR difference I caught: in the radio edit, there's a second electric guitar part that really stands out. It's a plunk back and forth from the "6" to the "1" (these are notes in a scale, and we don't need to get too far into that. Just listen for the guitar that's going "bing bong bing bong bing bong bing" over and over. You'll hear it). It gives it this feeling like the song is going to go on and on forever which is exactly what I want. Like biting into a succulent 6 foot meatball sub; it's never gonna end and you're so, so happy about it.

Usually I lean towards whatever I heard first, but truthfully...I can't pick this time. 

Friends, you know I love a good hunt for interviews and history, it's all part of the love of discovery. Going back to last weeks blog when I asked, "What does it mean to love something before you understand it?" — I've been living in that.

I remember being a child and hearing songs and wondering what the person looked like. With the introduction of social media, AI at our finger tips...we're slowly  losing the beauty of mystery. Patience is a beautiful thing, especially in a case like this. It's thrilling to know that there's a whole catalog of music from Polly out there that I have yet to hear. As soon as I publish this, I'm gonna listen to the whole Fingers and Toes album. Screaming internally. 

Cross Plains and Over Mountains 

I don't know who Polly is singing to here. It can be interpreted in many ways. I'm gonna go with what I feel (shocker). I think she's singing to herself. Which means when I hear it, I'm singing it to me. For you, you may feel it differently. Let me know in the comments how it meets your hearts ears. 

The moment these first words hit my ears, I fell in love:

You've got something to hide 

And you can run all you like

'cross plains and over mountains

The chains you drag behind you leave track marks in the air

 Wow. I remember I just exclaimed UGH YES. And her VOICE? I haven't even said anything about that yet. What a voice. Earnest, effortless, gorgeous. 

 You're asleep on your feet, and all the people you meet

'cross plains and over mountains

Fooled by mirrors, think the light is shining brighter there

This is the most beautiful take on "the grass is always greener" that I have ever heard. The repetition lyrically and melodically of " 'cross plains and over mountains" is perfect. Music like this makes me feel dumb in a perfect way. Like that tight feeling in your cheeks and face when you're unable to stop smiling whilst meeting a potential lovers eye. I feel like I can't articulate thoughtfully and with the measure of depth the song deserves because I'm having a visceral, human experience over it.

I drive a 2005 Ford Explorer. The dash is old school alarm clock digital green. I'm driving in the middle of the night through rows of trees next to the ocean, a little too fast, singing...

 Come on Come on, we're going back to the beginning

Take a wrong turn, and you take it to heart so easy

When you come home, I will be waiting by the fire

And we'll take it all back to the start 

Life is a movie folks. Music has that ability. And the way that I feel it is going to be different than how you feel it. For me, this was the moment I remembered, I understood, that music is my salvation. Because of how this music met me, because of how I related to these words, I understood myself more deeply though the lens of another. Someone who I may never meet or speak to, has given me a gift. A gift of comprehension, solace, celebration, and love. 

THAT is the reason why storytelling will never disappear. THAT is the reason that human-made audio and visual experiences will never die. Music connects us in ways that only living beings can understand.

Ms. Polly, I am so looking forward to diving fully into your collection. Thank you for sharing your beautiful music with us.

Stay tuned in, my fellow freaks. Music Discoveries are like a box of chocolates: sometimes you get buttercream and you're falling in love, other times you get raspberry and you wanna puke. Either way, it's all part of the experience. 

Hey, if you wanna get these blogs straight to your email...

 SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK <— Click there! 

Feel free to tip the scribbler and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/berlyd 

Listen to BACK TO THE START

 ENDING CREDITS NOTE: If you ever watched "As Told By Ginger" growing up, Back to the Start feels like it could have been the theme song for a sister show. Here's the "As Told By Ginger" theme song, I'm in Between by Macy Gray

---

Paul Weston: Solo Mood

 

 

Friends, today I'm starting with a sentiment. A reflection if you will. I have some thoughts about music and discovery I'd like to share with you, in the hopes that it will encourage you to not take life so seriously, and to enjoy said ride. 

Last week, I read a post from a Substack user that appeared in my home feed. The rough edges rubbed me the wrong way, but also, the right way. I'm not into online drama; I simply want to share my thoughts so that I can tie this all together. Here's what it said, and what I replied with:

 

 

Zinger.

 All of this to say that whether you're a reader, a writer, a digger, a listener, whatever your flavor, it's all good. There will always be other people trying to give you rules for music, as if the music didn't come before the rules.  

 What if all the great reasons for loving music naturally instead of "working hard" to find it, is the whole point?

All these discovery rules got me thinking: 

What does it mean to love something before you understand it? 

89 CENTS

Today's blog will be a bit different than usual. I'm not diving into too much history, but more so, getting personal with you. 

In the spring of 2014, a little over a decade ago, I was driving my Grandma Ella (Mom's mom) around, as I often did. We would hit the town, go to lunch, stop for coffee, watch the ducks at the park, and shop in all kinds of stores. 

It seems that all the women in my family, including myself, love antiques. Antiquing has become a bit of a past time for us all. Some, like my Mom, love miniatures and and Victorian era pieces. While I also love those things, I'm looking for cool coats, jewelry, and records. Duh.

 We stopped one afternoon at a local thrift spot. It was a crowded place. Crowded with items of all kinds. Old felt church hats with a feather and a chain, golden picture frames with family photos of those who've been gone longer than I've been alive, smells a bit like grandmas evil basement, so, smells good. Like clean laundry and also, must. Unfortunately, it's long gone, and I can't remember the name. Part of getting older, or, maybe just losing my mind.

Grandmas walking around. We had our own rhythm in a store: start together, separate when needed, come back together somewhere before paying, leave together. She was about 5'0", and I'm 5'10", so, it was her job to find me, which wasn't hard. If I needed to find her, I'd just call her cell and listen for it ringing. When it was dying, her phone would say "low battery", in the most non-AI generated, pixelated tone. We still say it in my family and it cracks us up.

 I found this record there. I saw what you see above; a blue background, blue like the clearest possible day, must be around 3pm in the summer time... a single seagull is floating over head, with 2 words — Solo Mood. That was all I needed. Like picking the right cases in Deal or No Deal. You just know.

 89 cents it was. Written on a small, neon yellow, circular sticker with a red pen. I don't think I even read the back. Just picked it up right then and there and went YEP. Probably took grandma for frozen yogurt, and then went home and listened to it on my Crosley. I played the hell out of that record player. 

First impressions, a complete surprise.  Beautiful, slow, sleepy trumpets. The sound of crackling from the record meets my ears like sprinkled salt falling on a paper bag...the orchestra is pristine, but relaxed. I fell in love with it immediately. 

 I used to share my bedroom with my Grandma when she would come visit from Brooklyn. I was playing the record in my room when she walked in to lay down for a nap, and I remember her turning her head and going, "Oh, this is nice, I love this song!". The song was Autumn in New York.

Further in the future I'm curating my own playlists and I think, "I really love the first 2 songs on that record, I wanna add them to my Slow Drive Sunday Sounds playlist." So I did. Rockin' Chair, and Foggy Day by Paul Weston. 

I've been listening to those 2 songs in my playlist for years. It wasn't until last week (March 2026) where I thought to myself, "damn...this is so unbelievably good. Who is Paul Weston anyway and why is his orchestra so perfect?"

Lo and behold, this blog is born. 12 years in the making. 

Who was Paul Weston and his Orchestra? Why was that music familiar to my Grandma? 

 Paul Weston and His Orchestra

 1956. A leap year. Beautiful cars. The birth of the coolest kind of Diner. Also, the year this record was pressed. Paul Weston, however, was born in 1912. Just over 100 years before I found this record.

He was a composer and arranger who helped shape the sound of mid-century American music. His smooth, relaxed orchestral style became a foundation for what we now call easy listening. He worked with artists like Jo Stafford and Nat King Cole, and played a major role in early Capitol Records. His music feels effortless, and it helped define an entire era. 

On the back of the record, we've got a list of tunes and jazz standards. Most of these standards were written long before Solo Mood was released and became famous through multiple films over decades. 

SIDE A 

        Rockin' Chair    
        A Foggy Day    
        Body And Soul    
        Sweet Loraine    
        When It's Sleepy Time Down South    
        Lullaby In Rhythm 

SIDE B

   
        A Hundred Years From Today    
        Dancing On The Ceiling (He Dances On My Ceiling)    
        Autumn In New York    
        Honeysuckle Rose    
        You Are Too Beautiful    
        The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else) 

Music and Muscle Memory 

  Full transparency, I didn't know a single song on this list when I first heard it. I didn't know timeless tracks like Autumn in New York or Honeysuckle Rose yet. I didn't really know what a jazz standard was.

For those who may not know, a jazz standard is a song that has been widely performed and recorded by many artists over time, becoming a shared part of the jazz repertoire. They're songs that don't belong to just one artist; they've been played, re-imagined, and passed around so much that they've become part of the language of music.

And even then, this definition has expanded over time. Standards are still standards, but the list has grown significantly. They're definitive of periods of time, and have shaped cultural moments. The list stretches  far beyond American borders.

All that being said, I'd like to get real with you for a moment.

For years my sweet Grandma had dementia. Some days were better than others, but we're grateful she was mostly herself until the end. She meant a great deal to my family, and we miss her greatly.

Grandma loved John Denver, Elvis, and so much more. Before and during the dementia, she always lit up when she heard music she loved. That moment when she walked in the room and she heard Autumn in New York, she remembered something. 

She was recognizing a time. She was hearing what once was, and yet, still was... because in the moment, she was there again. She was recalling something that had already existed long before I found it sitting in a thrift store. 

It's no secret that music has that kind of power. The power to remind, and re-live remarkable joys — positively overwhelm the soul and spirit of a human body.  

In 2073, I'll be 80. Hopefully my brain will be sharp. Maybe we'll have the power to project our memories onto walls through our eyes by then. Maybe I'll hear Autumn in New York, and I'll think back to 60 years in the past when I saw my Grandma light up, and how she thought about her life 60 years before that...120 years of joy. Maybe a young-ling in my family will see me recalling my joy, and they'll remember it for another 60. That is, after all, the essence of music discovery. 

What does it mean to love something before you understand it? 

When music meets you where you are, and it continues to transform, deepen, like a love connection. It is in fact, a love connection in its own right. Don't ever let anyone tell you how that's supposed to show up for you. Maybe Mr. Sir from Substack is working too hard to find music. 

This quote is pinned to the side of my website, I'll leave it here for you: 

Why work hard when you can work Joyfully? —Sadghuru 

Go accidentally fall in love again with something you already loved. Share a song you love to someone you love. Tell them why you love it. Listen to something you haven't heard since you were a teen. You never know what you might come to understand about yourself and the world around you. 

Keep your heart open, my friend. Aka, Stay Tuned xo —BD 

Thanks for reading. If you dug this post, SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK to recieve blogs direct to your email! Feel free to tip the scribbler and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/berlyd

Listen to SOLO MOOD: https://youtu.be/CIFGeCRLpXI?si=bdn400YAn09B7W_G