peter j stein - oh, america -: BLOG: A LONG WINTER

I love to feel the bitter cold winter,when I have to walk my dogs on icy streets,and the snow is blowing down my neck like icy splinters,and the dogs won't pee, 'cause the earth is covered by sleet, and they cannot smell anything familiar to them,and my shoes and socks are soaking through,and my hands feel numb and my nose drips phlegm,and my 4 horsepower snowblower's sparkplug just blew, and the tall gaunt shadows of the afternoon sun,fall against unearthly empty phantom buildings,where none of my friends live and no friendly faces come,and I'm tailgated by aggressive cars on the Southern Parkway run,whose windows are darkened by illegal tint,
and the diners' mediocre food feels toxic to my gums,and there are flies even in the expensive restaurants,and where I'm always running late and feeling the bum rush, 
and where the taxes are too high,
and even the Long Island streets are congested,
and generally no one gives a shit about anyone else,
until I realize that I am either [...]

it's time for Spring

THE NORTHEAST WINTER WILL CHANGE YOU

In the past 9 months, using my personal computer software, and driven by unknown forces, I have written and recorded several songs,

"A Young Girl Was Laughing (by the window)" is a tune that emerged while writing a different song, a sequence which often typifies my songwriting. Usually, I am struggling with a melody and lyrics, when, suddenly, a new melody comes to mind, and the "real" song, utterly different from the one I thought that I had been working on, emerges from the struggle, within a few hours.