Indulging once more in a musical theme… on rare occasions I will hear a song on the radio that will instantly seize my interest and demand that I learn more. That was the case with Audioslave’s Like a Stone. Chris Cornell is an astonishingly talented singer, and by the time he reached the lyrics

On my death bed, I will pray to the gods and the angels,
like a pagan, to anyone who will take me to Heaven…

I was utterly won over.

Like a Stone was a fairly unique song on this first CD, but there were many other excellent offerings, on this, and the next two albums. The latest CD, “Revelations” came out last September, at just the right time for me. Very often in the course of my writing, certain songs will serve as “theme music” to the stories I am trying to tell — sometimes for the lyrics, but more often for the mood or the feel of the song. Somehow “Revelations” became the music that let me write the final chapters of the fantasy novel with a speed and confidence that had been lacking during the tumultuous years when this story first began to develop.

So it was with regret that I heard the news that Audioslave is no more. Chris Cornell has left the band for a solo career. Artists must find their own paths, and my admiration goes to those who are willing to try new ways. So here is a toast to the past, while looking forward to the future.

While driving home one evening not long ago, I was introduced to the two-man band The Black Keys when a local radio station featured their most recent CD Magic Potion. The Black Keys are described as blues rock. They sound like they should be from New Orleans, though I think they are from Iowa. Less than 24-hours after hearing the last few cuts from Magic Potion, I had my own copy of the CD in hand, and have listened to it many times since. I admire and enjoy the whole album, but there is one song oddly different from the rest, sweet and minimalist — I think there are maybe ten lines in the whole thing. It’s called “You’re the One” and opens like this:

When I was 13, my Ma said “Son,
you’re the one… I love.”

That is an opening line to love, because for me anyway, it says so much. Why would a mother say something like that to her maturing son? Pretty clearly, because she has been disappointed in the men she has known — and from that one line I can suddenly envision this mother and imagine the way she and her son live and relate to one another. This is writing that says so much more than the count of words implies — and I like that a lot.

For the curious, the rest of the lyrics are (and I am quoting from memory, so no guarantees):

Now I’m old and wise,
When I see your eyes,
You’re the one I love.

Will you be true?
Till life is done?
Be the one I love.
You’re the one I love.

…and don’t miss “Goodbye Babylon” and “You’re Touch” and all the rest….

I have rarely made it to the movies these past many months, but my husband wanted to see Letters from Iwo Jima, so we went today. “How did you like it?” he asked afterward. Trying to keep my voice steady, I answered, “I thought it was excellent… but it’s one of those movies I’ll watch only once.” It was that emotionally wrenching.

The movie depicts the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of a private in the Japanese army. I don’t think it’s a spoiler if I say that the movie conveys both the horror of war, and the horror of being trapped in a situation you never thought possible, with no way out.

The acting was very well done. We are all Ken Watanabe fans here, but Kazunari Ninomiya did a superb job portraying the private Shigo.

In all… highly recommended, at least once.