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Menno Night Fever: Using humor to embrace one's roots

2012-05-25T05:14:47Z

Dr. Bruce L Thiessen suggests that "Humor is the best way of playfully critiquing, while embracing one's roots, and he is practicing what he preaches.

Following in the footsteps of Buck Owens, who was a big Bee Gees fan, and recorded one of their classics, Massachusetts, Dr BLT paid mildly mocking tribute to his Mennonite roots, while not forgetting to remember Robin Gibb, who recently passed away. This was accomplished by recording this parody:

Menno Night Fever

And, in keeping with their tradition of occasionally going "beyond" the more traditional Bakersfield Sound, KWMR's co-hosts, Mike and Amanda, gave the new Dr BLT parody a spin, debuting the song on the 5/24/12 edition of BAKERSFIELD AND BEYOND.

Killbilly Records has announced a release date for the Dr BLTribute song for Robin Gibb, TO LOSE SOMEBODY LIKE YOU.
Here is a rough video pre-release version:

To Lose Somebody Like You
words and music by Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr BLT © 2012
It is due for release on May 31st.

Dr BLT wrote this song, after Maurice passed away:
When the Bee Gees Were Three
Dr BLT © 2012
When the Bee Gees Were Three

It has been downloaded by hundreds of thousands of Dr BLT fans, and Bee Gees fans.

And finally, whether or not it will start the spread of underground Amish dance clubs is still not certain, but Bee Gees fan, Dr BLT has recorded this parody (as aired on KWMR's Bakersfield and Beyond), as a way of coping with his Mennonite roots, while paying tribute to Robin Gibb and the Bee Gees:

For more information, contact Dr BLT at:
drblt@drblt.net

In My Dreams my Heart Ain't Broke

2012-01-13T06:00:01Z

Freud suggested that dreams reveal unconscious conflicts and forbidden wishes too threatening for waking, conscious contemplation. Jung suggested that dreams were teachers, and that if we paid attention to the universal symbols contained in our dreams, we would know what path to take when presented with multiple paths, and multiple choices.

Scrooge, in Charles Dickens' "A CHRISTMAS CAROL," blamed the visit of a spirit in a chilling dream on "a bit of undigested beef," alluding to the physiological antecedents that likely also play a role in the formation and content of dreams. In the following song, it is suggested that dreams serve another function, that of hiding aspects of conscious, waking experiences that would rather be forgotten. In this song, the subject of the song finds comfort from heartache in the unlikely form of the dream.

After listening to the song, share a dream you have had that serves this same escapist function.

In My Dreams my Heart Ain't Broke
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2012

In My Dreams My Heart Ain't Broke
when I went to sleep last night
I was holdin' you so tight
but you were gone when I awoke
in my dreams my heart ain't broke

last night when I went to bed
you were there inside my head
all my dreams went up in smoke
but in my dreams
my heart ain't broke

in my dreams
our love was strong
but I awoke
to a sad, sad song
the morn revealed a cruel joke
but in my dreams my heart ain't broke

Mrs Jones, Mrs Jones, Mrs J O N E S: Domestic violence revisited

2012-01-07T07:30:31Z

Welcome to TTT: Topics, Tunes, and Talk. I'm your host, Dr BLT. Today we're examining the topic of domestic violence through a new remix and a new PsychMusicVid.

MRS JONES MRS JONES MRS J O N E S
words and music by Bruce L. Thiessen, Ph.D., aka Dr B L T © 2012
Remix/expanded arrangement by Sean Mouradian
Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones

Ready to play Triple T: TOPIC, TUNE AND TALK? In this game, I provide and topics, and the tunes (in this case, with Sean, the remix master and Ariel Black, who helped Sean put this PsychMusicVid together), and you, the listener, provide the talk in the comments section of this post.

This original Dr BLTune speaks for itself, and the remix, by Sean Mouradian speaks volumes. Now that you've been introduced to the topic---domestic violence, and psychological grip it can have on the victim (or survivor, depending on your perspective), and you've heard the new remix, it's time to talk.

How do you think the cycle of domestic violence can be broken? Think outside the box. Do you have a new perspective on the subject. Do you have something new to offer the thousands of women (and in more cases than one might expect, men) who are trapped in abusive relationships? How about the perpetrators? Do you feel the perps are content, or do they feel trapped to? How do we open the trap door and let the violence out? You tell me. Here are the lyrics:

Stumbles down the stairs to meet the day
hair is tangled up inside a braid
fists are clenched in bitter fits of rage
will she face the future
or is she destined
for an early grave

his car is parked outside her humble home
naked to the world, she stands alone
tries to make it numb by getting stoned
will she bear another beatin'
or will she telephone

mrs Jones, mrs Jones, mrs Jones
she's found a man
but she still remains alones
mrs Jones, mrs Jones, mrs Jones
sticks and stones
can break your bones
mrs jones, mrs Jones mrs Jones

well they tell me that you just can't feel a thing
and they tell me that you just can't feel his sting
well a picture paints a thousand words of pain
will you try to find a better life
or will you die in vain

She's Allergic to the Mistletoe: The PsychMusicVid Challenge

2011-11-28T06:04:08Z

This brand new, original Dr BLTrack, off the forthcoming CD, HOLLY DAZE, expresses something in song that quintessential humanistic theorist, Karen Horney described in clinical terms as the description of a "moving away" person. Others have depicted the phenomenon of the "allergy-stricken" person in the song as suffering from "fear of intimacy." In existentialist terms, this corresponds to "fear of death," that is, psychological suffocation through symbiotic fusion.

Similar phenomenon, different ways of expressing it. Your job, if you choose to accept the mission, is to extend the creative audio expression contained in the song, to visual representation in the form of a PsychMusicVid. After creating one, describe in a few paragraphs how you might expect your experience to have been different had you chosen to depict the phenomenon personified in the song in a scientific paper.

She's Allergic to the Mistletoe
Dr BLT
words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT © 2011

she's allergic to the mistletoe and
she's allergic to the candle's glow
she's allergic to everything
that brings us together
in my Christmas dreams
she's allergic to the jingle bells
a cold and wintry world
is where she dwells
don't know why
only heaven knows why
she's allergic to the mistletoe

she's allergic to the mistletoe
the way our feet crunches
on the cold, wet snow
makin' angels as we
wave our arms
she's allergic to the Christmas charms
when I romance her with the songs I sing
she only sneezes when she hears old Bing
Christmas carols on the radio
she's allergic to the mistletoe

Dear Santa Claus
please fix this flaw
make her my girl
'cause she's my world
I want to kiss her by the
fire's glow but
she's allergic to the mistletoe
Dear Santa Claus
please fix this flaw
make her my girl
'cause she's my world
I want to kiss her by the
fire's glow but
she's allergic to the mistletoe...

Kern County Christmas Blues: The PsychMusicVidz Challenge

2011-11-27T06:49:43Z

Hear ye, hear ye! Depression has been correlated with many factors over the years, often with Christmas, and with winter (Seasonal Affective Disorder) but, rarely with geography combined with the holidays. How do you see geography in this song as it relates to depression, or, the "blues?" How do see the combined effects of the holiday and geography, in this case, "conspiring" to create the perfect storm for depression?

Create a video for the song, then compare this way of expressing the matter to the way one might experience it when writing a formal, scientific article on the same subject.

Kern County Christmas Blues
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

Rap Lecture on Scientific Writing: The PsychVidz Challenge

2011-11-19T14:05:00Z

Good day, students! Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to communicate in visual images, what this song says to you, phenomenologically speaking. While you're at it, download this Dr BLTune for free. Stay tuned for more educational raps like "Chillaxin' wit da Facts In," and "Celebrate, Don't Hate the APA Po-Po."

Rap Lecture (On Scientific Writing)
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT © 2011

Rap Lecture on Scientific Writing: Rap I
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen copyright 2011

This is my rap lecture on scientific writing
The scientific fish
I’ve heard that they are biting
I’m hopin’ through my song
You will find this stuff invitin’
My rap lecture on scientific writing

Research is complete
When the researcher will share
Scientific research in the general public square
The medium for that is the scientific journal
That’s where the passion burns
Like a sizzlin’ hot inferno

The journal’s the repository
Stuff where science is stored
Accumulated knowledge in the field we all adore
The literature contains
Past failures and success
Information and perspectives
From the worst up to the best

To start the writing process
One must carefully review
Evaluate the lit
So the past can be renewed
Without knowing what’s been done
Yo, how can you be sure
Your idea’s new, or rehashed stuff
From years before

The content of your manuscript
Must be clear and concise
How good are your methods
When you design them, yo, think twice
Avoid a piecemeal project
Or a single correlation
power-analysis deprived
negative results lead to stagnation

lack of congruence between a study’s operations
and the author’s interpretations
and discussion’s contemplation
of the outcome of the study
and failure to report
effect sizes, no control results you can’t support

Shaping attitudes towards sex: The PsychMusicVidz Challenge

2011-11-16T19:41:53Z

"Wrap it Up" promotes responsible sexual behavior through the use of protection. "You're Not the Kinda Ho (That Santa Had in Mind)," in both versions (pop and rap), promotes responsible sexual behavior through a re-examination of sexually promiscuous behavior and the potential delerious effects that result from such activity. It's message is more a message of abstinence and monogomy. There are many ways of examining the messages contained in these songs via science. One could look at which sort of message is more effective in reducing sexually-transmitted diseases, and design a scientific study accordingly. One could look at the relationship between sexual promiscuity early victimization via sexual abuse/molestation.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to pick one of these songs as an audio backdrop for a PsychMusicVid. Create a video that reinforces the lyrics through visual images. Then discuss the experience of addressing the corresponding issue in the context of the creation of a video as contrasted with how the same issue may be addressed via scientific research.

Wrap it Up
Dr BLT: words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011
remix by Gary LaDuke aka GL, aka the G-L-ement

Not the Kinda Ho (That Santa had in Mind)
Dr BLT: words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011

Not the Kinda Ho (That Santa had in Mind: Rap Edition)
Dr BLT: words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011

Doctor of Your Mind: The PsychMusicVidz Challenge

2011-11-04T23:44:27Z

Humanistic forms of therapy seek to equalize the playing field between "client" and psychologist, or mental health professional. Rather than approaching "clients" as aloof, and/or as the "expert," humanistic forms of treatment have therapists self-disclosing and interacting with the patients more like an equal or a peer.

In traditional, Freudian-based psychoanalytic orientations, the doctor embraced the mystique characteristic of the archetypal shaman figure or healer. Yes, it created and/or reinforced dependency in the patient, and allowed for paternal projections to abound, but this type of transference, this type of dependency on the all-knowing doctor (especially in early stages of the therapy), and this sort of mystique was deemed useful and valuable to the developmental progression of the therapy process. Rather than robbing the patient of his/her projections, Freudian-based psychoanalytical therapists used/use the transference to make important therapeutic advances. It's the fuel that keeps the therapeutic engine running.

It is from this perspective that the following song is written. Your job, as the producer-in-training of a brand new PsychMusicVid to go with the song, DOCTOR OF YOUR MIND, will be to translate the lyrics into visual patterns that are consistent with what the lyrics and the music are attempting to convey.

Doctor of Your Mind
Dr BLT (the GL redux mix)
words and music by Dr Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011

Mrs. Pain: The PsychMusicVid Challenge

2011-10-31T17:14:22Z

Mrs. Pain is a song that is based metaphor. The main character in the song, Mrs. Pain, is a metaphor for depression, and the story is a metaphor for an individual's existential struggle with depression. The relief experienced by the depressed person in the song is expressed as a sort of prayer followed by a sort of divine exorcism. Whether offered in the form of traditional psychotherapy, or psychotherapy by experts also trained in theology (something I call psychoPrayerapy), modern-day approaches can be depicted as a sort of psychological exorcism, with the psychologist, pastoral counselor, or other type of mental health professional, serving as an archetypal priest or shamon.

Here's the PsychMusicVid challenge: Consider the experience of depression, and its relief via psychotherapy, or a combination of psychotherapy, medication, and/or alternative treatments. Describe, in phenomenological terms, the difference between how you would approach the subject of depression using scientific language, and the way you would depict the aspects of depression, and its treatment as communicated in this song, through a music video, using visual languages based on the song instead of scientific terminology. Then produce your video.

Mrs Pain
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011

I knew a weepin' widow
who lived down the street
every night she turned out the lights
and cried herself to sleep
every day she'd drew the shades
and hung her head in shame
one day I asked and I found out
her name was Mrs Pain

she had a son named Sorrow
and she had a son named Shame
she had a daughter named
Damsel in Distress, and
her nickname was insane
she had a dog named Down in the Dumps
she had a cat named Catastrophe
fish who swim
in a bucket of tears
and though it may sound strange
her name was Mrs Pain
her name was Mrs Pain

one day she came to my house
and started knockin' at my door
and when I answered the door
she said
I'm gonna tell you what's in store
I'm gonna knock you down
down to the ground
fill your heart and soul with misery
I said no thank you please
I don't need your disease
then I begged on bended knees
please Mrs Pain
please Mrs Pain

one day I prayed to the heavens above
for this woman to be gone
I knew she darked all of my days
and I knew I lost my song
well the lightenin' struck
the thunder roared
and Mrs. Pain was runnin' scared
well she took her pets
and her children too
and where she goes
you better beware
of Mrs Pain
beware of Mrs Pain...

Your Christmas Stalking: The PsychMusicVid Challenge

2011-10-31T16:46:10Z

As a scientific phenomenon, stalking is an interesting one to study and to describe. Use scientific language to describe the experience (from either from the perspective of the stalker or the victim). Then, using the song, and the story embedded in the lyrics, retell the experience from the character in the song's point of view, using visual images (still-life or video recording) to capture and convey the phenomenological experience of being stalked.

Your Christmas Stalking

Dr BLT ft Shannon Lambert
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2010
Remixed by Gary LaDuke aka GL

what's in your Christmas stalking
why are you stalkin' me
I love my fans but sometimes
you have to let me be

chorus:
I can't go anywhere
I can't go Christmas shoppin'
I can't go anywhere
without your Christmas stalkin'

what's in my Christmas stalkin'
you'll have to wait and see
I want an autographed copy
of your Christmas CD
(chorus)

I have to close my eyes and
I must turn out the lights
on my big Christmas tree
they won't be burnin' bright
I can't go carolin'
with all my Christmas friends
tell me when your stalkin'
will ever end

I can't go anywhere (repeat X4 or 5 times)
without your Christmas stalkin'...

I Am Schizophrenia: The PsychMusicVid

2011-10-27T19:46:49Z

There is the scientific description of schizophrenia, and then there is the experience itself. Scientific writing, though clear and specific in its description does little to convey the subjective experience and emotion of the schizophrenia person.

Here is your mission, if you choose to accept it. Create a PsychMusicVid out of the song, "I Am Schizophrenia," and then tell me and your fellow students, in a few written paragraphs (that you will read, but not turn in), how you might approach the subject differently if you were asked to describe the phenomenon via scientific writing.

I Am Schizophrenia
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen copyright 2010

I am schizophrenia
I will steal your thoughts away
I will take a sunny day
make it one that's cold and gray

I love disconnecting you
from the world and all that's true
give you pills to shut me up
I am schizo schizophrenia

if you're sane
I'll make you mad
if you're happy
make you sad
make your doctors all confused
give you lots of attitude
if, in youth, you were abused
they'll give you lots of lattitude
in my grip you will be stuck
I am schizo, schizophrenia

call it madness
call it pain
medication will contain
some of this chaotic stuff
I am schizo schizophrenia

Per Your Request: More PsychMusicVidz lyrics & more

2011-09-30T17:15:33Z

Johnny and June
Dr BLT & Allyssa Kaess
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2011

dear Johnny I know
you are afraid
you are alone
the road is drivin' you on
you're poppin' pills
it's killin' your song

I'll be watchin' you
watchin' you watchin' you
under the moon
I'll be watchin' you
watchin' you watchin' you
I'll see you through
my name is June

June, I have loved you
since that bright day
when skies were blue
what you say is true
I need your love to see me through
I too have bin

watchin you
watchin' you watchin' you
for so long
take my heart
take my soul
to the promised land
help me hold on
revive my song

someday our lives will end
when we reach round the bend
to the end of our dream
but from now until then
we'll sing together our tune
just Johnny and June (repeat this chorus)
Johnny and June

Dance of Dysfuntion
Dr BLT ft
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2011
Ft. Gary LaDuke aka GL aka The G-L-ement on lead guitar

I have to move my feet
everytime that I think of you
I have to move my feet
to a strangely dysfunctional groove
we break up then we make up
move in then move out
of this place
and our children are stuck in the middle
it's such a disgrace

a dance of dysfunction
an up and down groove
a dance of dysfunction
screwed up attitudes
we're stuck in the middle
we need somethin' new
a dance of dysfunction
so many unusual moves

I say I'm not mad
but I hold all my feelin's inside
you blow up every time
that I cross that invisible line
and our children are out of control
and our discipline styles
are so inconsistent
turn up then we turn down
the dial

a dance of dysfunction
an up and down groove
a dance of dysfunction
screwed up attitudes
we're stuck in the middle
we need somethin' new
a dance of dysfunction
so many unusual moves

Extra (credit) Extra (Dr BLTunes): Read all about it!

2011-09-28T13:46:52Z

Good day, to all of my great, critical and creatively-minded students, and to other blog participants. To celebrate this "autumn" day in which my cast will be cut off and "castaway," I'm giving away copies of Autumn's Castaway, a special arrangement of an original Dr BLT song, recorded by a former then Chapman U student of mine, Edwin Huaco, aka DJ EJ. And though the title corresponds to the theme of this being the big day, when my broken wrist will be able to breathe again, the song is about rejection, abandonment, and rage----themes that seamlessly correspond, and are directly relevant to, personality theories and counseling. That makes them grist for the mill of student PsychMusicVidz producers-in-training. Along, with Autumn's Castaway, I will now also provide additional extra Dr BLTunes for students still needing that certain song as the raw audio materials for their PsychMusicVid. Lyrics to these, and other songs requested to be presented in lyrical form will be added in a separate post. Now, here are those links:

Theme: Rejection, Rage, Abandonment
Autumns Castaway
words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT © 2011
featuring DJ EJ aka Edwin Huaco of Speaker Freaks

Theme: Reeducating the Public about Psychological Services: Replacing stereotypes of "shrinks" with new "stereo" types
Shrink Rapped
Dr BLT ft Michael C.
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

The Day I Taught the Shrink How to Rap
Dr BLT ft Michael C.
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT:
I showed you the videos in class, but upon request, I'll also post them here.
This is the same Topics, Tunes and Talk assignment I gave my Facebook friends at my
Dr BLT fan page
You can add me, under Bruce L Thiessen and join the conversation there, or work it out here.
The assignment involves listening to Shrink Rapped, above and...
Sixteen
Dr BLT ft Gary LaDuke aka GL
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011
Then discuss the topic of how to make psychological and counseling services more relevant, and attractive for children and teens of today in the comments section below. Remember, if you do the assignment here, please wait for your comment to be approved.

Ready, set...go!!!

Johnny and June: Love or co-depedency?: The PsychMusicVidz Challenge

2011-09-15T04:11:04Z

Johnny Cash had fallen out of love with his first wife, and had fallen in love with uppers and downers, the twins that helped him stay "up" to fulfill his tour dates, and helped him fall "down" and fast asleep after every feverish show. As this song will reveal, June Carter played the role of rescuer early in their relationship. With a little help from above, she helped Johnny to get free from the throes of addiction.

Was this a co-dependent relationship, defined by an unhealthy connection? Or does society promote self-sufficiency too much. Is there another way to define the "love" between Johnny and June? You will adopt a particular theoretical orientation, and their story will be told through the eyes of that orientation, and presented to our eyes through a video depiction of this original Dr BLT song. You have my permission to use this duet as your PsychMusicVid.

Johnny and June
Allyssa Kaess and Dr BLT
words and music by Dr Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT © 2011

Home and This Train PsychMusicVidz: World Weariness, and the Search for Transcendent Meaning

2011-09-10T23:47:57Z

One of the central themes of existential/humanistic psychology is the human quest for meaning, drawn from the weariness of life and it's persistent challenges. Here are two original Dr BLT songs that reflect that existential theme. See what you can do to echo the existential themes contained in the songs through a PsychMusicVid. Here are the links.

Home (First Mix)
performed by Rod Marlin
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

This Train
Daniel Sisco performing Dr BLT song
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

Black Santa: The Psychology of Stereotypes (PsychMusicVidz)

2011-09-08T06:14:59Z

Black Santa: The Psychology of Stereotypes (A PsychMusicVidz Challenge)

The following original Dr BLT song, Black Santa, which features African American artist Michael C., as an African-American male seeking employment as Santa Claus, in a duet dialogue with yours truly as the department store hiring representative breaks two unwritten cultural rules (black men are not supposed to be Santa, and, unless you're Eminem, white men are not supposed to even attempt to rap.

As a would-be mental heath professional, this song will raise questions that will challenge you and force you to come to terms with your own biases. What is the problem? Who is the problem. Is this a problem that can be neatly handled via a particular personality theory or theoretical orientation? Is there a macro theory that goes beyond a single therapist working face-to-face with an individual patient. If there is, find it, and create visual images that convey such an approach as it applies to the cross-cultural issues introduced in the song.

Black Santa
Dr BLT ft. Micheal C.
words and music by Dr BLT © 1991, 2011

One September Mournin': A Jungian Perspective PsychMusicVid

2011-09-03T15:08:39Z

Through a Jungian-based PsychMusicVid, generated from this original Dr BLT song, describe the impact of 9/11 on the collective psyche, along with the individual psyches of individuals most directly impacted by this event.
3 Versions:

One September Mournin'
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT © 2001

One September Mournin'
Sacramento Bands Together
words and music by Dr BLT © 2001

One September Mournin'
Monique Stanfield
words and music by Dr BLT © 2001

I hereby grant permission for my students, and Conrad (their PsychMusicVidGuru) to use this song for this purpose.

Lyrics
One September Mournin'
words and music by Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr. B.L.T. copyright 2001

teardrops fall like rain
against a broken skyline
I wonder if we'll ever sleep again
teardrops on the pane
of my shattered window
I wonder if we'll ever be the same

chorus:
one september mournin'
we woke to hauntin' scenes
one september mournin'
enshrined in silent screams
so many lives were taken
on the dark and dismal day
on that one september mournin'
that will never go away

I cannot bear to look
upon that broken skyline
or in the eyes of all of those who grieve
the flag was once a blanket
that we wrapped around us
but now a nightmare
has replaced our dreams

and the world stood still
as the sky fell down
on broken glass
and wounded windows
and plane-shaped bombs
gave no warnin'
but we shall stand as one
on that September mournin'
(repeat)

Halloween with Jim Beam: Addictive resilience via Classical Conditioning: PsychMusicVidz

2011-09-02T22:02:09Z

Schizophrenics are not the only ones that hear voices, though the voices they hear are more invasive, often more stentorian, and often more detached from reality. We all hear the voice of reason, and we all hear the voice of temptation. For a variety of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental reasons, the voice of temptation to drink is much more compelling and persuasive in the alcoholic. It is, in fact, almost impossible to resist. It is made strong, not only by generational patterns, but cognitive associations between triggers (such as the loss of a relationship) and the comfort of alcohol as a replacement for the love object that has abandoned and betrayed the "heartbreakee." This most compelling voice is represented in the original Dr BLT song, Halloween with Jim Beam.

Several years have past. Once again, it is the anniversary of a heartbreak, which happens to coincide with Halloween. The hauntingly compelling voice in this song is a reminder to the fictional character, in the song's story, of the pain, and the obvious "solution" or remedy, short-lived though it may be.

Anniversaries such as this, usher in new cognitive sets of associations, built on past memories. These haunting memories, and the havoc they wreak within his psyche, are complicated by an addiction to alcohol that has been reinforced (and thus rendered resilient to extinction) through repeated mental associations between the traumatic loss (and the concomitant inability to cope), and a "solution" that has led to immediate, but fleeting, and ultimately self-destructive results. Your mission as a PsychMusicVids production team is to describe through a music video depiction, the cognitive steps that likely led to the song/story character's addiction to Jim Beam. Is this a simple matter of Pavlov's classical condioning, or is there more going on? The answer will be revealed in your PsychMusicVid. Download this, use it with my permission as the sole songwriter and copyright holder, and don't forget to include yourself at the end as PsychMusicVidz Producers:

I hereby grant permission for my students, and Conrad (their PsychMusicVidGuru) to use this song for the purposes noted above.

Halloween with Jim Beam
words and music by Bruce L Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2010

if October takes over with heartache and pain
if your girl breaks your heart
and it can't be contained
Halloween with Jim Beam
Honky in the dark
and the memories appear
like a ghost from your past
and it can't be contained

chorus:
your house is haunted with memories of
the day she filled it with kisses and hugs
jukebox is playin' some Buck and Jimmy Dean
bar tender pours you another Jim Beam

if October rolls over
it's now been a year
and you still can't contain all your heartache and fear
Halloween with Jim Beam
Halloween with Jim Beam (chorus)

So Long Amy: Amy Winehouse tribute song

2011-08-03T17:53:45Z

Good day students and/or Amy Winehouse fans. Attached is a brand new Dr BLTune available as a free download and as a potential student PsychMusicVid Youtube project. Angles on a video could address her self-destructive predilection, her substance abuse as a way of coping with fame and the societal demands and expectations that seem to go with the phenomenon of fame.

Somebody also requested the lyrics for Boy Behind Bars, which details the Merle Haggard's early battle with juvenile delinquency. I'm about to add those in the thread below this one. Without further ado, here's...

So Long Amy
Dr BLT
words and music by Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr BLT copyright 2011

So Long Amy
she lived her life in the space of a song
a song so chaotic
she wasn't so strong
now the headlines say "AMY IS GONE"
so long, Amy so long

why do they die so young
I don't know
she was just 27
caught up in the throes
of disease and addiction
in a world gone so wrong
so long, Amy so long

chorus:
she's gone she's gone
she left us today
in the midst of a song
her life was a stage
one day they're here
and then, hey, they're gone
so long, Amy, so long

she joined Brian Jones
of the Rolling Stones
Janis and Jimmi
with sad tales of their own
Jim Morrison too
and Curt Cobain
all 27
and drownin' in pain
(instrumental solo; return to chorus)

"All in the Family" context: Retell an auditory story with visuals

2011-07-03T19:55:00Z

Good day Family Systems students of Brandman University. If you're chomping on the bit waiting to get started in the group music video project, here are a few songs that are already available for you to use as fodder for a brand new music video. There may be remix in the works of "Her Plate is Half Empty," so use the song in its present form as a template, but be prepared to replace the template if you want to use the fancier edition.

There will be more songs to choose from, so feel free to pass on any of these. I've told stories through original songs. They are stories of individuals with personal problems. Your job is to listen to the songs, pick one, attend to the story that is told through music and lyrics, cast the problem in the context of a family systems orientation, then re-tell the story using a music video that combines the song with moving and/or still life pictures. To find out how to do that, scroll down a couple of posts, and there are links that teach you how to put it all together once your concept is developed, and how to post your final project in YouTube.

Without further ado, here are some songs to get you rolling. Lyrics will be added shortly.

SO LONG AMY (see thread above for free mp3 download and lyrics).

BOY BEHIND BARS
Boy Behind Bars
words and music by Dr BLT
copyright 2011

Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2011

boy behind bars
born in a boxcar home in Bakersfield
lost your dad
when you were 9 years of age
does that explain all the rage you feel
boy behind bars
boy behind bats

that explains Merle Haggard as a teen
fueled by grief and pain
that explains the places you have been
boy behind bars
boy behind bars

from Bakersfield to Texas
and everywhere in between
runnin' away
gettin' locked up
stealin' everything you see
spent some time in PSI
one year for larceny
with Bob Teague as your partner
right around the age of 15

well you hopped on a train to Texas
boxcar limousine
just like your home on wheels
well you lived to cause a scene

boy behind bars and boxcars
boy behind bars and boxcars

eventually you'd end up
with a botched up robbery
locked up in San Quentin
just waitin' to be free

step to the left
step to the right
there's gonna be a brawl
there's gonna be a fight
'till Johnny Cash
turned you around
now you sing a new song
and you're makin' new sounds

boy behind bars
boy behind bars
boy behind bars...
and boxcars

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES (Brand new Dr BLT dance groove)
Dance of Dysfunction by Dr BLT

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES (Brand new Dr BLT song ft. Dave Howe)
Help Me Chop Down my Family Tree by Dr BLT
Remixed edition (ft Dave Howe and the G-L-ement on the remix)
Help Me Chop Down my Family Tree by Dr BLT

Help me Chop Down my Family Tree

Uncle Jack

He’s on crack

Auntie Gin

Broke his back

Cousin Dale

He’s in jail

Like a train

That’s bin derailed

Chorus:

Help me chop down

My family tree

So dysfunctional

So diseased

So I beg you

On bended knee

Help me chop down

My family tree

Cousin Jane

She was insane

Hung her husband

From a chain

Psychotic Sam

From mother’s side

His middle name

Is suicide

(chorus)

Everywhere I look

I see dysfunction

Train’s off track

At this crazy railroad junction

Everywhere I look

There’s utter misery

Help me hide my family tree

(instrumental solo; chorus)

All my nieces fall to pieces

And my nephews

All seek refuge

Rehab

And psych wards too

My family tree

Has got the blues

(chorus)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
MRS JONES MRS JONES MRS JONES
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011 remixed by GL

stumbles down the stairs to meet the day
hair is tangled up inside a braid
fists are clenched in bitter fits of rage
will she face the future
or is she destined for an early grave

his car is parked outside her humble home
naked to the world, she stands alone
tries to make it numb by getting stoned
will she bear another beatin'
or will she telephone

Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones
she's found a man
but still remains alone
Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones
sticks and stones
can break your bones
Mrs Jones

well you tell me that you
just can't feel a thing
and you tell me that you
just can't feel his sting
well a picture paints
a thousand words of pain
will try to find a better life
or will you die in vain

Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones
you've found a man
yeah, you've found a man
but still you remain alone
Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones
sticks and stones
can break your bones
Mrs. Jones

Mrs Jones Mrs Jones Mrs Jones
sticks and stones can break your bones
Mrs Jones, Mrs Jones
sticks and stones can break your bones
yeah yeah
can't you see
sticks and stones can break your bones
Mrs. Jones...

FACING FEAR:
The Humanist/Existentialist Challenge

LIVE
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

Live like there's no tomorrow
die like there ain't no sorrow
life is much too short
to fuss and fight my friends
life is much too short
soon this life will end

live, won't you live for your sister
die, won't you die for your brother

life is much too short
to fuss and fight my friend
life is much too short
soon this life will end

so get along every day
get a song and sing it on your way
don't forget to love
don't forget to pray
'cause life is much too short
to hate

life is much too short to hate
(rockin' Dr BLT guitar solo here)

life is much too short
to fuss and fight my friend
life is much too short
soon... this life will end

ANOREXIA NERVOSA
Her Plate is Half Empty
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

ERIKSON'S IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION stage (Identity Crisis Resolution)
I FOUND MYSELF AT A YARD SALE one
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

ERIKSON'S IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION stage (Identity Crisis Resolution)
Different mix of the song
I FOUND MYSELF AT A YARD SALE two
words and music by Dr BLT © 2011

ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS
JC Therapy by Dr BLT remixed by S Mouridian
JC THERAPY (The Sean M. Remix)
words and music by Dr BLT ft S.M. © 2011

Vidoes:
THIS JUST IN: Brand new video for HER PLATE IS HALF-EMPTY
Her Plate is Half Empty