Oh, to be back in the hippie era, that golden time when I was young and when open minds and open arms were, for many, the order of the day. Alas, it is long gone. Now, here in the USA, there is an abundance of folks who are anything but welcoming. In fact, one of their primary missions is to deprive others of basic rights required for democracy to survive, let alone prosper. I find that truth hard to believe and even harder to understand. A sad example occurred in January: the banding together of every Republican Party member of the United States Senate to doom the passage of a bill that would have helped protect voting rights. Would any reasonably moral and honorable person vote against such legislation? They wouldn’t. Those senators, troublingly, are nowhere near moral and honorable.
Yup, gloomy describes the state of affairs in my country. And that word also describes the recent morning (a few days before the voting rights bill met its demise) that sparked the writing of this story. Grey as hell, not to mention damp and chilly, it was bringing me down. So, I hopped into my car and drove to Willow Grove Park, a three-story indoor shopping mall near my home in the Philadelphia burbs. I was in need of a barrage of color jolts not obtainable, for the most part, within my house, where earth tones and soft blues predominate. Not that I have anything against those hues. Au contraire. An overly tense f*cker, I’d be even more on edge without their calming influence.
I made the right decision, as the mall turned out to be precisely what the doctor ordered. I walked around for 45 minutes, happily permitting window and merchandise displays and an arcade popping with multi-hued energy to brighten my mood.
Bold yellows, reds and oranges, exploding at elite levels as only they can, were all over the place. At one store’s windows, pink and lavender, working together in sweet harmony, seriously caught my eye. And I was captivated by the inner and outer glow of handbags that, two minutes into my trek, I spotted on a table in Bloomingdale’s department store. Three in cherry and two in green, the accessories projected a self-confidence that I was in awe of. Shit, I’d be delighted to be half as cool and enticing as they are.
Colors are powerful, for sure. They influence our thoughts and emotions, our very states of being. And sometimes they inspire the creation of excellent music. The world would be a lesser place, for instance, if Little Green, a song by Joni Mitchell, were not in it. The same holds true for Elton John’s and Bernie Taupin’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Those tunes reside on the melancholy side of the spectrum. What I’m in the mood for right now, however, just as I was when I headed to the mall, are some strong jolts. What’s more, I want the jolts to emit lots of steam. Overly tense f*ckers need stimuli of that nature now and then, don’t they? Damn straight they do.
Well, there is no shortage of recordings that deliver the goods. One of the best is Little Red Corvette, by the late, great Prince. Released in 1983, it recounts an encounter with a lady who loves to give and to receive.
And then there’s Devil With A Blue Dress On, written by Shorty Long and Willam Stevenson. Most folks, including me, are unfamiliar with those composers, but nearly everyone has heard the recording of their song, from 1966, by Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels. It gets my juices flowing every time I hear it. By the way, Mitch and the boys mixed Devil With A Blue Dress On with Good Golly, Miss Molly, two songs seamlessly becoming one.
The party’s starting! Here are the tunes. Feel free to comment on them, politics, democracy, colors, or anything you like. Till next time!
Yeah, Another Blogger 
Thank you for the colorful post and the music.
Joanna
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I appreciate your stopping by, Joanna. Have a good week!
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Great music! We all need a colourful jab every now and then!
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You’re right. At least every other day, I think.
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You’re right about colours, Neil. Sometimes it’s enough just to look at great combinations of shades.
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Colors are endlessly fascinating. And surprising too sometimes.
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We are all in need of a lift of one kind or another after this long stretch with Covid. Now, a shopping visit would be the furthest from my mind but we are planning a few garden visits this week and next. Re democracy in the USA – the impression from this side of the Atlantic is that democracy has long since been displaced by those with money.
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Hi, Paddy. Maybe so. But ever since Trump got elected, things have gotten worse and worse. He has brought out the worst in many people/.
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Without a doubt in the world.
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A great ‘ban the blues with colour’ post, Neil. Thank you. My old Yoga teacher always suggested wearing yellow when down, as it’s the colour of the sun, and it’s amazing how many of our memories are entwined with colour and sound. Bring it all on. cheers. x
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Hey there, Joy. And you’re living in a very sunny country. You made a good choice.
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The politics in the USA are gloomy indeed. It colours me angry.
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Me too, Peggy. Till Trump emerged in 2016, I had no idea that there are so many jerks out there.
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Great colours in the shopping mall – Sadly our one has lost many of its stores since the start of the pandemic so not an very uplifting trip seeing all those boarded up windows.
Love the Prince song – Nearly 6 years gone now. Where has the time gone?
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I didn’t realize that he has been gone for that long. I would have guessed four years. Time has a mind of its own: It zips by.
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Great music from my youth. Thanks. As a walker and a hiker, this time of year I so miss Mother Nature’s color. Everything is gray and brown and dull. I’ve never thought of getting a color boost at the mall since I hate shopping, but that is a good suggestion and I think I’ll give it a shot.
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Hi, Denise. I rarely buy anything at the mall near my house. But I go there now and then to check out the sights and the colors. If it wasn’t very close to my home, though, I guess I’d almost never be at a mall.
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Truly, I am not in the mood for milquetoast today. 🙂
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Brightness is better.
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Beautiful colors 👍 It is really good exercises to walk in the shopping mall. But very sad that the Ozark (Osage Beach) outlets lost so much business because of the Covid.
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Hey, June. There are a fair number of vacancies at the mall near my home. And some of the stores there, due to staff shortages or whatever, don’t open every day. Covid’s effects have been very bad all over the world.
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I really do not miss those gloomy overcast days of the northern winter so I quite see why you needed a colour boost.
As to politics, while we have a party system we have no democracy.
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Today is a sunny one where I live. I’m going to go outside in a while to shovel some of the snow I didn’t get to yet (we had a pretty big snowfall last Friday).
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Must say something about me that the only “color” songs I can think of at the moment are “Black Magic Woman,” and “Paint it Black.”
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Hi. A color song just popped into my mind: Mood Indigo. I think that Ellington composed it.
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My favorite color song? “Kodachrome”! Granted, I’ve got a Canon rather than a Nikon, and of course I’ve gone digital, but still: it works, especially at 65 mph on the open road, with the sun shining, the windows down, and the volume up.
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Yeah, that song has what it takes. You still hear it now and then on various radio stations.
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I haven’t been inside a mall since January 2020. I like your photos and the idea of seeing all the colors inside while it’s bleak outside. Maybe I’ll put on my walking shoes and a mask– and go see what I shall see.
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Afternoon, Ally. Go, go, go!
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Something’s been bothering me for a while now and I couldn’t put my finger on it. You’re a genius, Neil. I need a shot of colour, that’s all.
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Right, bright colors really can make a difference. They’re therapeutic sometimes.
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F**K Covid… our greatest pandemic starts with a “T” and ends with a “P”. A little 70’s Disco could also help right about now. “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor does it for me…
“You think I’d crumble?
You think I’d lay down and die?
Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive, hey, hey”
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Good song. As for Trump: He’s diabolical.
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Loved that opening! I bet I wasn’t the only one who nodded along with you, raised my fist even over the injustice. Don’t we all agree–about the ‘other side’– “In fact, one of their primary missions is to deprive others of basic rights required for democracy to survive, let alone prosper. I find that truth hard to believe and even harder to understand.” And then didn’t agree with your conclusion! Don’t get me wrong, I’m as annoyed by Republicans as the Democrats. I worry about Democracy.
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Hi, Jacqui. Well, if even one Republican senator had had the courage and moral fiber to buck their party and vote for the bill, then it would be law now.
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“Three in cherry and two in green, the accessories projected a self-confidence that I was in awe of. Shit, I’d be delighted to be half as cool and enticing as they are.”
So, which one did you buy? lol
Nice, uplifting story for mid-winter!
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I bought both of them!
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Looking directly out the window right now the two colors I see are gray-blue and drab gray olive green. The forest in winter surrounding a dull housing development devoid of anything unique. Your pops of color are gorgeous. I’ll toss in Purple Reign-Prince
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Ah, another great song. Prince, as we all know, was spectacularly talented.
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I should probably watch the news more (to be an informed voter and all) but it just depresses me so. Also, I find that being “informed” these days matters little, when so many others are swayed by propaganda and lies. The Republicans have turned the political process into an existential war, and democracy – and even logic and rationality – can take a back seat. I truly believe the U.S. is on a downward slide and rock bottom is still ahead. (The 2008 recession and COVID were cakewalks.)
As for colors, I’ve always loved pastels. Soft shades of plum, avocado, peach, creamy lemon meringue…very relaxing for this day and age. They make me hungry, too.
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“The Republicans have turned the political process into an existential war, and democracy – and even logic and rationality – can take a back seat. I truly believe the U.S. is on a downward slide and rock bottom is still ahead. (The 2008 recession and COVID were cakewalks.)” — I tend to agree with what you say. Normal people who belong to the Republican Party should be loudly protesting the sick directions in which their party is going. But, depressingly, they aren’t protesting.
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Part of the reason the few “normals” don’t protest is because Republicans are conservative, and conservatives aren’t exactly good at “upsetting the apple cart.” Frank Zappa said that the GOP is good for only one thing: making money!
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I remember those hippie days – I do think we made a difference but the backlash was much more than we anticipated and could comprehend. What is happening now is beyond comprehension. I’m not a big fan of malls but, whatever gets you through the night is alright!
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Malls can take our minds off of things, whether we’re there to shop or, like me, to walk around looking at the sights.
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Excellent idea, Neil. Gonna dig out my Mitch Ryder discs and crank it up. Don’t know what color goes with Detroit, chrome I guess! I see Linda suggested “Kodachrome,” and I grew up not far from Rochester, home of Eastman Kodak, have to listen to that, too. And old Chicago “Colour My World,” ELO “Mr Blue Sky,” there’s a ton of good colorful songs.
Don’t let the gray saturate things, there’s hope some honest judges will shoot down some of the worst of the gerrymandering. But it’s true, the GOP continues to disgrace itself and just sinks lower every day it seems.
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” . . . the GOP continues to disgrace itself and just sinks lower every day it seems.” — Sad, but oh so very true.
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I too miss the days when ‘open minds and open arms’ were the order of the day…I can’t understand what’s going on nowadays – like morality and ethics just fell off a cliff and nobody is there to rescue them.
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” . . . morality and ethics just fell off a cliff and nobody is there to rescue them.” — Pathetic, isn’t it? It’s happened many times in human history. And it’s happening in the USA and other countries right now. Not everyone is like that, of course. Just certain factions.
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Yeah, we could use a little deviling with a blue dress on these days… Our politics seem to be increasingly dark these last 4 or 5 years. At least in the 60s & 70s I felt a glimmer of hope, of color, of passion in this culture, and I think it was more than just being young inside a progressive era. Let’s hope that springtime brings more color to our souls.
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Although there was plenty of darkness pre-Trump, he made things much worse.
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The shopping mall is a great choice for immersion in bright lights and stimulating colors. Bright colors also lift my spirits. On cold gloomy days, I don my red hat and matching red scarf for outdoor trips. I’ve enjoyed moving to the beat of “The Devil With A Blue Dress On with Good Golly” 😀
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You’re a vision in red!
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You bet!
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In the middle of winter these colours are just what I needed! Maggie
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Spring can’t arrive soon enough.
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Hi Neil,
We live in unsettling and often incomprehensible times, indeed. Not sure what the antidote is, but even if we had it, some people would refuse to take it.
Keep enjoying as many colors and as much uplifting music as you can.
Best,
Tanja
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I know what you mean. Many members of the human race are intolerant and dangerous, and wouldn’t want to be any other way.
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Great photos and music as usual!!!!! You do have a knack to deliver.
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Thanks, Joyce. I try!
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Sadly, the U.K. govt seems to have studied the Trump playbook. A collection of lying, amoral b*stards.
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They’re not as bad as Trump, though. He instigated a riot and tried to steal an election. He’s a fascist.
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Not yet …
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As Joy’s yoga teacher said, yellow always perks me up, although blue is my favorite color. (Remember “Yellow Balloon” by Yellow Balloon?) I love your photo of the Bath & Body Works display, as well as your Mitch Ryder recommendation. I will add, though, that I (unsurprisingly) prefer Bruce Springsteen’s perfect Detroit trifecta of “Jenny Take Ride”/”Devil with the Blue Dress”/”Good Golly Miss Molly”. Unparalleled!
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Let’s hope that Bruce and his band go on the road this year. The world needs them!
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Weirdly enough, I had never heard that Prince song. You will be relieved to know that I have heard “Devil with a Blue Dress on.” 😉 Glad you were able to go somewhere with bright colors to cheer you up.
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I’m not a shopper, but I like that mall!
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Colors can be so uplifting, especially in the middle of a gloomy winter. That’s one of the reasons I hate to see the demise of the indoor shopping mall. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but I do think they have a purpose to serve!
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The mall I went to for this story, which is less than a mile from my house, is struggling. There has been a Sears store there for years, but it’s closing. A Starbucks in the food court sometimes isn’t open, probably due to staff shortages. And those are but two example of many that I could mention.
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It’s so sad. Malls were struggling even before Covid (Amazon being the main culprit) and Covid was just the final blow to so many. I like getting packages in the mail as well as the next person, but there is something about a trip to the mall that is so cheering. Future generations won’t get to experience that, I fear.
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I too remember.
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The hippie era was a unique and fascinating time.
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Love Prince and red is one of my fave colours — it’s also the auspicious colour for a Lunar New Year today. Perfect timing Neil!
eden
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🌹🍎🌺👠🍒
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That was a happy jolt for the eyes and ears, Neil. And it’s now still light at 5 pm, so regardless of what the groundhog tells us tomorrow, we’re edging toward spring.
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I’ve had enough of winter. But it has quite a ways to go yet.
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What a good idea, to get a color fix from the mall!
And listened to Little Red Corvette and realized I miss Prince.
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Prince was one of the best.
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Mitch and the Wheels. Yeah it inspires me every time. Bruce kept the song alive. You pick some good ones fella.
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That song probably has been played by bands in bars millions of times. Same with Gloria.
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I love the way you look at the world. I have started trying to keep a nature diary of the short walk I do most lunchtimes around four country lanes. The hedgerow changes significantly over a two week period, so I try to write a paragraph or two every fortnight. The more I look, the more I see.
It strikes me that you do a similar thing in the urban / suburban environment. But the way you approach it with a theme (colours, signs, blossom etc) allows you to look at things a different way and link scenes and objects that most of us would think unrelated.
And, of course, it enables you to find colour in the darkest of days.
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Hi George, and thanks. I appreciate it. Take care. See ya!
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Hey there Neil, Check out the song “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton. Have a great day. Jerry
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That’s a great song. As famous as she is, I think she’s under- appreciated as a songwriter. Enjoy the day! Neil
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A “vibrant” post . . . enjoyed reading it, as I do all your posts. For years (decades), I wanted to be American. I dreamed of the day I could move there . . . now, I’m flabbergasted at what’s transpiring. Perhaps I’ll still get there, but when I do, I suspect the America I so loved and respected, would no longer be. That saddens me. Greatly.
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Living in the USA can be worrying (for good reason). But I think that visiting would be a very enjoyable experience.
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Great post and I love the colors. Must agree – both bright colors and catchy music bring my spirits up too. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi. We need bright upbeat stuff to take our minds off all the problems in the world. Take care. See ya.
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👍
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Golden time indeed!
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A whole lot of fun and progressive thinking back then.
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Two great tunes from the past—and I think you have a future in color commentary!
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Morning, Cindy. Maybe the Sixers would hire me?!
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I don’t understand how 1983 was almost 40 years ago. “Little Red Corvette” is still one of those songs that makes you feel cooler for listening.
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Hi. You’re right – – how can almost 40 years have gone by since we first heard that song? It’s scary how fast time goes by.
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What those Republican bastards are doing is making it difficult for Blacks to vote because Blacks traditionally vote Democrat. It is not only unfair, but racist as well. Where are we going?????
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The Republican party is a disgrace. Many of its members are from the Stone Age.
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No wonder I enjoy a stroll through a candy store even though I don’t buy anything. All those artificial colors! Thanks for solving my mystery. My contributions to the song list (if they aren’t already up there in previous comments): Chris de Burgh’s “Lady in Red”, and Lorrie Morgan’s “Something in Red”. The latter song is clever, telling a changing story as it cycles through four colors.
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Hi. I just listened to Lady In Red on YouTube. I hadn’t heard it in a long time. It sounds like a song the Bee Gees might have written in their early days. They’d have knocked it out of the ball park, what with their amazing harmonies.
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Wow! Beautiful colour combination and the videos are excellent well shared ☺🎉💕👌thanks.
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These are sad days, and it’s hard to understand them. There’s nothing left but to get on a ship headed for Alphe Centauri. Which reminds me that on a recent Lyft trip, the driver told me that there were two Chinese families already living on Mars. And he was dead serious. That’s when I realized just how unravelled our world has become. I mean, how did I miss that in the news! I read the New York Fucking Times, for God’s sake!
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More and more people have been getting weird. They’ll believe anything. It’s incredible. I think that Facebook/Twitter/etc., and Trump, are heavily to blame.
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Neil I totally agree. I don’t know how anyone can endorse the actions of the Republican Party. They all seem brainwashed by Trump and his legacy of corruption and propaganda.
On another note, one of my favourite ‘color’ songs is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5V9nK7-OkM
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Trump’s the worst. He’s poison, as are his followers. As for Green River: It’s an antidote for poison!
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I’ll take politics for $500. I think we’re doomed, and I’m pretty positive about 95% of the time.
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I don’t feel optimistic about things either.
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