Leta Blake

author. human. working hard to become stellar at life.

Music

Christmas Songs – Dec 20, 2014 – Holly Jolly Concert #sufjan #cheers #music

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I’m pretty sure that being drunk at a Sufjan Steven’s Christmas concert would be pretty freaking awesome and go a long way toward giving almost anyone some Christmas cheer. It’s just that ridiculous. And it’s probably best to be buzzed while listening/watching, too. I dunno. I just like it.

Christmas Music – Dec 19, 2014 – Happy Holidays #lovespirals #music

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I was listening to this album (Ornamentals) for the first time the other day and kept thinking this was a Madonna song from the 1990s or something. I was kinda tripped out to see it was by Lovespirals and not Madonna at all. My brain has a hard time accepting that. Listen and tell me if you hear 90s Madonna, too. Or am I insane? Wait…don’t answer that! 😉

 

Christmas Music – Dec 18, 2014 – City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks #vandaveer #music

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When I was a kid, Silver Bells was my favorite song on my parents’ single Christmas LP. It was a mix of artists and long gone, so I no longer know who sang that version. I’ve never been able to locate it. Most versions of Silver Bells actually bother me because they aren’t the right one. But this version by Vandaveer is the closest to the old one I’ve ever found and it makes me happy.

Christmas Music – December 15, 2014 – Such Was My Need On A Chronic Christmas Eve #sineadoconor #music

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One of those songs that’s probably only a Christmas song to me. I have a few like that. Like Cohen’s “Famous Blue Raincoat” and EBTG’s “Come On Home”.

Oh I wanna make something

So lovely for you

‘Cus I promised that’s what I’d do for you

With the bible I stole

I know you forgave my soul

Because such was my need on a chronic Christmas Eve

And I think we’re agreed that it should have been free

And you sang to me

They dress the wounds of my poor people

As though they’re nothing

Saying “peace, peace”

When there’s no peace

ETA: Apparently, I am not the only one who sees this as a Christmas song. “Christmas can serve as a hollow, ironic and painful reminder for many that beyond the season, the give and take of our society has often not served them with the justice of enough.

In this vein I love the song ‘Something Beautiful’ by Sinead O’Connor picking up the themes of Jeremiah at Christmas. Talk about one cantankerous prophet quoting another!”

 

 

Playlist for Smoky Mountain Dreams | 3 Chicks After Dark | Bonus Material #spotify #music

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“Over the years, I’ve discovered that a major key to reaching the varying levels of emotional intensity I hope to reach in a novel is to have a really strong soundtrack to listen to as I write. This was no different for Smoky Mountain Dreams.The following Spotify list has the eight most important songs I listened to when writing Smoky Mountain Dreams.”

Head on over to listen to the playlist if’n ya are curious!

Guest Post: Leta Blake for Smoky Mountain Dreams | 3 Chicks After Dark.

Sometimes holding on means letting go Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he's still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him. There's more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He's raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There's no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn't want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn't want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.
Sometimes holding on means letting go
Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.