I recently had a landmark birthday. Which landmark is not particularly germane to this conversation. For this particular landmark birthday, my wife and children got me a rare Gibson Les Paul Robot Guitar. Some people dream of owning a Maserati. I've wanted a Les Paul since I was a teenager.

Now here's the thing: I don't really play guitar. You will hear guitar parts in several of these songs, but those guitar parts come after many, many, many takes. When it comes to guitar playing, I am perpetually on the bunny slope. I could probably more quickly master the tuba, and I have no illusions about my ability to master the tuba.

But I love playing guitar. As a guy who played keyboards in lots of bands growing up, I was always envious of the guitarists in the group. They got to move around on stage (we're not going to discuss the keytar, which is to musical instruments what shoulder pads are to women's fashion), and they always looked way cooler than I did. And there is nothing more rock and roll than the sound of an electric guitar cranked up to 11. This is something that was driven home for me a number of years ago when I bought my first, definitely-not-a-Les-Paul electric guitar, along with a distortion pedal. I plugged in the guitar and gave it a few strums. Then I hit the distortion pedal and played an E Major. And I totally got it – the surge that no keyboard could ever offer. The Power Chord.

The next day, I wrote this song, the first song I ever wrote on guitar. It's about the two creative forces that have offered me comfort and inspiration for as long as I can remember. Through every twist and turn in my life, writing and music have been there for me, so it was essential that I pay them homage.

(For our younger readers, "Selectric" refers to the gold-standard electric typewriter that was the Les Paul of its form before home computers changed the game.)

My Les Paul shows up here for the first time. I'd actually finished this track before I got the guitar, but there was no chance I was releasing this song without a contribution from my cherished new toy.

WORDS AND MUSIC

Music and Lyrics by Lou Aronica

Of course, I did it all to get girls

That didn’t accomplish much, but it sure turned around my world

The keyboard was there with me – electronic or Selectric, depending on my choice

It gave me my message; it gave me my voice

I’ve been living all of my life for words and music

As long as I’ve got ‘em I cannot go wrong

It’s all around me at work and at home

My constant companion, yeah, you know it never leaves me alone

Expression has been my guide – my conscience, my passion, my steady source of joy

When I’m not creating, I’m feeling a void

I’ve been living all of my life for words and music

As long as I’ve got ‘em I cannot go wrong

I’ve been living all of my life for words and music

As long as I’ve got ‘em I cannot go wrong

I’ve been living all of my life for words and music

Thank God that muse is still strong

Copyright © Lou Aronica

Track list:

Track 1: Nineteen Forever (cover of Joe Jackson song)

Track 2: The Lights Go Down at Eight O'Clock

Track 3: If This is Love

Track 4: Words and Music

Track 5: So Warm

Track 6: A Million Miles Away

Track 7: Forever

Track 8: Now I Understand

Track 9: Look at You

Track 10: World of Wonders

Track 11: Just Love It

Track 12: After All

Track 13: What I Have Now

Track 14: I'll Never Be

Track 15: Stand in the Middle

Track 16: Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die (cover of Jethro Tull song)