larger view larger view

It's as simple as that.  There are two prizes that may be earned in this, the blog n roll game of the afternoon.  If you correctly guess whether this is a mere rumor, unsubstantiated by fact, or a true statement, you win the first copy of the song, if and when it is released as an mp3

If you take it to the next level, correctly identifying the Beatles song(s) and Buck song(s) to be supposedly included in the medley, you win an autographed copy of the song on a CD-R. 

Well, we're wasting time on your way to victory.

Ready?  Set?   BLOG N ROLL!

larger view

Songs provide emotionally-compelling avenues for learning to take place.  It's not hard to find songs that illustrate key principles or points, and songs do it in a way that allows the material to be more efficiently digested.

Right now, I'm teaching a Personality Theories course.  My students are learning about personality through the personalities expressed in the songs associated with the Bakersfield Sound. 

Next week, I will perform the song you're hearing right now (if you've hit the play bar in the play station above), is a song I'll perform for my students next week.  It's an original tune in which the lyrics are an adaptation of the text content.  We will be studying Henry Murray, an important figure in the history and evolution of the psychology of personality. I wrote the song while the students were taking their mid-terms.  It mentions all of the 20 needs on Henry Murray's famous list of needs. 

As a psychologist who has adopted a perspective that is, to a large extent, humanistic, I believe that in whatever job we are in, we must never leave our personalities at the door.  So I bring my guitar through the door, and my personality too.  It works for me, and it seems to be working for my students. 

I approach education according to my 3E's.  Those three E's are something I've identified to be

ENTERTAINMENT

ENGAGEMENT and

EMANCIPATION of the imagination.

Entertainment captures a student's interest.  Presenting information in creative, stimulating ways, allows the second stage to take place, that of engagement.  Finally, though children are naturally creatures of imagination, society has a way of killing that imaginative, explorative spirit, and replace it with conformity.  So as an educator, part of my job is to emancipate the imaginations that were once active, but have fallen asleep.

I enjoy my work?  What do I do?  I'm a psychologist, no, a singer/songwriter, no, a writer, no an instructor.  Well, let me put it this way: I get paid to be me. 

The talking cure has it's limitations.  Music soothes the savage beast within, but it does so much more.  Music is the best form of catharsis, whether experienced as a performer or a listener, who vicariously identifies with the emotion in the song, and finds relief in that very vicarious process. 

So I double as a doc and a DJ, playing vinyl for patients on my turntable (it's more therapeutic to watch the record spinning around while the eyes are fixated on the record jacket). 

Sometimes, if I've written a song that seems to mirror what a particular patient is going through, I'll perform the song right here in my office for that patient. 

Sometimes I play VJ, showing music videos that directly address the core issues of my patients.  Luca and No Son of Mine by Genesis addresses issues of childhood neglect and abuse.  Crazy, by Gnarls Barkley addresses mental illness as something we all share, to a degree, simply by living in a society that represents one big dysfunctional family. 

I have fun doing what I do, as a doc and a DJ.  I'd hate to be in a job where I can't put my own personality into my work.  It makes work seem more like play. 

larger view

More accurately, it's my new bakobilly krock tune.  Krock is a term I coined (after having a couple of beers) to describe a new form of Kern County country rock.  Bakobilly is my flavor of distinctly Bakersfield rockabilly.  "Kross" the two and you've got bakobilly krock. 

The song can be found on my forthcoming CD, From Buck Owens Blvd. to Merle Haggard Drive. 

Stay tuned here:

http://www.drblt.net

Yes, I've been told the song sounds better after the second beer, but please take a taxi or find a designated driver if you go over the limit. 

larger view

There you have it.  All you have to do to be this morning's big winner is answer these two questions. 

larger view

You're looking at the Derailers CD, Under the Influence of Buck, a collection of Buck Owens cover tunes by the band. 

The winner gets a copy of my song, Under the Influence of Buck, on mp3, along with the bigger prize of the self-satisfaction that comes with a vast fund of knowledge concerning the history and evolution of the Bakersfield Sound. 

larger view larger view

What Buck Owens' hit written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison was covered by the Beatles?

Today's gift to the winner will be the self-satisfaction that comes with having a vast fund of knowledge about the Bakersfield Sound and the history and evolution of that sound. 

Ready?  Set?  Blog n roll!

larger view

Welcome to Ferlin Husky's Freudian Slips.  I'm your host, Dr. BLT.  Today we're taking a closer look at the lyrics to a great Ferlin Husky song, written by Fred Rose.  You might say it's a song about the thorns that come with the roses of love. 

Afraid to tell you how much I care.
Afraid I'll need you and you won't be there.
I'd love to take you in to my heart.
But something tells me we would only part.
I loved and lost just one love ago.
I paid the cost and it hurt me so.
A heart gets careless when vows are made.
I want to love you but I'm so afraid
 

Who needs Freud, when Ferlin tells the story of fear, love and loss, so much more fervently, so much more poetically, and, so much more poignantly?

One of Freud's greatest contributions are the defense mechanisms he offers as a way to understand how the human psyche responds to a threat, or the perception of a threat.  These include such defense mechanisms as represssion, in which one engages in an unconscious denial of the existence of an anxiety-arousing person or event; denial, involving pretending that a particular threat, or perception of a threat, simply does not exist; and regression, a dance in which a step forward is followed by two developmental steps backwards, or more, in some cases. 

In Afraid, the threat depicted is the threat of loss, or abandonment, following the experience of falling in love with someone who initially reciprocates that love.  The abandonment can also be experienced as betrayal. 

For Freud, and, to an even greater degree, his neo-Freudian object relations followers, such as Melanie Klein and Kohut, the experience of heartbreak, or the threat of heartbreak, and the way one handles such heartbreak, and/or the threat of such heartbreak, depends on how effectively the phenomenon of mirroring is processed.

Mirroring takes place when an infant sends out signals to the mother---signals that are accompanied by expectations.  When an infant smiles, the infant expects the mother, or caretaker to respond with a smile.  When an infant cries, it is a way of communicating to the mother that there is a need that is presently not being met.  It could be a need for food, a need for a diaper change, or the need to fall asleep. 

There are things a mother does, and does not do, in response, that will impact how an infant, as he/she reaches adulthood, will weather the storm of a broken relationship.  If a mother responds appropriately, with a smile when one is offered to her, or with milk when she figures out a cry means the infant is hungry, the child grow up to be more mature, and better equipped to handle heartbreak and the threat of it on the horizon. 

The child, as an adult, will still suffer.  There's no way of getting around that, but the child, having developed a greater sense that everything will be okay in the end, based on a basic trust towards mother, will be better able to adapt and cope with the pain. 

It is not clear, in the lyrics to this song, whether the person the song is about, is approaching the situation as an adult who was raised with an adequate mirroring experience with mom, or an inadequate one.   Being afraid to love again, after heartbreak is normal.  But when you listen to the cry in Ferlin Husky's voice, there should be no doubt.  The character in the story, expressed in the song, had a mother that didn't know how to mirror, or simply didn't care.  It was most likely a mother who had a mother who didn't know how to mirror, or didn't care. 

Now, back to the subject of Freud's defenses.  There is no repression, no denial, and no regression (well, perhaps just a little) in Ferlin Husky's Afraid.  What we see, is sublimation, the most healthy of all defense mechanisms introduced by Freud. 

Sublimation involves taking threatening or unpleasant material from the psyche, and transforming the potentially negative energy into positive energy through the process of creative thinking. 

In Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond says, "When you take the blues, and make a song, you sing them out again."  This is the process of sublimation for songwriters and singers, like Ferlin Husky, in a nutshell (no pun intended). 

_________________________________________________ ________

Thanks for participating in this song-psychoeducational blog in which we search for gems of psychological wisdom in songs by artists identified with the Bakersfield Sound.  Now, to reinforce your appreciation for the psychological significance and timeless relevance of these songs, and these artists, here are a few questions:

1.  The threat or perceived threat identified in Ferlin Husky's Afraid consists of:

a.  A fear that his music will be forgotten

b.  A fear of loving, and then losing, or being abandoned by the object of that love

c.  A fear that he will be overshadowed by Buck Owens

d.  A fear that he will be overshadowed by Merle Haggard

2.  The writing of the song, by Fred Rose, and the singing of it, by Ferlin Husky, are both examples of:

a.  denial

b.  projection

c. rejection

d.  sublimation

larger view

Welcome to a Billy Mize Mental Health Moment.  I'm Dr BLT, and I'll be the host of this blog n roll moment.  In blog n roll, I supply the topic and tune and you supply the talk.  Today's topic is Freud's concept of oral fixation as illustrated in one of Billy Mize's biggest hits, Who Will Buy the Wine. 

The Oral stage is the very first stage introduced in Freud's psychosexual stages of development.  It takes place from the ages of birth to 1 year of age (involving the mouth as the primary erogenous zone, from which pleasure is derived.  If trauma occurs at this stage, in the form of frustration in getting one's oral needs met, fixation insues.  Oral fixation takes various forms, one being illustrated in Billy Mize's song, Who Will Buy the Wine. 

I could go on and psychobabble on ad nauseum about the oral stage and about oral fixation, but, who needs Sigmund Freud when you've got Billy Mize and his music to calm the wild beast within?  Who needs the concept of oral fixation described in psychobabble terms, when you have it so much more poetically illustration in Billy Mize's Who will Buy the Wine? 

Not long ago I held our baby's bottle
But the one I'm holding now's a different kind
And I never know whose lips I'll soon be kissin'
For it all depends on who will buy the wine.

How much clearer a connection could Billy Mize have made between the oral stage of development, and the oral fixation that ensues (when the issues associated with this stage remain unresolved) than this? 

Parents who are either neglectful or overindulgent, run the risk of creating the factors in their child that could result in a developmental impasse.  This effects the way the child, as an adult, goes about getting his/her needs met. 

A child that is either overindulged, or neglected runs the risk of developing unhealthy dependencies as an adult.  The unhealthy attachments, based on unfulfilled dependency needs, may take the form of co-dependent relationship with "significant" others, alcholism, or drug addiction.  It could be manifested in a person becoming overly-dependent on one's job as a means of filling the void left by inadequate parenting. 

Whoever sets them up and tips the waitress
This kind of love just might as well be blind
I just sit and wait to be somebody's baby
And it all depends on who will buy the wine.

The type of "love" sought out by a person that is orally fixated is a passive form of love, in which, one "sit(s) and wait(s)" to be discovered by somebody who holds all the cards (or, in this case, somebody who buys the wine and tips the waitress). 

My kind of life I'm living since you left me
Is not the kind of life I thought I chose
This honky tonky world is not so flashy
Bright lights and booze is all it really knows

There is no need to assume that Billy Mize had or has an alcohol problem, simply because of the subject matter of one of his biggest hits.  Yes, it is well known that George Jones, who recorded such beer-drinking classics as If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me, Her Memory Will, and Elvis is Gone (And so are You) has suffered from alcoholism.  But you have to be one to write about one.  Furthermore, you don't have to be orally fixated to write and/or record songs about the phenomenon. 

If a person successfully addresses the developmental challenges associated with the Oral Stage, that person turns one, and moves on to the anal stage (associated with toilet training).  You won't find as many anally fixated folks in bars and honky tonks.  They tend to become overachievers and would more likely to be found in educational or vocational institutes.  But if the chaos in their lives they are so desperately trying to control, becomes uncontrollable, you might find these folks behind a bottle as well. 

Then, when you hit 3, if you've successfully met the developmental stages associated with both the oral and anal stages, there's the Phallic Stage, from the ages of 4-5, and here's where Freud starts getting really wierd, talking about incestuous fantasies.  For the purpose of this discussion, we'll skip that stage, and the one that follows it, the Latency Genital stage. 

So, how can you tell which person is fixated at the oral stage, and which person is fixated at the anal stage of Freud's psychosexual stages of development, well, as Billy Mize put it---

it all depends on who will buy the wine...

_________________________________________________ ______

Thanks for sharing in this Billy Mize Mental Health Moment.  Here are some questions that will hopefully trigger some discussion, while reinforcing your knowledge of the best songs and artists of the Bakersfield Sound era, and their enduring psychological relevance. 

1.  The oral stage of Freud's psychosexual stages of development takes place from the ages of:

a.  birth to 1

b.  1-3

c.  13-20

d.  none of the above

e.  it depends on who buys the wine

2.  Billy Mize waits until the

a.  second verse

b.  third verse

c.  first vere

d. fourth verse

to introduce the connection between the orally-fixated behavior of an adult, and the behavior of a child in the midst of the oral stage of develpment.

3.  The person pouring the wine, in this song, is probably fixated at the:

a. oral stage

b.  Phallic stage

c.  Blackboard stage

d.  Latency Genital stage

4.  The person receiving the wine, in this song, is probably fixated at the:

a. oral stage

b.  Phallic stage

c.  Blackboard stage

d.  Latency Genital stage

e.  all of the above, and none of the above, at the same time, and at different times, all at once

larger view

Welcome to A Merle Haggard Mental Health Moment, where the songs of Bakersfield and Oildale's own Merle Haggard are examined in search of mental health nuggets of knowledge.  I'm Dr. BLT and I'll be your blog n roll host.  Today we examine the lyrics to Every Fool has a Rainbow. 

I would like to take a look at the lyrics of this song in light of the theories of Erich Fromm, who believed that the evolution of Western civilation, and industrialization, in particular, has brought with it, a type of freedom that is inherently accompanied by a sense of alienation. 

In the past, we looked to community for a sense of belongingness that cannot be found in individualistic pursuits, such as the illusive pursuit depicted in this Merle Haggard song. 

Every fool has a rainbow
But he never seems to find
The reward that should be waiting
At the end of the line

In the song, the fool embarks upon a journey guided by an empy, illusive dream.  He or she is left waiting and wanting "at the end of the line."  Fromm's appraisal of Western civilization parallels that of individual human development.  It begins with the child being wholly dependent on the adult to meet his/her every need.  As the child grows, the child begins to assert his/her independence.  By pushing parents away, the child gains something---a sense of independence and a pride based on individual accomplishments.  But the child loses the sense of connectiveness and familial rootedness that he/she once held. 

When the alienation and loneliness that is part and parcel of the freedom catches up with the child (or, as the case may be, society), that child, or that society tries to fill the void with a pseudo sense of connectiveness that leaves the individual, or the society, all the more profoundly aware of his/her/its utter sense of aloneness.   

But he'll give up a bed of roses for
A life filled with thorns
And go chasing after rainbows
Everytime the dream is born

Musicians, like Merle Haggard, seem to be all the more absorbed in the pursuit of individually-based dreams.  When their newly discovered freedom finds its way to the corner of Lonely Lane, and Alienation Avenue, such musicians often turn to drugs and alcohol, and find pseudo family systems in bars and at parties.  When the bottom drops out of the false family system, they often self-destruct. 

And every fool has a rainbow that only he can see
Every fool has a rainbow and the rule applies to me

If you study Merle's life, you'll find that, yes, the rule does apply to him.  He found what he was looking for, only to find himself drowning in misery.  But over his more recent years, he seems to have found his way back to those important family connections that cannot be replaced.  

Carl Jung suggests that as we move into the autumn of our lives, we begin to find perspective and balance.  We see dreams for what they are, and we value those things that are real gold, not simply glittering fools gold on the horizon.  We find a balance between the need to express our uniqueness and the universality that connects us to every other person.   

Fromm was big on following rainbows---all in the name of often painfully attained personal growth, no matter how illusive our rainbow dreams may be and no matter how empty the pot of gold is, in the end.  Fromm stressed personal growth over the comfort and security that accompanies remaining anchored to one's family and community of origin.  He stressed growth over equilibrium. 

Fromm's journey of running away from family, community (and the traditions that hold family and community together ) for the purpose of coming back home in the end is lived out in the life of Merle Haggard.  The gold Merle finds in the end is the realization that his dreams, while nobel, cannot compete with the Roots of his Raisin' that made him who is was, and is today. 

That's your Merle Haggard Mental Health Moment for today.  In blog n roll, I provide the topic and the tune, and you provide the talk.  So here are a few questions to get the "talk" under way:

1.  Merle Haggard's song, Every Fool has a Rainbow, illustrates what uniquely post-industrialization human phenomena:

a.  Getting your heart broken to bits

b.  Finding that, in the end, all roads lead to Oildale

c.  Finding that, with individual freedom, and its expression, comes a certain sense of alienation and loneliness. 

d.  Finding that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is not really pot at all. 

2.  On the continuum between equilibrium and growth, Fromm most heavily stresses:

a.  equilibrium

b.  growth

c. both equally

d.  one and none at the same time, and both at different times, all at the same time

3.  Jung believed that as a human being moves towards the autumn of his/her life, as Merle Haggard seems to be doing, there is a tendency to move towards:

a.  equilibrium

b.  family values

c.  real rootedness found in family and comminity ties

d.  all of the above

Please provide your answers in the comments section below or print out the mini-test and circle the appropriate answers.  Feel free to make copies and give the test to friends and family members as well. 

Thanks for your participation.  You will be rewarded with a greater understanding of the artists and songs associated with the Bakersfield Sound, and the timeless psychological relevance associated with the offerings of every artist. 

Stay tuned at:

http://www.drblt.net

larger view

I've still only spent about as much time drinking as Johnny Cash has spent in jail.  (Well, I suppose you can double that after yesterday's birthday party at Trout's).

So, with so little beer-drinking experience under my belt (no pun intended) why am I suddenly into writing beer-drinking songs?  Well, as I mentioned in a previous blog, when you're a songwriter, you get to add a little fiction to reality, in an effort to keep people guessing, and gossiping. 

There's a 6-pack Under my Beer Gut

words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2008

there's a six-pack under my beer gut

back in the day

I used to strutt my stuff

the sit-ups made me look tough

but my six-packed all been

covered up

but you know if I had my druthers

I'd go out and buy another

there's a six-pack under my beer gut

and I'm proud to say

it only cost 5 bucks

I don't mind drinkin' the cheap stuff

when it comes to beer

I can't get enough

when it comes to beer

I can't keep my mouth shut

there's a six-pack

under my beer gut

it's nice and strong

it's got some kick

it's just that you can't see it

it's somethin' I'd be proud to show off

a six-pack under here is what I've got

there's a six-pack under my beer gut

I know you don't believe me

my six-pack's rather hard to see

makes the ladies beg me pretty please

it's the six-pack that the women love

the six pack under my beer gut

don't tell me that I drink too much

just got a 6-pack

a ripplin' 6-pack

under my beer gut

larger view

 Billy, I'm sure you've got much better things to do, but in the unlikely event that you're in the blogosphere here tonight, here's your new birthday song, sung one more time for you here.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLY BOY!

Of course, you own a copy of the song, so you can listen to it anytime you like, if you like it.  

BTW, I ate the guitar strings on the top fret of this guitar cake.  

larger view

Here's your hint.  He turned one year older today and there was a big birthday celebration for him at Trout's in Oildale.  

larger view

I've spent about as much time drinking as Johnny Cash spent in jail, but when it comes to writing songs, you get to take lots of liberties and you get to write songs from the perspective of other real characters or fictional characters you create.  But enough of the disclaimer.  Let's get on with it.   

It's blog n roll time once again.  I'm your blog n roll host, Dr. BLT.  In my game of blog n roll, I provide the topic and the tunes, and you provide the talk.  Today's topic is the rising cost of fuel.  Today's tune is literally today's tune--I wrote it and recorded it (in rough form) today.  It's called If Beer were Gasoline.  Take the tune for a test drive by hitting the play bar on the play station above the photo of me.  Then talk to your heart's content.  

larger view

The oil and gas companies are taking us for a ride---a very expensive ride.  And we're all taking it in stride.  ENOUGH!

 I wanted to give people a way to protest the recent insane rise in gas prices while venting off a little steam.  Here are lyrics to a song I plan to release tomorrow, or the next day, or the next.  It's called...

I'm Gonna Kick Your Gas

words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2008

I'm gonna kick your gas

I'm gonna ride my horse

I'm gonna park my truck

ain't gonna stay the course

I'm gonna gouge you back

I'm gonna kick your gas

I own a monster truck

it's one hell of a ride

cruise down Buck's Boulevard

and I ride Merle Haggard Drive

but now those days are gone

so put your gas where it belongs

take it back, Jack

I'm gonna kick your gas

excuses are like belly buttons

everybody's got one

don't tell me 'bout your troubles

'cause they pale next to mine

you've got reasons why you have to soak me

take 'em back

'cause I'm...

I'm gonna kick your gas!

larger view

This is the actual photograph of the broken hand referred to in the story.

The story is contained in the song, so I won't be redundant by telling it here again.  It's a remarkable story about coping and rising above one's misfortunes.  It's a real story about a real person I met on the Streets of Bakersfield---those golden streets Homer Joy and Buck Owens put on the map with their song---The Streets of Bakersfield. 

In this game I call blog n roll, I provide the topic and the tunes.   You provide the talk.  So if you'd listened to the song (posted above the pic in the left-hand corner) and you'd like to talk, share a little something about an obstacle that has planted itself in the middle of one of your dreams, and tell us what you did to either cope with that obstacle, or remove it. 

Ready?  Set?  BLOG N ROLL!

The song is scheduled to be added soon to my forthcoming CD, From Buck Owens Blvd. to Merle Haggard Drive.

Stay tuned at:

http://www.drblt.net