Afterglow

Ever have that perfect song that fits your day perfectly?

Sushi & Friends

Here are some of my recent pictures.

The Keikis. Ethan, Sophie, Addison, and Avery.

We took this with an old timey camera and Candace fell asleep.

Strangely inspiring.

Study Buddies. Cindy Stephens and myself.

Bodily, TJ, and Nate performing "The Dishwasher" yoga move.

Oh Yes! Sushi in St. George.

The Beatles

For those of you who know me are aware of my love/obsession with The Beatles. If you were curious why I love them so much, here are a few reasons.

• They were willing to try - Before the Beatles most music was written by one, recorded by another, and produced by someone else. The Beatles did all of those and did them better. They weren't versed in the music industry, in fact the industry took them as a novelty act. The Beatles redefined the word industry entirely as not companies or labels but as talent with courage.
• They went beyond - "Turn off your mind. Relax and float downstream. It is not dying." "Yellow Mellow Custard, dripping from a dead dog's eyes." "I read the news today oh boy! About a lucky man who made the grade. And though the news was rather sad, I just had to laugh." These were lyrics that no other would group would attempt. But now all groups strive to push the beyond. It started with Rubber Soul and ended with Abbey Road. Their albums stand as the standard that artists try to reach.
• Their music is timeless - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band still stands as Rolling Stone's #1 album of all time. Their compilation album 1 stands as, the number 1 top selling album last decade with 11.5 million copies sold. They barely trailed Eminem as the highest selling artist of last decade. A group that broke up over 30 years ago!?! Still the highest act!!! That is the power of the Beatles. Someone once remarked that amount of power was dangerous but how wonderful it went into the right hands.
• Their music knows no age - One weekend I brought The Beatles: Rock Band home to my family. While we were playing My 60+ mother, my 30+ brother, my 5 year old nephew, and myself were all singing and rocking out to the Fab Four. What other artists can do that? It seems that everyone knows at least one song that the Beatles wrote.
• Their music is just so Freakin good! - My Best of the Beatles playlist on my iPod has 145 tracks! It seems that once I think I've heard all that they could offer there is another song that I discover. They single handedly proved to the world that musicians could be artists. Each album is a masterpiece, each single a work of art, and each note is a brush stroke on a canvas of musical beauty. Their songs fill us with hope, comf0rt us in times of sorrow, and give us the reason to get up and dance.