Listening to Music by Sean Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:45:35 -0400 https://seanriley.com/music/ en-us © 2026 Sean Riley yes 2891127d-e8f2-5e16-93f7-b4966988107f Sean Riley episodic false Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) electronic music, analogue synthesis, sequences, samples, programming, ambient, meaning, mindful, connection, original music Sean Riley https://storage.buzzsprout.com/8c68xymbrnbi907689e4f9rzkrx7?.jpg Listening to Music by Sean https://seanriley.com/music/ I So Believe In Love I So Believe In Love I So Believe In Love is a song about big, simple, love.

What gives you confidence?  What makes you feel strong?  My best answer is loving someone who loves you back.  In the song I So Believe in Love, I explore the unblushing joy one feels at love's first arrival and the strength of heart one knows after sharing love for thousands and thousands of days.  This is a song of celebration.


I So Believe In Love (words and music by Sean Riley)

Is it true?
I hope it's true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Wonder what's true about love.
I'm in love.

Yes it true.
I know it true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Now that I know about love.
I'm in love.

I so believe in love.
Big simple love.
Enduring changing love.
I so believe in love.
I'm love.

Now that love has found me.
The world has grown, I'm so free.
Wonder, joy surrounds me.
I am confidence.  I am strong.

Yes it true.
I know it true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Now that I know about love.
I'm in love.

I so believe in love.
Big simple love.
Enduring changing love.
I so believe in love.
I'm love.

]]> I So Believe In Love is a song about big, simple, love.

What gives you confidence?  What makes you feel strong?  My best answer is loving someone who loves you back.  In the song I So Believe in Love, I explore the unblushing joy one feels at love's first arrival and the strength of heart one knows after sharing love for thousands and thousands of days.  This is a song of celebration.


I So Believe In Love (words and music by Sean Riley)

Is it true?
I hope it's true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Wonder what's true about love.
I'm in love.

Yes it true.
I know it true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Now that I know about love.
I'm in love.

I so believe in love.
Big simple love.
Enduring changing love.
I so believe in love.
I'm love.

Now that love has found me.
The world has grown, I'm so free.
Wonder, joy surrounds me.
I am confidence.  I am strong.

Yes it true.
I know it true.
What they sometimes say about love.
Now that I know about love.
I'm in love.

I so believe in love.
Big simple love.
Enduring changing love.
I so believe in love.
I'm love.

]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-9825753 Mon, 03 Jan 2022 14:00:00 -0800 266 3 1 full false I Dream Concentric I Dream Concentric I dream concentric is a song about awakenings.

Have you ever dreamt you were dreaming and woke only to find you where still asleep?   Some thinkers suggest our experience of life and the world is merely a construct aggregated from our senses: A dream created for survival through prediction.  I like to think that our experiencing mind is created for meaning, and with that mind, we are continually invited to awake into a next grander dream.

To listen to more music by Sean go to seanriley.com/music.    If you could choose, what would you dream?


I Dream Concentric (Words and music by Sean Riley)

I woke to a still world dreaming
silent save for the sound of breathing

I hear your song in bright morning air
my mind sings and soars I am aware

I woke to a still world dreaming
silent save for the sound of breathing


]]> I dream concentric is a song about awakenings.

Have you ever dreamt you were dreaming and woke only to find you where still asleep?   Some thinkers suggest our experience of life and the world is merely a construct aggregated from our senses: A dream created for survival through prediction.  I like to think that our experiencing mind is created for meaning, and with that mind, we are continually invited to awake into a next grander dream.

To listen to more music by Sean go to seanriley.com/music.    If you could choose, what would you dream?


I Dream Concentric (Words and music by Sean Riley)

I woke to a still world dreaming
silent save for the sound of breathing

I hear your song in bright morning air
my mind sings and soars I am aware

I woke to a still world dreaming
silent save for the sound of breathing


]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-8400911 Sun, 25 Apr 2021 11:00:00 -0700 342 2 6 full false God Beware God Beware God Beware is a song about not letting go.

Would you resurrect a departed love, performing spells of reanimation while pulling sinews and bone from covering clay?  If you could, what consequence would such a dark act also deliver?  It's true some partings seem impossible to reconcile, but continuing to court the past, even in thought, leads to the greater casualty of hope.

To hear more music by Sean,  go to seanriley.com/music/.   What past have you not laid to rest?

God Beware (words and music by Sean Riley)

Is this now or memory?
Are you here, beside me?
When I wake alone,
Your gone.

I should be brave and let you go.
But cast a spell in midnight snow.
So your ghost is bound,
To me.

God beware, my prayer.

It is wrong keeping  you from rest?
I hold your bones against my chest.
Can't let go of who,
I was.

Is this now or memory?
Are you here, beside me?
When I wake alone,
Your gone.

God beware, my prayer

]]> God Beware is a song about not letting go.

Would you resurrect a departed love, performing spells of reanimation while pulling sinews and bone from covering clay?  If you could, what consequence would such a dark act also deliver?  It's true some partings seem impossible to reconcile, but continuing to court the past, even in thought, leads to the greater casualty of hope.

To hear more music by Sean,  go to seanriley.com/music/.   What past have you not laid to rest?

God Beware (words and music by Sean Riley)

Is this now or memory?
Are you here, beside me?
When I wake alone,
Your gone.

I should be brave and let you go.
But cast a spell in midnight snow.
So your ghost is bound,
To me.

God beware, my prayer.

It is wrong keeping  you from rest?
I hold your bones against my chest.
Can't let go of who,
I was.

Is this now or memory?
Are you here, beside me?
When I wake alone,
Your gone.

God beware, my prayer

]]> Buzzsprout-8332131 Wed, 14 Apr 2021 12:00:00 -0700 266 2 5 full false Always Darkest Always Darkest Always Darkest is a song about the endurance of hope.

Many would lessen hope to childish and rosy magical thinking that view the world as it is not.  Yet, hope allows us the vision to conceive things as they could be.  Hope assumes a future making space for possibilities.  It is brave to hope out loud and not sink under dark waters. Well founded optimism is contagious and is what we all need, especially in the Always Darkest last moment of night.

Thank you for listening to music by sean. To hear more music by sean go to seanriley.com/music.  When was the last time hope prevailed over your darkest moment?

Always Darkest (words and music by Sean Riley)

Its always darkest near the end.
The loosing streak before the win.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Just get through this night.

I'm proud we've held together.
Enduring this brutal weather.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Love will prove us right.

Keep awake and search the darkness.
Finding those to help us spark this.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Tomorrow's looking very bright.

Its always darkest near the end.
The loosing streak before the win.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Just get through this night.





]]> Always Darkest is a song about the endurance of hope.

Many would lessen hope to childish and rosy magical thinking that view the world as it is not.  Yet, hope allows us the vision to conceive things as they could be.  Hope assumes a future making space for possibilities.  It is brave to hope out loud and not sink under dark waters. Well founded optimism is contagious and is what we all need, especially in the Always Darkest last moment of night.

Thank you for listening to music by sean. To hear more music by sean go to seanriley.com/music.  When was the last time hope prevailed over your darkest moment?

Always Darkest (words and music by Sean Riley)

Its always darkest near the end.
The loosing streak before the win.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Just get through this night.

I'm proud we've held together.
Enduring this brutal weather.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Love will prove us right.

Keep awake and search the darkness.
Finding those to help us spark this.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Tomorrow's looking very bright.

Its always darkest near the end.
The loosing streak before the win.
I believe that light is just around the corner.
Just get through this night.





]]> Buzzsprout-7813087 Wed, 10 Feb 2021 11:00:00 -0800 319 2 4 full false She Said Yes She Said Yes She Said Yes is a song about Love's arch.

Does love at first sight exist?  Do we ever really really know anyone?  Imagine if at  a glance we understood what an entire life with that person would be.  Would we choose better? Or, is the best of love what happens once plans fail.

If you'd like to hear more music by Sean, please visit seanriley.com/music.  For what question did you most want to hear the answer "yes"?

She Said Yes (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

Please stay awhile.  
She said yes.
Take my hand.  
She said yes.
 
Do you love me back?  
She said yes.
Will you share this life?   
She said yes.
 
Is this our golden age?    
She said yes.
I can't believe the time.   
She said yes.

Is it twilight yet?    
She said yes.
Please hold my hand.    






]]> She Said Yes is a song about Love's arch.

Does love at first sight exist?  Do we ever really really know anyone?  Imagine if at  a glance we understood what an entire life with that person would be.  Would we choose better? Or, is the best of love what happens once plans fail.

If you'd like to hear more music by Sean, please visit seanriley.com/music.  For what question did you most want to hear the answer "yes"?

She Said Yes (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

Please stay awhile.  
She said yes.
Take my hand.  
She said yes.
 
Do you love me back?  
She said yes.
Will you share this life?   
She said yes.
 
Is this our golden age?    
She said yes.
I can't believe the time.   
She said yes.

Is it twilight yet?    
She said yes.
Please hold my hand.    






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-6902795 Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:00:00 -0800 217 2 3 full false Roll Big Roll Big Roll Big is a song about those times when you just got to dance.

We've felt it, the irresistible desire to dance. There are times when the body follows its own kinetic potential, submitting to a rhythm's unremitting mandate.  At a more basic part of us resides a language of movement which resinates and flourishes when we dance together.  This primordial logic is legacy programming from a more ancient time . . . even before the 70s.

If you would like to hear other music by Sean please go to https://seanriley.com/music/. What song compels you to dance?


Roll Big (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

I've felt the truth of funk
And the bliss of sway
I know my 1 and 3 
But 4 is where I play

Arch your back
Lean right in
I'll mind where we go  
Syncopated babe
That's it down below

Roll big 
Dance sexy
Roll big
Dance sexy

Keep the course but use the floor
Feel the swing through your hair
Let the rhythm push you
Bystander do beware

Shake it down, shake it down
Right there to the shame
Syncopated babe
Hold still your to blame

Roll big 
Dance sexy
Roll big
Dance sexy







]]> Roll Big is a song about those times when you just got to dance.

We've felt it, the irresistible desire to dance. There are times when the body follows its own kinetic potential, submitting to a rhythm's unremitting mandate.  At a more basic part of us resides a language of movement which resinates and flourishes when we dance together.  This primordial logic is legacy programming from a more ancient time . . . even before the 70s.

If you would like to hear other music by Sean please go to https://seanriley.com/music/. What song compels you to dance?


Roll Big (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

I've felt the truth of funk
And the bliss of sway
I know my 1 and 3 
But 4 is where I play

Arch your back
Lean right in
I'll mind where we go  
Syncopated babe
That's it down below

Roll big 
Dance sexy
Roll big
Dance sexy

Keep the course but use the floor
Feel the swing through your hair
Let the rhythm push you
Bystander do beware

Shake it down, shake it down
Right there to the shame
Syncopated babe
Hold still your to blame

Roll big 
Dance sexy
Roll big
Dance sexy







]]> Buzzsprout-6772999 Wed, 09 Dec 2020 11:00:00 -0800 329 2 2 full true Let the Wolf Let the Wolf Let the Wolf is a song about finding courage after disappointment.

Sometimes simply our breath is the best and most comforting companion when we are defeated.  Because breathing is both conscious and unconscious, it can bridge between a specific disappointment and greater potential possibilities.   Breathe to let the Wolf in and sit with its wild discomfort. Breathe to hear what a loss is inviting us to become.

If you would like to hear just the music in this episode or any other music by Sean please visit seanriley.com/music.

What big disappointment made you into something better?

Let the Wolf  (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

Breathe
What's true

Breathe
We'll get through

This is not the end
It's just starting starting starting

Just Breathe
We're here

Breathe
It's okay dear 

This is not the end
It's just starting starting starting

Let the wolf come
The crow sing
The wind howl
Your ears ring
Like dawn
We will rise





]]> Let the Wolf is a song about finding courage after disappointment.

Sometimes simply our breath is the best and most comforting companion when we are defeated.  Because breathing is both conscious and unconscious, it can bridge between a specific disappointment and greater potential possibilities.   Breathe to let the Wolf in and sit with its wild discomfort. Breathe to hear what a loss is inviting us to become.

If you would like to hear just the music in this episode or any other music by Sean please visit seanriley.com/music.

What big disappointment made you into something better?

Let the Wolf  (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

Breathe
What's true

Breathe
We'll get through

This is not the end
It's just starting starting starting

Just Breathe
We're here

Breathe
It's okay dear 

This is not the end
It's just starting starting starting

Let the wolf come
The crow sing
The wind howl
Your ears ring
Like dawn
We will rise





]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-6365053 Tue, 17 Nov 2020 10:00:00 -0800 290 2 1 full false Untethered Untethered Untethered is an instrumental song suggesting the trust needed in letting go.

Imagine spacewalking miles over the rotating earth and needing to untether yourself to float into the arms of safety.  Or consider swinging on a trapeze five stories high in the air, only to let go, trusting the net will catch you.  Letting go of what feels secure can be paralyzing, but trusting in yourself provides the power to move and grow.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Send me a message @seanriley on Twitter.

Untethered (music by Sean Riley)






]]> Untethered is an instrumental song suggesting the trust needed in letting go.

Imagine spacewalking miles over the rotating earth and needing to untether yourself to float into the arms of safety.  Or consider swinging on a trapeze five stories high in the air, only to let go, trusting the net will catch you.  Letting go of what feels secure can be paralyzing, but trusting in yourself provides the power to move and grow.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Send me a message @seanriley on Twitter.

Untethered (music by Sean Riley)






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-5605348 Fri, 25 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0700 252 1 15 full false Abeyance Abeyance Abeyance is a song about returning what's past.

Do the dead speak to us?  Can they hear our whispered incantations.  In the song Abeyance, I invite the hollowed stillness that thins what separates our time from all time so that what's past can be present, what's forgotten remembered, and what's lost can still be loved.

If you like to download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What beautiful secret would you like to her from someone who's past? 

Abeyance (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

With candle, spell
And hands held tight
We call you to this room

With incense, bell
And spirits bright
We hail you from your tomb

How am I sure it's you
Tell me something that's true
I miss you

No more to tell
Farewells made right
I still smell perfume 






]]> Abeyance is a song about returning what's past.

Do the dead speak to us?  Can they hear our whispered incantations.  In the song Abeyance, I invite the hollowed stillness that thins what separates our time from all time so that what's past can be present, what's forgotten remembered, and what's lost can still be loved.

If you like to download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What beautiful secret would you like to her from someone who's past? 

Abeyance (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

With candle, spell
And hands held tight
We call you to this room

With incense, bell
And spirits bright
We hail you from your tomb

How am I sure it's you
Tell me something that's true
I miss you

No more to tell
Farewells made right
I still smell perfume 






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-5478976 Wed, 16 Sep 2020 22:00:00 -0700 247 1 14 full false I Don't Know My Name I Don't Know My Name I don't Know My Name is a song about what happens after the end of the world.

Is there life after ruin?  Can one return from disaster?  It's been said despair is the last refuge for those whose world has been dashed. It is despair that provides a moment of frozen numbness to choose between continuing to wish for what was, or stand up and transform into something new.  

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  Do you have a life after the end of the world story?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

I Don't Know My Name (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

I crash-landed on a lonely field under a steel grey sky
There’s blood on my hands and blood on my face (but I didn’t die)
I walk away from the smoldering wreck across the muddy plain
I don’t recognize this land anymore, I don’t know my name

I’m not a hero just lucky enough to outlive my death
I don’t have anything, don’t own anything but I can hold my breath
Pride pushed me to the stars and pride pulled me to earth
Will you still take me even after I’ve fallen and lost my worth






]]> I don't Know My Name is a song about what happens after the end of the world.

Is there life after ruin?  Can one return from disaster?  It's been said despair is the last refuge for those whose world has been dashed. It is despair that provides a moment of frozen numbness to choose between continuing to wish for what was, or stand up and transform into something new.  

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  Do you have a life after the end of the world story?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

I Don't Know My Name (Music and Lyrics by Sean Riley)

I crash-landed on a lonely field under a steel grey sky
There’s blood on my hands and blood on my face (but I didn’t die)
I walk away from the smoldering wreck across the muddy plain
I don’t recognize this land anymore, I don’t know my name

I’m not a hero just lucky enough to outlive my death
I don’t have anything, don’t own anything but I can hold my breath
Pride pushed me to the stars and pride pulled me to earth
Will you still take me even after I’ve fallen and lost my worth






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-5374252 Wed, 09 Sep 2020 17:00:00 -0700 299 1 13 full false Into Light Into Light Into Light is a song about the third option.

If, as the many-worlds theory may suggest, every choice creates a new universe, then there is always another option.  Ancient Irish lore celebrates the Tuatha De Danann people who avoided a hopeless battle by simply disappearing into light right before their enemy's charge.  It is rumored they flourish today, just not exactly in our world. Story or not, the advice holds that we sometimes win not through battle but by simply choosing to create a better place - a world where entrance is only available to those who can disappear Into Light . 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What unexpected option revealed itself to you that saved everything?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

Into Light (words and music by Sean Riley)

In our war
There's still a way
To be more than this
We can go where no one has gone
And be more
Than what was dreamt for us
Just disappear into the light

Surly Bonds
Hold no grasp
To those who dare what's right
There's still a land undiscovered 
Right here
Only a choice away
Just disappear into the light






]]> Into Light is a song about the third option.

If, as the many-worlds theory may suggest, every choice creates a new universe, then there is always another option.  Ancient Irish lore celebrates the Tuatha De Danann people who avoided a hopeless battle by simply disappearing into light right before their enemy's charge.  It is rumored they flourish today, just not exactly in our world. Story or not, the advice holds that we sometimes win not through battle but by simply choosing to create a better place - a world where entrance is only available to those who can disappear Into Light . 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What unexpected option revealed itself to you that saved everything?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

Into Light (words and music by Sean Riley)

In our war
There's still a way
To be more than this
We can go where no one has gone
And be more
Than what was dreamt for us
Just disappear into the light

Surly Bonds
Hold no grasp
To those who dare what's right
There's still a land undiscovered 
Right here
Only a choice away
Just disappear into the light






]]> Buzzsprout-5238655 Tue, 01 Sep 2020 09:00:00 -0700 278 1 12 full false Stain Stain Stain is a song about un-acknowledge culpability.

How do you right a wrong?  How do you heal the transgressed?   

Some injustices violate so profoundly they can stain the heart of a generation erasing all optimism. Observers of atrocity reconciliation claim only a truthful acknowledgment of the crime can initiate healing and peace. However, giving statement is both uncomfortable and unwelcome, but without it the Stain will remain.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What is your most difficult reconciliation? Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

Stain (words and music by Sean Riley)

We have a past.
Mistakes where made.
How can I make amends? I don't want to be uncomfortable.
The stain still remains.
The stain remains.

We have history.
That's really bad.
How can I fix this?  I don't want to be responsible.
The stain still remains.
The stain remains.

There were some injuries.
Blood on the walls.
How can I heal this?  I don't want to take my medicine.
The stain still remains.
The stain still remains.






]]> Stain is a song about un-acknowledge culpability.

How do you right a wrong?  How do you heal the transgressed?   

Some injustices violate so profoundly they can stain the heart of a generation erasing all optimism. Observers of atrocity reconciliation claim only a truthful acknowledgment of the crime can initiate healing and peace. However, giving statement is both uncomfortable and unwelcome, but without it the Stain will remain.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  What is your most difficult reconciliation? Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.

Stain (words and music by Sean Riley)

We have a past.
Mistakes where made.
How can I make amends? I don't want to be uncomfortable.
The stain still remains.
The stain remains.

We have history.
That's really bad.
How can I fix this?  I don't want to be responsible.
The stain still remains.
The stain remains.

There were some injuries.
Blood on the walls.
How can I heal this?  I don't want to take my medicine.
The stain still remains.
The stain still remains.






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-5138392 Tue, 25 Aug 2020 08:00:00 -0700 250 1 11 full false Anatomical Anatomical Anatomical is a song about brevity.

What is the half-life of a moment?  How many moments span a life?  The average human lives roughly 30,000 days.

30,000 days to grow, learn, work, live, love, and give. Currently, I have just over 10,000 days left. This feels abundant. So many moments, cups of coffee, glasses of wine, books to read, times to say "I love you", Sunday mornings to sleep in, and countless meals shared with people dear to me. And against all of that, just one last day. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What makes your best days so good?  Let me know @seanriley on Twitter.

Anatomical (words and music by Sean Riley)
One breath
One night
Is that all we have?

One age
One life
Feels like less than half

After all I'm only human
Bone and blood
And heart

One kiss
One day
This is a golden time

One blink
One beat
How long your mine

After all I'm only human
Bone and blood
And heart

After all I'm only human
Seems way too soon
To part






]]> Anatomical is a song about brevity.

What is the half-life of a moment?  How many moments span a life?  The average human lives roughly 30,000 days.

30,000 days to grow, learn, work, live, love, and give. Currently, I have just over 10,000 days left. This feels abundant. So many moments, cups of coffee, glasses of wine, books to read, times to say "I love you", Sunday mornings to sleep in, and countless meals shared with people dear to me. And against all of that, just one last day. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What makes your best days so good?  Let me know @seanriley on Twitter.

Anatomical (words and music by Sean Riley)
One breath
One night
Is that all we have?

One age
One life
Feels like less than half

After all I'm only human
Bone and blood
And heart

One kiss
One day
This is a golden time

One blink
One beat
How long your mine

After all I'm only human
Bone and blood
And heart

After all I'm only human
Seems way too soon
To part






]]> Buzzsprout-5064404 Tue, 18 Aug 2020 22:00:00 -0700 277 1 10 full false 80s Leather Pants 80s Leather Pants 80s Leather Pants is a song about possessing a Talisman. 

Do you possess an object that makes you feel young or powerful?  Do you believe luck can be gifted?

In myth, a Talisman is a magical device such as a ring endowed with mystic energy to bless a life. At the beginning of an adventure, the elder would give the hero such an object that would soon prove crucial. Myth is not restrained to just the old tales but lives today in the stories we tell ourselves of who we are.  What do you hold to keep your hopes and possibilities?  It could be a bracelet, a book, your first concert t-shirt, or even a pair of 80s Leather Pants.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What makes you feel amazing? Tell me @seanriley on Twitter.

80s Leather Pants (words and music by Sean Riley)

When I feel like I need a little more.
Slide right into what I adore, 
in my 80s leather pants.

When I was young I missed what youth was for
Never strutted out on the dance floor, 
in my 80s leather pants.

I put them on and I feel, amazing.

Alone in the dark clad shiny and black.
Skin on skin wearing leather Prozac, 
in my 80s leather pants.

I feel so much power when I put them on.
Bury me and I'll live long past dawn, 
in my 80s leather pants.






]]> 80s Leather Pants is a song about possessing a Talisman. 

Do you possess an object that makes you feel young or powerful?  Do you believe luck can be gifted?

In myth, a Talisman is a magical device such as a ring endowed with mystic energy to bless a life. At the beginning of an adventure, the elder would give the hero such an object that would soon prove crucial. Myth is not restrained to just the old tales but lives today in the stories we tell ourselves of who we are.  What do you hold to keep your hopes and possibilities?  It could be a bracelet, a book, your first concert t-shirt, or even a pair of 80s Leather Pants.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What makes you feel amazing? Tell me @seanriley on Twitter.

80s Leather Pants (words and music by Sean Riley)

When I feel like I need a little more.
Slide right into what I adore, 
in my 80s leather pants.

When I was young I missed what youth was for
Never strutted out on the dance floor, 
in my 80s leather pants.

I put them on and I feel, amazing.

Alone in the dark clad shiny and black.
Skin on skin wearing leather Prozac, 
in my 80s leather pants.

I feel so much power when I put them on.
Bury me and I'll live long past dawn, 
in my 80s leather pants.






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4966775 Tue, 11 Aug 2020 23:00:00 -0700 298 1 9 full false Underground Underground Underground is a song about depth. 

Myth paints the deep underground as a place of divine insight and spiritual transformation. Only in the starless black of the underworld do our heroes find truth's light.  Such brave voyages can also occur in our everyday lives through the emotional labor of generous and meaningful interaction.

We exist in conversation: with ourselves, the world, and most importantly with those we love.  The brave ones go deep by committing to the genius of the moment.  Their love runs past the shallows far underground beyond what mere words can exchange. 

To download jus the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What's the farthest underground you have been?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.






]]> Underground is a song about depth. 

Myth paints the deep underground as a place of divine insight and spiritual transformation. Only in the starless black of the underworld do our heroes find truth's light.  Such brave voyages can also occur in our everyday lives through the emotional labor of generous and meaningful interaction.

We exist in conversation: with ourselves, the world, and most importantly with those we love.  The brave ones go deep by committing to the genius of the moment.  Their love runs past the shallows far underground beyond what mere words can exchange. 

To download jus the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What's the farthest underground you have been?  Tell me about it @seanriley on Twitter.






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4860335 Tue, 04 Aug 2020 23:00:00 -0700 280 1 8 full false Cross the Horizon Cross the Horizon Cross the Horizon is a song about choice.   

Do we have free will? Maybe less than we like: Try deciding what your next thought will be.  Do we have choice? Maybe more than we believe.   Some choices are like event horizons, once taken all other options collapse, leaving only one inexorable path. So is love a choice we decide, or is it something that is decided for us?

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Do we choose love or does it choose us. Let me know @seanriley on Twitter. 






]]> Cross the Horizon is a song about choice.   

Do we have free will? Maybe less than we like: Try deciding what your next thought will be.  Do we have choice? Maybe more than we believe.   Some choices are like event horizons, once taken all other options collapse, leaving only one inexorable path. So is love a choice we decide, or is it something that is decided for us?

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Do we choose love or does it choose us. Let me know @seanriley on Twitter. 






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4756925 Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:00:00 -0700 381 1 7 full false Hold Me Hold Me Hold Me is about reckless appeal.  And your listening to Music by Sean.

They say fear is an aphrodisiac, that we are most alive when dying, most attracted while trusting someone untrue.  Near drowning victims speak of a clarity and stillness appearing just after the struggle just as inequitable liaisons provide glimpses of obsidian solace.  In Hold Me, the singer offers no caution or heightened perspective, there isn't even a chorus in this song to lift us from the prostrate submission.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done, tell me @seanriley on Twitter. 






]]> Hold Me is about reckless appeal.  And your listening to Music by Sean.

They say fear is an aphrodisiac, that we are most alive when dying, most attracted while trusting someone untrue.  Near drowning victims speak of a clarity and stillness appearing just after the struggle just as inequitable liaisons provide glimpses of obsidian solace.  In Hold Me, the singer offers no caution or heightened perspective, there isn't even a chorus in this song to lift us from the prostrate submission.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done, tell me @seanriley on Twitter. 






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4666832 Tue, 21 Jul 2020 22:00:00 -0700 289 1 6 full false I'm Falling I'm Falling I'm Falling is a love note to the song Space Oddity. 

Can you grow up loving a song?  Can life have a soundtrack?

Much of my childhood accompanied Bowie's song Space Oddity. I believed in a world of space flight and science fiction whose evolved astronauts had the freedom to not be precisely defined.    In the song I'm Falling, I replay a space explorer's uncertain descent.  I may not have the stars, but love is always worth falling for.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Tell me what song was the soundtrack of your childhood @seanriley on Twitter.


I'm Falling (words and music by Sean Riley)

I'm Falling
Secure up here in my orbit. 
Hermetically sealed warm and dry.
I'm Safe from the blackness 
If I go outside, I'll die

Then you signal from ground control
I hear you loud and clear
I'm falling
I'm falling
For you

I activate braking thrusters
Beginning decent reducing speed
Temperature is rising
I've lost communication feed
I'm flying hot in the blind
I think my ship is on fire 

I'm falling
I'm falling
For you

My parachute is holding me
Now I'm on a wave in the sea
I'm falling
I'm falling
For you






]]> I'm Falling is a love note to the song Space Oddity. 

Can you grow up loving a song?  Can life have a soundtrack?

Much of my childhood accompanied Bowie's song Space Oddity. I believed in a world of space flight and science fiction whose evolved astronauts had the freedom to not be precisely defined.    In the song I'm Falling, I replay a space explorer's uncertain descent.  I may not have the stars, but love is always worth falling for.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. Tell me what song was the soundtrack of your childhood @seanriley on Twitter.


I'm Falling (words and music by Sean Riley)

I'm Falling
Secure up here in my orbit. 
Hermetically sealed warm and dry.
I'm Safe from the blackness 
If I go outside, I'll die

Then you signal from ground control
I hear you loud and clear
I'm falling
I'm falling
For you

I activate braking thrusters
Beginning decent reducing speed
Temperature is rising
I've lost communication feed
I'm flying hot in the blind
I think my ship is on fire 

I'm falling
I'm falling
For you

My parachute is holding me
Now I'm on a wave in the sea
I'm falling
I'm falling
For you






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4454066 Tue, 14 Jul 2020 13:00:00 -0700 283 1 5 full false Machine of Change Machine of Change Machine of Change is a song about remaking the world.  

How do you change the world?  How do you change your mind?  In the song Machine of Change, I work though how such remaking starts with just a single spark of vulnerability invited not through force but by loving kindness.  Believing in someone's potential is contagious and can chain-react, changing everything. 

In this production, I primarily use monophonic synthesizer patches and keyboard envelope percussion sourcing from a pink noise generator. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. When was last time you changed your mind about something important.  Tell me about it via Twitter @seanriley


Machine of Change (words and music by Sean Riley)

I built a machine of change
Set to maximum range  
Powered with a flame of hope
Yes I'm a misanthrope

Dimming fear and spite
While warming the lonely night
With my machine of change
Distopia is rearranged

There's no violence in my design
It's method is anodyne 
I believe in you

I built a machine of change
Set to maximum range  
Powered with a flame of hope
Yes I'm a misanthrope






]]> Machine of Change is a song about remaking the world.  

How do you change the world?  How do you change your mind?  In the song Machine of Change, I work though how such remaking starts with just a single spark of vulnerability invited not through force but by loving kindness.  Believing in someone's potential is contagious and can chain-react, changing everything. 

In this production, I primarily use monophonic synthesizer patches and keyboard envelope percussion sourcing from a pink noise generator. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. When was last time you changed your mind about something important.  Tell me about it via Twitter @seanriley


Machine of Change (words and music by Sean Riley)

I built a machine of change
Set to maximum range  
Powered with a flame of hope
Yes I'm a misanthrope

Dimming fear and spite
While warming the lonely night
With my machine of change
Distopia is rearranged

There's no violence in my design
It's method is anodyne 
I believe in you

I built a machine of change
Set to maximum range  
Powered with a flame of hope
Yes I'm a misanthrope






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4451834 Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:00:00 -0700 232 1 4 full false Little Light Little Light Little Light is a song about the light we sometimes see.

Have you ever closed your eyes and seen a light?  Not the subtle shimmering we all notice behind our eyelids, but a moment of pronounced light?  Have you ever met someone new and had the sudden recognition that you two will be great friends, feeling this recognition as a brightening of the air around you?

In the song Little Light, I work to understand how such light mark moments as true.  I know such dazzling light can be attributed to ocular migraines and even synesthesia, and this reality dims the mysticism, but not the meaning or experience.  The production here is limited to analog synthesis using simple waveforms and a non-sampled drum machine. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. I'm curious, have you closed your eyes and seen a light?  Tell me about it, via Twitter @seanriley.


Little Light (words and music by Sean Riley)

Little light i saw one night, drift across the sky
Was that a friend of mine, someone who just died

Little light that shines so bright when I close my eyes 
Is it a migraine some flickering trick that lies

Little light I day dreamt when I was just a boy
Was it synesthesia or a prequel to love's joy

Little light surround me now telling me what is true
It was them the whole time, leading me to you

You were always there in my future
I can see the light in your eyes






]]> Little Light is a song about the light we sometimes see.

Have you ever closed your eyes and seen a light?  Not the subtle shimmering we all notice behind our eyelids, but a moment of pronounced light?  Have you ever met someone new and had the sudden recognition that you two will be great friends, feeling this recognition as a brightening of the air around you?

In the song Little Light, I work to understand how such light mark moments as true.  I know such dazzling light can be attributed to ocular migraines and even synesthesia, and this reality dims the mysticism, but not the meaning or experience.  The production here is limited to analog synthesis using simple waveforms and a non-sampled drum machine. 

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. I'm curious, have you closed your eyes and seen a light?  Tell me about it, via Twitter @seanriley.


Little Light (words and music by Sean Riley)

Little light i saw one night, drift across the sky
Was that a friend of mine, someone who just died

Little light that shines so bright when I close my eyes 
Is it a migraine some flickering trick that lies

Little light I day dreamt when I was just a boy
Was it synesthesia or a prequel to love's joy

Little light surround me now telling me what is true
It was them the whole time, leading me to you

You were always there in my future
I can see the light in your eyes






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4431461 Fri, 03 Jul 2020 15:00:00 -0700 306 1 3 full false Shine Shine Shine is a song about transformation. 

I am inspired by the brave ones who live an authentic life out-loud.  I am so heartened by those who are dealt a difficult path yet find their way.

In the song Shine, I consider discontinuity and transformation through percussion loops and tape-based echo effects.  We've all felt out of step, but when that syncopation is rooted in the core truth of one's identity, that is NOT a misstep, it's a dance, a dance that let's us all shine.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. I'm curioius, when did you or someone you know last shine?  Tell me about it, via twitter @seanriley


Shine (words and music by Sean Riley)

You are a shooting star
You'll go far, so very far
Use the weight of the world, the world's weight
To shine.
Shine. Shine. Shine.

You are a shooting star
You'll go far, so very far
Use the weight of the world, the world's weight
To shine.
Shine. Shine. Shine.






]]> Shine is a song about transformation. 

I am inspired by the brave ones who live an authentic life out-loud.  I am so heartened by those who are dealt a difficult path yet find their way.

In the song Shine, I consider discontinuity and transformation through percussion loops and tape-based echo effects.  We've all felt out of step, but when that syncopation is rooted in the core truth of one's identity, that is NOT a misstep, it's a dance, a dance that let's us all shine.

To download just the music in this episode go to seanriley.com/music. I'm curioius, when did you or someone you know last shine?  Tell me about it, via twitter @seanriley


Shine (words and music by Sean Riley)

You are a shooting star
You'll go far, so very far
Use the weight of the world, the world's weight
To shine.
Shine. Shine. Shine.

You are a shooting star
You'll go far, so very far
Use the weight of the world, the world's weight
To shine.
Shine. Shine. Shine.






]]> Sean Riley Buzzsprout-4431404 Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:00:00 -0700 319 1 2 full false Green Flash at Sunset Green Flash at Sunset Green Flash at Sunset, a song about doing nothing.

Who would you be if you had nothing to do?  No problems to solve, questions to answer, or worries to resolve?  Who would you be if the voice in your head continually telling the story of what is good or bad grew comfortably still.   Who would we be?

In the song Green Flash at Sunset, I explore this idea.  How does spending time doing nothing reminds us of why we chose each other in the first place.  Here, time is luxury and abundance resides in the simple act of sitting with someone you love.

To download just the music of this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  And I'm curious, what was your best moment of doing nothing?  Let me know via Twitter @seanriley


Green Flash at Sunset  (words and music by Sean Riley)

Sit with me, have some wine
We have the time
Green flash at sunset
No where to go

Float with me, in the bay
We have all day (and night)
Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

Sit with me, have some wine
We have the time
Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

]]> Green Flash at Sunset, a song about doing nothing.

Who would you be if you had nothing to do?  No problems to solve, questions to answer, or worries to resolve?  Who would you be if the voice in your head continually telling the story of what is good or bad grew comfortably still.   Who would we be?

In the song Green Flash at Sunset, I explore this idea.  How does spending time doing nothing reminds us of why we chose each other in the first place.  Here, time is luxury and abundance resides in the simple act of sitting with someone you love.

To download just the music of this episode go to seanriley.com/music.  And I'm curious, what was your best moment of doing nothing?  Let me know via Twitter @seanriley


Green Flash at Sunset  (words and music by Sean Riley)

Sit with me, have some wine
We have the time
Green flash at sunset
No where to go

Float with me, in the bay
We have all day (and night)
Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

Sit with me, have some wine
We have the time
Green Flash at sunset
No where to go

]]> Sean Buzzsprout-4430465 Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:00:00 -0700 282 1 1 full false