The Challenge this week is to write a song that uses the famous four chords of popular music – I – V- vi and IV! They do not have to be in that order though. These four chords have been played over and over in songs of so many various genres of popular music. Here is a very partial list of some songs that have made use of these progressions, taken from Wikipedia. Notice the many different years and artists that are represented:

Song Title	Artist	Year	Progression
“Down“[24]	Jay Sean feat. Lil Wayne	2009	IV–I–V–vi
“Heart Attack“[38]	Demi Lovato	2013	IV–I–V–vi
“What’s My Age Again?“[109]	Blink-182	1999	IV–I–V–vi; I–V–vi–IV
“Drive By“[25]	Train	2012	IV–I–V–vi; vi–IV–I–V
“Home“[41]	Phillip Phillips	2012	IV–I–V–vi; vi–IV–I–V
“Try“[103]	P!nk	2012	IV–I–V–vi; vi–IV–I–V
“With Me“[115]	Sum 41	2007	IV–I–V–vi; vi–IV–I–V
“All Too Well“[3]	Taylor Swift	2012	I–V–vi–IV
“Always on My Mind“[4]	Brenda Lee	1972	I–V–vi–IV
“Another Girl, Another Planet“[5]	The Only Ones	1978	I–V–vi–IV
“Beast of Burden“[6]	The Rolling Stones	1978	I–V–vi–IV
“Bullet“[10]	Hollywood Undead	2011	I–V–vi–IV
“California King Bed“[11]	Rihanna	2011	I–V–vi–IV
“Cruise“[15]	Florida Georgia Line	2012	I–V–vi–IV
“Cryin’“[16]	Aerosmith	1993	I–V–vi–IV
“Dammit“[6][17]	Blink-182	1997	I–V–vi–IV
“Demons“[19]	Imagine Dragons	2012	I–V–vi–IV
“Dirty Little Secret“[20]	The All-American Rejects	2005	I–V–vi–IV
“Feeling This“[6][27]	Blink-182	2003	I–V–vi–IV
“Fuckin’ Perfect“[30]	P!nk	2010	I–V–vi–IV
“Glycerine“[32]	Bush	1994	I–V–vi–IV
“Hair“[35]	Lady Gaga	2011	I–V–vi–IV
“Happy Ending“[37]	Mika	2007	I–V–vi–IV
“If We Ever Meet Again“[46]	Timbaland feat. Katy Perry	2010	I–V–vi–IV
“Just Ace”[50]	Grinspoon	1997	I–V–vi–IV
“No One“[58]	Alicia Keys	2007	I–V–vi–IV
“Pork and Beans“[70]	Weezer	2008	I–V–vi–IV
“Summer Paradise“	Simple Plan	2012	I–V–vi–IV
“Someone like You“[84]	Adele	2011	I–V–vi–IV
“Take Me Home, Country Roads“[90]	John Denver	1971	I–V–vi–IV
“The Edge of Glory“[92]	Lady Gaga	2011	I–V–vi–IV
“To Know Him Is to Love Him“[100]	The Teddy Bears	1958	I–V–vi–IV
“Tuesday’s Gone“[102]	Lynyrd Skynyrd	1973	I–V–vi–IV
“Wagon Wheel“[105]	Old Crow Medicine Show	2004	I–V–vi–IV
“Walking Disaster“[106]	Sum 41	2007	I–V–vi–IV
“Walks Like Rihanna“[107]	The Wanted	2013	I–V–vi–IV
“When I Come Around“[6][110]	Green Day	1993	I–V–vi–IV
“What About Now“[111]	Lonestar	2000	I–V–vi–IV
“Wherever You Will Go“[112]	The Calling	2001	I–V–vi–IV
“With or Without You“[116]	U2	1987	I–V–vi–IV
“Bridge of Light“[8]	P!nk	2011	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“Don’t You Wanna Stay“[23]	Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson	2010	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“For the First Time“[28]	The Script	2010	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“Four Chords“[29]	The Axis of Awesome	2011	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“Snow (Hey Oh)“[83]	Red Hot Chili Peppers	2006	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“The Rock Show“[97]	Blink-182	2001	I–V–vi–IV; vi–IV–I–V
“Ciaccona”[12]	Antonio Bertali	1662	I–V–vi–IV–V
“Africa“[1]	Toto	1983	vi–IV–I–V
“Beautiful“[7]	Akon feat. Colby O’Donis andKardinal Offishall	2009	vi–IV–I–V
“Brighter Than the Sun“[9]	Colbie Caillat	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Come Over“[13]	Kenny Chesney	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“De Música Ligera”[18]	Soda Stereo	1990	vi–IV–I–V
“Don’t Forget Me“[21]	Red Hot Chili Peppers	2002	vi–IV–I–V
“Don’t Trust Me“[22]	3OH!3	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“Electrical Storm“[26]	U2	2002	vi–IV–I–V
“Give Me Everything“[31]	Pitbull feat. Ne-yo, Afrojack, andNayer	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Good Life“[33]	OneRepublic	2010	vi–IV–I–V
“Great Romances Of The 20th Century“[34]	Taking Back Sunday	2002	vi–IV–I–V
“Hall of Fame“[36]	The Script feat. will.i.am	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Hello“[39]	Adele	2015	vi–IV–I–V
“Hey Brother“[40]	Avicii	2013	vi–IV–I–V
“Hot n Cold“[42]	Katy Perry	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“I Just Had Sex“[43]	The Lonely Island feat. Akon	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“I Was Here“[44]	Beyoncé	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“If I Were a Boy“[45]	Beyoncé	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“In This River“[48]	Black Label Society	2005	vi–IV–I–V
“International Love“[49]	Pitbull feat. Chris Brown	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Just a Dream“[51]	Nelly	2010	vi–IV–I–V
“Kaze wa Fuiteiru“[52]	AKB48	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Little Talks“[53]	Of Monsters and Men	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Love Me“[54]	Justin Bieber	2009	vi–IV–I–V
“Love the Way You Lie“[55]	Eminem feat. Rihanna	2010	vi–IV–I–V
“Marilyn Monroe“[56]	Nicki Minaj	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Não Me Toca”[57]	Anselmo Ralph	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Nobody’s Perfect“[59]	Miley Cyrus	2007	vi–IV–I–V
“Not Afraid“[60]	Eminem	2010	vi–IV–I–V
“Numb“[61]	Linkin Park	2003	vi–IV–I–V
“On the Floor“[62]	Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“One of Us“[63][64]	Joan Osborne	1995	vi–IV–I–V
“Otherside“[65]	Red Hot Chili Peppers	2000	vi–IV–I–V
“Paradise“[66]	Coldplay	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Peace of Mind“[67]	Boston	1977	vi–IV–I–V
“Pieces“[68]	Sum 41	2005	vi–IV–I–V
“Poker Face“[69]	Lady Gaga	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“Ready or Not“[71]	Bridgit Mendler	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Replay“[72]	Iyaz	2009	vi–IV–I–V
“Rise“[73]	McClain Sisters	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Save Tonight“[74]	Eagle Eye Cherry	1997	vi–IV–I–V
“Say Something“[75]	A Great Big World	2013	vi–IV–I–V
“Science & Faith“[76]	The Script	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Self Esteem“[77][78]	The Offspring	1994	vi–IV–I–V
“Silverflame“[80]	Dizzy Mizz Lizzy	1994	vi–IV–I–V
“Six Degrees of Separation“[81]	The Script	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Skyscraper“[82]	Demi Lovato	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“So Small“[85]	Carrie Underwood	2007	vi–IV–I–V
“Soul To Squeeze“[86]	Red Hot Chili Peppers	1993	vi–IV–I–V
“Sparks Fly“[87]	Taylor Swift	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Stand“[88]	Rascal Flatts	2007	vi–IV–I–V
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)“[89]	Kelly Clarkson	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Tears of the Dragon“[91]	Bruce Dickinson	1994	vi–IV–I–V
“The Kids Aren’t Alright“[95]	The Offspring	1999	vi–IV–I–V
“Think Twice”[98]	Eve 6	2003	vi–IV–I–V
“This Is Me“[99]	Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“Too Cool“[101]	Meaghan Jette Martin	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“U + Ur Hand“[104]	P!nk	2006	vi–IV–I–V
“We Found Love“[108]	Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“Whistle“[113]	Flo Rida	2012	vi–IV–I–V
“Who You Are“[114]	Jessie J	2011	vi–IV–I–V
“You’re Not Sorry“[117]	Taylor Swift	2008	vi–IV–I–V
“Zombie“[118]	The Cranberries	1994	vi–IV–I–V
“Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times“[14]	Sum 41	2007	vi–IV–I–V; I–V–vi–IV
“The Light Behind Your Eyes“[96]	My Chemical Romance	2012	vi–I–IV–V
“The Hell Song“[93]	Sum 41	2002	vi–I–V–IV
“The Hero”[94] (Opening theme ofOne-Punch Man)	JAM Project	2015	vi–I–V–IV
“All I Ever Wanted“[2]	Basshunter	2008	vi–V–I–IV
“Shake It“[79]	Metro Station	2008	V–vi–IV–I

That list doesn’t even include the 50s progression ( I-vi-IV-V). Here are some more:

Song Name	Artist	Year	Progression
“Baby, I’m an Anarchist!“	Against Me!	2002	I–vi–IV–V
“All I Have to Do Is Dream“	Everly Brothers	1960	I–vi–IV–V
“Baby Baby Baby”	Aretha Franklin	1967	I–vi–ii–V
“Beyond the Sea“[1]	Jack Lawrence and Charles Trenet	1946	I–vi–IV–V
“Blue Moon“	The Marcels	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Bristol Stomp“	The Dovells	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Chain Gang“[2]	Sam Cooke	1960	I–vi–IV–V
“Crocodile Rock“[3]	Elton John	1972	I–vi–IV–V
“Da Doo”, “Dentist”	Little Shop of Horrors (musical)Original Broadway Cast	1982	I–vi–IV–V
“Donna“[4]	Ritchie Valens	1958	I–vi–IV–V
“Don’t Dream It’s Over“[5]	Crowded House	1986	IV–V–I–vi
“Duke of Earl“[6]	Gene Chandler	1962	I–vi–IV–V
“D’yer Mak’er“	Led Zeppelin	1973	I–vi–IV–V
“Earth Angel“[4][7]	The Penguins	1954	I–vi–IV–V
“Enola Gay“	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	1980	I–vi–IV–V
“Eternal Flame“[8]	The Bangles	1989	I–vi–IV–V
“Every Breath You Take“	The Police	1983	I–vi–IV–V
“Eyes on Me	Faye Wong	1999	I–vi–IV–V
“Flightless Bird, American Mouth“	Iron & Wine	2007	I–vi–IV–V
“Friday“[9]	Rebecca Black	2011	I–vi–IV–V
“Give a Little Love“[10]	Bay City Rollers	1975	I–vi–IV–V
Happiness Is a Warm Gun[6][11]	The Beatles	1968	I–vi–IV–V
“Heart and Soul“[12]	Larry Clinton feat. Bea Wain	1938	I–vi–IV–V
“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea“	Neutral Milk Hotel	1998	I–vi–IV–V
“In The Shape Of A Heart“	Jackson Browne	1986	I–vi–IV–V
“Jesus of Suburbia“[13][14]	Green Day	2005	I–vi–IV–V
“Lollipop“[15]	Ronald & Ruby	1958	I–vi–IV–V
“Lovable“[16][17]	Sam Cooke	1956	I–vi–IV–V
“Mama I’m A Big Girl Now”	Hairspray (musical) Original Broadway Cast	2002	I–vi–IV–V
“Mandy“	Barry Manilow	1974	I–vi–IV–V
“Oliver’s Army“[18]	Elvis Costello	1979	I–vi–IV–V
“Pretty Little Angel Eyes“	Curtis Lee	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Stand by Me“[19][20]	Ben E. King	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Telephone Line“	Electric Light Orchestra	1976	I–vi–IV–V
“The Man Comes Around“	Johnny Cash	2002	I–vi–IV–V
“There Is a Light That Never Goes Out“	The Smiths	1992	I–vi–IV–V
“This Magic Moment“[21]	The Drifters	1960	I–vi–IV–V
“Those Magic Changes“[22]	Sha Na Na	1978	I–vi–IV–V
“Mr. Bass Man“	Johnny Cymbal	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“True Blue“[23]	Madonna	1986	I–vi–IV–V
“We Go Together“[24]	John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John	1972	I–vi–IV–V
“You Are Not Alone“[25]	Michael Jackson	1995	I–vi–ii–V
“I’m Not Edward Cullen”	Hank Green	2009	I–vi–IV–V
“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now“	Starship	1987	I–vi–IV–V
“No Hay Pedo”	Banda Los Recoditos	2014	I–vi–IV–V
“Brave as a Noun”	Andrew Jackson Jihad	2007	I–vi–IV–V
“Joey“	Concrete Blonde	1990	I–vi–IV–V
“Last Kiss“[26]	Wayne Cochran	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Dear Future Husband“	Meghan Trainor	2015	I–vi–IV–V
“Dance with Me Tonight“	Olly Murs	2011	I–vi–IV–V
“The Thin Ice“	Pink Floyd	1979	I–vi–IV–V
“Marvin Gaye“	Charlie Puth	2015	I–vi–IV–V
“Beautiful Girls“	Sean Kingston	2007	I–vi–IV–V
“Close Your Eyes”	Meghan Trainor	2014	I–vi–IV–V
“Döner Skins”	Landser	1997	I–vi–IV–V
“I Love You Too Much”	The Book of Life (soundtrack)	2014	I-vi-IV-V
“Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers	1956	I–vi–IV–V
“For Your Precious Love“[27]	Jerry Butler	1958	I–vi–IV–V
“Please Mr. Postman“	The Marvelettes	1961	I–vi–IV–V
“Oh True Love”	Everly Brothers	1960	I–vi–IV–V
“All I Want for Christmas Is You“	Mariah Carey	1994	I–vi–IV–V

A Birthday Gift that Keeps On Giving

My girlfriend Arielle bought me tickets to go to the Vernal Equinox celebration at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. As a big fan of the work of Alex Grey, I was beyond excited. Here is a description of CoSM from their website:

“The mission of 

CoSM, Chapel of Sacred Mirrors is to build an enduring sanctuary of visionary art 
to inspire and evolve the creative spirit… CoSM is a church, a context for a community that honors and practices art as a spiritual path. CoSM offers a visionary cultural nexus to empower a global community.

 To further the spiritual practice of art, CoSM offers workshops and cultural programs.”

In addition to that, the grounds house some of Alex’s most iconic work such as the Cosmic Christ:

 

 

The Vernal Equinox Celebration at COSM

Since attending Alex Grey and his wife Allyson’s Vernal Equinox celebration this past weekend, there remains an earthy after glow that lingers all around me. Alex and his wife lectured about the significance of the Vernal Equinox and how this is a time of rebirth – the tipping point where there becomes more light than darkness and new growth commences. Alex talked about how our bodies contain the same designs that are found in nature, mentioning for instance the bronchial tree in the lungs, and then Alyson urged us to focus on regrowth in our own lives at this time of year. It felt like New Years Eve all over again. I truly appreciate being given this deeper sense of a new beginning because I’m definitely behind with getting things started in 2016. Just look at the date of my first blog post! After the lecture, there was live artwork being made by Alex, Alyson and some other artists, electronic music and dancing, a giant outdoor fire with flame artists, a makeshift tent dome with experimental sound designers and strange visuals being projected onto the ceiling, and an all around great time.

Meeting Alex Grey and Receiving a Blessing

While there, I had the great fortune of meeting Alex and having him sign my copy of his book “Art Psalms”. His message was “To Gary, With Love and Blessings on your Creative Path! Alex Grey.” He also left me with some original art work! He drew a left hand with a flame in the palm of it and an all seeing eye pyramid with wings! I am still wondering if he observed that I was a lefty when I handed him the book. He seemed to struggle for a moment drawing the left hand when maybe he is accustomed to drawing the right, and he apologized for it being a little messy (such a humble guy). When he was done, he blew on his work to make sure the pen ink was dry before closing the book. His genuine warmth and graciousness and his kind inscription has left me with a stronger resolve than ever to walk straight ahead on this creative path. He handed me a bottle of inspiration that will sustain me for some time. I see the flame and the eye in the hand as a declaration of the power of self-directed creativity – to have a vision and make it a reality. Receiving these guiding symbols and encouraging words from a man who has championed visionary art and dedicated years of effort and continual refinement to bringing inner glimpses of spiritual and energetic truth into the outer physical world by way of his hands, means a lot. It is more than a physical gift. It truly is a blessing.

The Community at COSM

The Vernal Equinox lecture started at 7PM, but we arrived at the COSM grounds around 5. If you ever go to an event and want some time to view Alex’s work and the CoSM grounds, it is worth going early, where you are practically alone to view, reflect, and ponder. When we got there, the only people among us were the volunteers setting up for the event. I could tell though that they were all members of a special kind of community. As I walked toward the gift shop I saw that the volunteers were all eating in a back room before the festivities were to begin. As other volunteers arrived, hugs were shared and genuine words of kindness exchanged. It was someone’s birthday. It was also my birthday, and it was a gift from my girlfriend to be taken to the event, so I was there celebrating life. I told this kind lady across the room that we shared this special day and she came over and gave me a hug! I wanted to know more about the positive vibes among these people. I asked the sparkling blue eyed and long haired young man making my coffee at the CoSM Mushroom Cafe how long he has been volunteering. He told me about two years and I asked him what it was like. He said it was awesome and in addition to working the events, adults get to have a lot of childlike fun and do things like play laser tag in the woods after hours! They also get to stay in the volunteer dorms! Some of the jobs of the volunteers included setting up chairs and furniture, moving Alex’s artwork, working at the cafe, the gift shop, working the admission table, etc. Another volunteer, Eli, explained to me the process for applying to volunteer – you just fill out some forms on the CoSM website. This women was nice, friendly, but brought an element of strong leadership to this business operation that, as the night rolled on, was much needed. There were long lines for drinks and sandwiches, packed quarters, and she kept things in control. When I posted on Facebook where I was a friend told me that her friend Eli is there volunteering all the time and this was not the only connection I had here! I also ran into a volunteer named Tem that I had played on a couple of gigs with in NYC! Ironically, those gigs were put on by the brother of the friend who knew Eli, and both were unaware that their respective friends worked together!

Besides the volunteers, there were also the artists and entertainers. There were two painters amazingly talented painters in the room where Alex’s Cosmic Christ is housed and one was painting a striking coyote who was tangled in multi colored yarn. In another room their was an artist making a Mandala out of died sand and two other painters. In the back room where the dancing was taking place was another artist painting a baby in some sort of otherworldly cave filled with shards of gems. And then there was Alex painting a self portrait and Alyson painting symbols of some unknown language. Both of them kindly welcomed visitors to chat with while they worked (that is how I was able to meet Alex as well).

Trust and Openess

The amount of trust, acceptance and compassion that Alex and his Wife have for all the people that come to their home is staggering. Besides having a couple of security guards, anyone that buys a ticket can come in without having their bags or jackets checked, and roam freely throughout the first floor of the house. There are personal keepsakes on many of the shelves, books, a guitar and other instruments, along with the artwork on the walls. Many of the attendees might also be in frames of mind that could potentially lead to poor decision making. However, “drunk” is not one them, which is probably the state of mind that leads to the most crime. No alcohol is sold at COSM. Some people were definitely intoxicated, but seemingly on substances that do not typically lead to violence or crime – Marijuana, Psychedelics, MDMA. However, boundaries can becomes blurry in these states. When Alyson got up from the painting that she was working on, a girl say down on her chair just inches from the painting examining it thoroughly. I was afraid that she might touch it. People came up to here asking if she was the artist! Ultimately, I got the sense that Allyson and Alex are in acceptance of anything that might happen. In our modern civilized society, fear is hardly ever useful yet it most often rules our lives. I found it very telling that I was more afraid for Alex and Allyson’s possessions than they were.