The Cliffs of Insanity

I fell asleep writing a little earlier, slept for about an hour sitting straight up. Woke up feeling like I'd been struck by a freight train. And now here I am writing here, thinking about Pink Floyd. So they're my theme over on Blip.fm this morning. Yesterday it was a bit more festive, as I featured a series of Klezmer tunes to get whomever was listening to jumping early in the morning. Absolutely will "On the Turning away" be featured. That song just makes me ache. I may have to add that to my fic playlist. I wish I had "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," but iTunes won't let you buy just that one song. You have to buy the whole album and I don't have the fundage. Boo on them.

This insomnia thing is really getting on my nerves. It'd be nice to sleep more than five hours at a time, and this grabbing of an hour here and there by my body without my realising it is quite disconcerting. It's like having lost time. What really irks me is that I drank some very strong coffee pretty late in the evening with the intention of writing all night. I knew that I was going to have insomnia. Your body can just tell you these things. So I figured I'd fuel the ailment and take advantage of it. Instead, however, the body kept fading out of consciousness, even with the caffeine overload. Sometimes, I feel I can't win for losing.

Aunt Tudi and I have some errands to run later on this morning. Again, I'm overloading on caffeine so I won't be a menace on the road. I want to go and get it done and get back home before the thunderstorms start. We're due for a rough day and I'd prefer to be at home instead of on the road if a bad one comes along. I have to say that's one thing I like about the South ~ the thunderstorm. If I'd had my druthers, I would have become a storm chaser.

Okay, I'm off to write on this thing before my body decides to act the fool again.

I'm doing this from computer class, so it may come in bits and bobs if I can't save a draft here.  Yes, I'm playing in class because I'm bored out of my thick skull.  This meme come from pamelonian .

Think of 15 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life. Dig into your soul. Music that brought you to life when you heard it. Then when you finish, tag 15 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

I'm not tagging anyone.  Do this only if you want to.  I would ask that, if you do do, drop me a link to your post, on account of I'm curious about what your albums are.  Anyways, here are my 15, in no particular order.

1. Xanadu Soundtrack:  It officially introduced me to ELO and was instrumental in my becoming a Witch because of the Goddess influence on the whole Xanadu project.
2. Eldorado by the Electric Light Orchestra:  The title track to this album is the song I want played at my funeral.  It's that important to me.  I still consider myself a dreamer, an unwoken fool.
3. The Dancing Years by Shriekback:  This is a compilation of Shriek songs and is usually reviled by most Shriekback fans, particularly the purists who didn't appreciate Barry's reinterpretations of original Shriek songs.  This album was influential for me because of one of those reinterpretations, "Deeply Lined Up."  It was this song that created Cadmus Pariah in my sick and twisted mind.  Within 8 minutes of that song, my best and most terrifying character was born.  I haven't been right since and that was in 1990.
4. Big Night Music by Shriekback:  Every song on this album (except for 'Pretty Little Things') sang to my soul and inspired much writing.  The liner notes in this album were also very important to me on a spiritual level.  I was still a Dedicant when I came to Big Night Music, so the written intro to the album (composed by Barry Andrews, of that I have no doubt), helped me to understand the path on which I wanted to tread.  I'm still treading that path, still 'celebrating the blessed dark, the place I was always most at home.'
5. The Wall by Pink Floyd:  When I realised I was going mad back in the 80s, this was my soundtrack.  After having discovered Syd Barrett and his story, I thoroughly related and looked into my on abyss.  The Wall became my soundtrack and My Friend Todd and I would listen to it religiously, singing every single word.  Dark and delightful times those were.

Okay, we're getting into Access hot and heavy here, so I guess I should pay attention.  I'll finish this later before I have to head for work.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice about the whole school funding thing. I filled out my FAFSA today and the 'Net promptly lost it all, but not before I printed it out. I'm not sure if it submitted or not, and won't know for another 24 hours. If it didn't go through, at least I can speed through the submission process tomorrow with all the info I printed out. I hate paperwork. HATE. IT.

In other news, as everyone already apparently knows, Syd Barrett died on Friday. This is very depressing to me. I know that he suffered ever since the breakdown in the late 60s, and that he's probably better off, but it just hurts to know he's gone. If it weren't for Syd, I would never have discovered XTC and Shriekback. I wrote this man poetry. I dreamed about him off and on since the late 80s. He was an inspiration to me. It saddens me that he has left this vale of tears.

Aunt Tudi is yip-yapping on the phone, so I've decided to write about the dream I had this morning.

I was in England, in Manchester, walking down a narrow sidewalk on a cloudy day. I came to a door and knocked, then I was suddenly indoors, on a mattress on the floor, looking up at Syd Barrett. He asked me if I thought his eyes looked like Aleister Crowley's and I said "No, they look like your eyes." Then he knelt before me, tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't want to be a hermit any longer," he said.

And that's all I can remember. I'm always fairly distressed when Syd enters my psyche. The time during which I discovered him was a strange and uncomfortable moment in my life. When Syd reappears, I feel as though I'm about to plunge into temporary (at least I hope it's temporary) insanity. So I have this dream to ponder during my drive to the coast. Syd is sitting shotgun.