Off to the Races

Can I just say....Thank God whatever it is that's going around my house is hopefully coming to an end!

Things have been exciting.  First you get woken up in the middle of the night, to a child who is complaining of sickness...then within' days you're stricken "ill" as well.  From wonderfully horrendous migraines, to gut-wrenching pains that won't even let you bend your abdomen, my household was on a constant roller coaster.   Following this, is a sore throat that, when you try to sing, makes you cringe, and I'm sure a few dogs howl.  Thus being the reason for me NOT putting people through me singing anything.  My poor kids had to deal with a bit...and I'll admit, I heard them giggle at my expense.   Can't say I blamed them either.  

I'm still feeling that grogginess in my throat, and unfortunately a cold coming on, but so far, this looks like the "calm before the storm" of sneezing, coughing, etc, etc.  Gotta love it!

In this minor break, I decided to sing Lana Del Rey's, "Off to the Races".  I will admit, and I'm sure most of us can, that I in no way relate to this song.  It's catchy.  I know, I know..."ewww catchy"....but I finally decided to check Lana Del Rey out after hearing her compared to just about every artist out there.  Or more like after seeing most Artists out there being accused of copying off of her.  As always, I anticipated being disappointed.  Unfortunately having the bar set incredibly low for others, seems to keep me safe from feeling bad for getting my hopes up.  In this case, I was pleasantly surprised.  While I'm not a fan of every single song, I did generally enjoy her, "Born to Die", album.  (this is the point where you ask, "Rachel....do you EVER listen to ANYTHING uplifting???".  To which I would most likely reply, "probably not".  I just can't help what I'm drawn to.)  

Much like other albums that I'm drawn to, you'll find melodies more along the minor scale, and darker themes in general.  Then there are the "happy" more "upbeat" songs, that until you actually read the lyrics...you have no idea just how utterly macabre the song really is!  Love it.  I love the irony in it, so much.  Well I found a lot of this in "Born to Die".  Two songs stuck out to me, one being the song which I performed this week, which is "Off to the Races".  The next song that really stuck to me is called "National Anthem".  Which I plan to accompany with the piano, instead of using an instrumental or karaoke.  So wish me luck on that!  Anyone who has read my past blogs, or in general "knows" me, knows that singing and playing piano all at once, is a bit of a challenge for me.  (Think "rubbing tummy while patting your head")  Which is why I've set that challenge as a goal for me to get over.  Wish me luck!  Also, here is my latest video!