Won’t You Take Me to...Colorado

Everything Else
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Edit: No - I’m not looking for a ride. And just have to register a complaint on the minimum-10-character Title thing - it should just read “Funkytown”, but it wouldn’t let me : (

Allow me to share this story with you guys (in the Midwest that includes all humans, independent of gender).

Though I’ve been an instrument player and singer since I was a kid, sometime semi-pro musician, etc. - the way my brain works has been that usually lyrics aren’t terribly important to me compared with the music. Horrific revelation I realize. Half the time I never even thought about the meaning of songs I was singing when I was in bands and knew the lyrics by heart to 80-plus, 3-minute pop songs. Too busy thinking about the notes for two hands and the singing at the same time. It was about all I could handle. I really respect drummers that can play four different things with each limb, AND sing at the same time. Now that thought has me missing Levon Helm…

So - been working for months on getting the house ready to sell to move to Colorado. I finally reached the point where I had to start giving away 30 years of accumulated crap, a lot of it perfectly GOOD crap. But finding the things a new home has been a very rewarding process, especially if I know the recipients, as opposed to donating it to a random charity where it simply disappears from your life, or letting the new owners have it. Knowing the person you give it to, and knowing it will be both put to good use and appreciated is great.

One of our favorite rooms in this house has been the deck, with a cheap Home Depot gazebo on it to provide shade and a place to hang the outdoor B&W speakers. Homemade sub, hardwired to gear in the basement, wired to the network, controllable by phone or iPad. Add some friends, beverages, good food and a nice day…what the hell else do you need from life?

My next door neighbor has been the best neighbor you could ask for. So Saturday we got some friends to come over and help move the whole patio set/gazebo shebang to his back yard. Turned into an all day deal, so I brought over my TV’s sound bar and iPod so we would have some tunes while we worked. Sorry, Dave…keeping the B&Ws & sub ; )

Skip to later that evening, christening the new location/new best room in my neighbor’s house. Lots of pizza and beer, etc. and we started playing the bluetooth speaker-and-phone game where you take turns picking the song. You learn a lot about your neighbors’ ages and tastes ; ) - and it’s fun.

I was having a hell of a time thinking of things to play when it came my turn. At one point I was handed the phone, and scrolled down the list that was already on the screen (suggestions from YouTube) and there was “Funkytown”. Perfect choice at the time, and unlike a lot of other things people chose, I think everyone was familiar with it and got a laugh out of it at least (some bad dancing ensued).

Here I am, two days later, can’t get the thing out of my head. Just one of those tunes. And what might be termed a “guilty pleasure”.

Yet JUST THIS MORNING, it occurred to me what the lyrics were:

“Gotta make a move to a town that’s right for me
Town to keep me movin’
Keep me groovin’ with some energy

Well, I talk about it, talk about it
Talk about it, talk about it

Talk about, talk about
Talk about movin’

Gotta move on
Gotta move on
Gotta move on

Won’t you take me to Funkytown…”

That is all of the lyrics, repeated a bunch of times.

Had to laugh. The verse is a literal description of my life for the last three months, yet it hadn’t occurred to me why it was stuck in my head like an anthem. And I hated Disco “back in the day” - with the exception of the funky bits : )

By “Lipps, Inc.” (get it? Lipsync…haha)

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Lyrics are of even less interest to me. I would have never noticed.

As I remarkable indication of my lack of interest, I found myself skipping the lyrics you posted - even though they were the focus of your story . . .

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You will love Colorado, especially Boulder. (You’ll need a tie dye shirt, a Subaru Outback and learn to eat veggie burgers like Paul though)

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The company i work for is based in Boulder. What a great place.

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: ) I feel better now.

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Rap is particularly difficult for me to appreciate. The lyrics may be clever but I cannot pay enough attention to try and decipher them. So I am stuck with mind-numbing relentlessly repetitive semi-music.

Dyan is only one step shy of this - he writes melodies, although this can be difficult to discern given his singing.

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Been there, and used to work and ski in CO a lot years ago, so it is not alien to me. I also went to the University of Michigan (grew up nearby), and stayed in Ann Arbor 14 years. It is another Liberal Intellectual Theme Park, so I’m familiar. I can neither afford Boulder proper, nor do I want to live in a College Town ever again. Done that. But it’s a nice place to visit, work, eat, drink, etc. as long as you can go home afterwards. Or maybe Paul will have beanbag chairs in the lobby at the new building I can crash on overnight ; )

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Liberal Theme Park is a great phrase.

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Good luck on the move and hope it’s what you want. I’ve been through Colorado a number of times, sometimes skiing, sometimes in the summer/fall. It’s a nice place to visit, but after being in Michigan most of my life I really like greenery, and the lack of severe weather … no earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires (at least big ones), and severe precipitation. Takes some intestinal fortitude to make a major move like that, but the wife and I and stuck in our rut and have no desire to permanently leave it! I should add that Ann Arbor is a great town, though I don’t know if I could live there, too much traffic and lack of parking.

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I probably posted this before, but this is a 2’x9’ print on my wall I made from an iPhone pano I took in Chautauqua park last November.

It is entitled, “Flatirons, White Cloud, Red Rock, Bluebell” - badbeef
(Bluebell is the name of the road I’m standing on, going off to the right towards Paul’s ‘hood)

I was going to PShop the cloud red and send one to Paul and Ted, but got busy.

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There is nothing like this where I live. Yet my neighbors keep asking, “Why Colorado?” ; )

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Spent 30 years in MI, 30 years in IL - I’ve had it with the Flatlands. And months of no sun with temps never getting above freezing, with a foot of dirty frozen snow that doesn’t melt.

AFAIK, not a lot of earthquakes and hurricanes in the Boulder area.

I’m going to rent indefinitely. If it’s not for me, I’ll go somewhere else.

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Boulder is a very entertaining place to visit. Excellent restaurants, pubs and if you’re into hiking, riding, running,etc, you’re in heaven. I always get a kick out of the “trust-afarians” lying around Pearl Street asking for 20 bucks to buy some pot.

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Liberal INTELLECTUAL Theme Park. It’s important not to forget that ; )

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:smiley:

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Pearl St. is kinda cute, but other than going there for the occasional drink or food, it’s not what attracts me to the area. It strikes me as where the tourists go. Not a “townie” area for the most part.

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Congrats on the move! My wife’s family is from Longmont, so I’ve spend a lot of time in the front range area. Have you taken a new job? I currently live in the Pacific Northwest. When we visited last April, I couldn’t believe how dry it was in comparison. One of the places, I would definitely consider moving to. Boulder is beyond expensive to live in though :slight_smile:

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Last time I was there, a couple coworkers and I went to Jax’s Fish house. Who would expect good seafood in Boulder, but it’s excellent. We discovered during our celebration that oysters match quite well with Blanton’s bourbon. Luckily it wasn’t far from our hotel. Next morning we rented bikes and rode 30 miles. Boulder is a fun place.

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I could end up in Longmont. Looked around there in Nov. Going to rent for at least a year.

I’m a video producer, and either travel to the job or work at home, so I can live anywhere. I may end up working in Boulder though, we’ll see.

I’ll be interested to see if I can deal with the low humidity, but I think it’ll be better than the PacNW for me. I need the light.

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I hiked in the Flatirons every morning when I was there recently. Ready for something different, looking forward to it!

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I got here out of the military circa1980. Long time ago. Mostly lived in the Longmont/Boulder area. A lot has changed. Some good, some bad. Did a brief stint in New Mexico and Lander, WY. but always came back. Many come and fortunately or not, many stay. Housing market has gone nuts. You will find there is competition even for rentals but you can find something I’m sure. Boulder is fine to visit but traffic is ridiculous as with Denver most of the time. Great food, entertainment (oh, those concerts at Red Rocks) and outdoor stuff galore. A lot to admire. It’s home. Maybe you will call it that someday too, who knows. Good luck with the move…