Freegal Songs for Earth Day

Earth Day: flowering crabapple  image credit: Ellen Mackey 2012

I’ve been searching the web for the best Earth Day songs and then searching Freegal to see what was available there.

Some of these songs celebrate nature; others lament what we’ve done to it.

Kansas                         Death of Mother Nature Suite

 John Prine                   Paradise

 Yardbirds                     Shapes of Things

 Johnny Cash                Don’t Go Near the Water

James Taylor               Traffic Jam

Woody Guthrie            This Land Is Your Land

Bruce Springsteen       This Land Is Your Land            

 Michael Jackson          Earth Song

Nitty Gritty Dirt           Fishin’ in the Dark

   Band

 John Mayer                 Waiting on the World to Change

 Dave Matthews           One Sweet World

   Band

 Kenny Loggins             Conviction of the Heart

                                    This Island Earth (album)

 John Denver                Calypso

                                    The Wind

                                    Annie’s Song

                                    Sunshine on My Shoulder

                                    Rocky Mountain High

 Walk Off the Earth      Little Boxes

 Pete Seeger                 God Bless the Grass

Best Song for Earth Day: “Conviction of the Heart” by Kenny Loggins

Redwood trees in Muir Woods National Monument, just outside San Francisco, California
Image Credit

According to SongFacts, Loggins co-wrote this song with guitarist Guy Thomas who decided he had to do something as he drove past a toxic waste fill in Los Angeles. 

 

Though the lyrics are kind of general, one line near the end sticks with me: “Air that’s too angry to breathe/water our children can’t drink…”

Loggins performed the song on Earth Day 1995 at the National Mall.

It’s available from Freegal.

Freegal at the Movies: Top Gun

Cockpit USA top gun G-1 flight jacket  image credit

It’s common for movie moguls to look to books, comic books, or even video games for inspiration, but Top Gun was based on an article that appeared in the California Magazine in 1983.

Better check out those magazines more often, guys. The Oscar-winning Argo was also based on an article, which was published in Wired magazine in 2007.

Top Gun has been 3D-ified and is now for sale on in Blu-Ray 3D format.

The whole soundtrack is available for free download on Freegal, with quite a few luminaries from the 80’s. Everyone remembers “You Take My Breath Away,” by Berlin.

Kenny Loggins also has a few tracks, the most notable being “Danger Zone.” Cheap Trick, Miami Sound Machine, Teena Marie and Loverboy also have tracks on the album.

Kenny Loggins’ New Band: “Dream” by Blue Sky Riders

I’ve found something free and legal that is not from Freegal. Kenny Loggins is back with a new band, a trio that sings “Americana-tinged” music.

(Where did I learn this? Anyone younger than a Boomer, cover your eyes. The AARP Magazine, that’s where.)

It’s available for download here.

It has Loggins’ imprint, though not as catchy as some of his other tunes.

“Dream” does come with some strings, however. You have to put in your e-mail address to get the download. According to their terms, you will get lots of nice e-mail from the group.

You can get Loggins’ other songs through Freegal, no e-mail required. Just a library card. And the libraries won’t send you any e-mail, unless you want them to.

Freegal includes his greatest hits album. My favorites include “Your Mama Don’t Dance,”  “I’m Alright,” and “Footloose.”