Category : Songs in the Key of Big C

To usher 2020 out the door (and the first bits of 2021 as well), I’ve just uploaded the new “Dream” Single to my SoundCloud. I wish I could say that much of it has “all been a dream,” but I’ll just leave that to the song, which is my personal go-to for some grounded escapism.

The single is one of several coming from my Skin in the Game (Songs in the Key of Big C Xt) collection. It contains four versions of producer/remixer Ken Stewart‘s [Spotify | website] excellent production of the song, which also won VH1’s Song of the Year contest shortly after it was produced, making it my second VH1 winner. The first was “Something About You.”

As with all the songs on Skin in the Game, all tracks – except the instrumentals – contain the lyric “be well” at least once.

Also available on: iTunes | Spotify | Amazon | Pandora

Cheers! And be well 🙂

Alison

Yes, here it is, the official Call for Entries blog post!

Please title your entry email “Active Listener Contest Entry” and send your entry to llorayne@gmail.com.

Please include your Full Legal Name, City/State/Territory/Country of Residence, Contact Phone, Contact Email, and finally, the number of “Be Wells” heard in the track “Fate.” If you are the Winner, you’ll be asked for your legal street address as well.

The entry period ends February 13, 2019 at 11:59:59 PM EST, when the Contest ends. If there is a Winner, the Winner will be notified on February 14, 2019.

Any entries received before this call for entries or after February 13, 2019 at 11:59:59 PM EST will not be eligible. The first entry with the correct number of “Be Wells,” and the information required above and per the Contest Rules will be the Winner.

Have fun…and be well!
Alison

PS…this post has been published at 11:49 am EST on Monday, February 11, 2019.

My body parts are still up for grabs for profiteering by the mainstream US healthcare industry, where I’ve very often been treated as an open, bleeding wallet. I could swear that wellness has absolutely nothing to do with the whole deal. Thus, Songs in the Key of Big C‘s visual artistic statement: Body parts on display, no head. A centerfold. And no times listed.

The front cover was shot just after arriving home from a biopsy done on my left breast. I had lightly scratched it, it bled, and it looked partly inverted for the most part. Not good. The doc insisted on a boob-smashing mammogram. No, thanks. Enter my old standby during all those times I’ve not had “proper” healthcare coverage: the black salve treatment.

The back cover is my left breast with the bandage off, post-biopsy.

If that turns you on, I understand there are vacancies in the Trump White House.

As for the inner fold, well, I always wanted to be a centerfold! I’ve been told by a few kind souls that my “boobs were too small” to be a centerfold…but apparently big enough for the cancer to find one of them, so there you go…

As well, note that there are no times or years listed, except for a tiny little P-line on the disc itself to let people know this is a 2019 release. The absence of time references addresses the significant loss of time one experiences when dealing with and healing from maladies as soul-depleting as environmental illness and cancer, both of which I’ve lost years to. There was a time when I stopped watching clocks and constantly checking the time, which revolved around my fear of not having enough time to do everything I wanted to do, to know everyone I wanted to know.

Interestingly enough, it was when I was in the zone, producing music, that I lost track of all time as well. In that, there was a lot of healing, as hours over hours would pass without my realizing it. The fear was on the shelf – right where it belongs.

Enjoy the music, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it, and Happy 2019!

Alison