So, I love the song “Dreaming” by Blondie. Here’s the video:

Here’s a sampling of the lyrics:

When I met you in the restaurant

You could tell I was no debutante

You asked me what’s my pleasure

A movie or a measure?

I’ll have a cup of tea and tell you of my dreaming

Dreaming is free

I don’t want to live on charity

Pleasure’s real or is it fantasy?

Reel to reel is living rarity

People stop and stare at me We just walk on by – we just keep on dreaming

Feet feet, walking a two mile

Meet meet, meet me at the turnstile

I never met him, I’ll never forget him

Dream dream, even for a little while

Dream dream, filling up an idle hour

Fade away, radiate 

• I dream of being a published author. Of books. That people read!
• I dream of living at the beach where I write the books that people read.
• I dream of having a paid for house at the beach where I write the books that people read.
• I dream of travelling anywhere I want because I have a paid for house at the beach where I write the books that people read. 

This week’s installment of Money Tune Tuesday is a bit different. Rather than a song about money, it’s a song that represents perhaps one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Ever. Oh, and it was free.

Last Friday, I saw Better Than Ezra for free at Baltimore’s Power Plant Live. Sure, it was hotter than the sun and I had to pay for a hotel room and my Jeremiah Weed crush got warm before I could finish it but it didn’t matter because I got to see BTE. I had been wanting to see them for more years than I can count and when I saw that they were playing for free in my favorite city, there was no way I was not going. I called my parents, got them to babysit and off I went.

I wish there was a word for how infinitely amazing this show was. It was perfect. And I can’t believe it was free. A show that good should not be free. I am over the moon that it was, in fact, free but I would have gladly paid money to go. It was so good I forgot that I was melting into my flip flops (I only remembered that later, back at the hotel).

So, in honor of this unbelievable show, and it’s homage to the frugal, today’s money tune is Better Than Ezra’s “Absolutely Still”. I chose this instead of their more well known songs like “Good”, “Desperately Wanting” or “Breathless” (apparently this one has been covered by Taylor Swift) because, well, it’s incredible and lots of people need to hear it:

Last week, Sandy at Yes, I Am Cheap posed the question “What would you do if you received $1,000,000?” I gave my answer and so did lots of other great bloggers including the Single Saver, Bucksome Boomer, No Debt MBA, and Baking the Budget.

But what would the Barenaked Ladies do? Here’s their musically inspired answer (though this is totally not how I’d spend my money. To each his own):

Cyndi Lauper is a wise woman. Sure, she may look like a clown who put on her make-up in the dark and her speaking voice makes me want to mute the TV but she can sing her ass off and her songs are amazing and timeless. Now that I think of it, I need to put her on my iPod. But I digress. Today’s money tune is Cyndi Lauper’s Money Changes Everything.

My favorite lyric? Is this:
   They shake your hand and they smile
   And they buy you a drink
   They say we’ll be your friends
   We’ll stick with you till the end
   Ah but everybody’s only
   Looking out for themselves
   And you say well who can you trust
   I’ll tell you it’s just
   Nobody else’s money –

In keeping with last week’s theme of honoring those who work hard, this week’s Money Tune is  Donna Summer’s “She Works Hard for the Money”. I can’t think of another song with a serious message that has such a good beat. (Also, I love Donna Summer. “On The Radio” is an awesome song):