This week’s inspirational “Music Monday” song is ”Keep On” by D. Train.

The song was only a blip on the top 20 R&B charts in 1982, but a lot of D. Train’s songs were later covered and sampled by others more well-known than their original, including Miles Davis’ version of “Something On Your Mind” and Notorious B.I.G. “Sky’s The Limit”.

The Prelude Records duo was an interesting pair. D. Train earned their nickname from vocalist James Williams’ hard-hitting defense on his city championship football team in Brooklyn. So what stud did he choose? In this case, a geeky keyboard nerd named Hubert Eaves III from the local high school glee club. Kind of sounds like Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse) getting together, come to think of it.

Although D. Train broke up a few years, “Keep On” survives to this day thanks to fleeting dance radio airplay. The lyrics remind ourselves to keep reaching for our goals until we touch the sky, and planting our feet on solid ground (wait, did this rip off Casey Kaseem’s signoff of “keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars”?).

The last chorus implores you even more: listen, i can’t let nobody keep me from reachin’ the top
don’t you give up for nothing keep on ‘til you get by
reach, reach, reach you’re almost there
if you have a goal, set it in your mind
reach for it, say to yourself, this will be mine!
keep, pressin’ on spells keep on, keep on pressin’ my friend!
ain’t no half steppin’ you’ve got to keep on pressin’!

And then concludes with a self-commandment: THIS WILL BE MINE!Keep on pressin’ on …

I read somewhere once that this song is like a prayer of self assurance, self awareness, self awareness, and self determination, of ones self. I think that’s appropriate.

When you feel down, put on this song, get off the couch, stretch those back muscles & dance a little. Psych yourself up like a boxer. Keep positive. Keep the faith. And keep on pressing on!

By Jeff Fryer, 405 Club Member, Music Connoisseur, Contributing Writer, & active job seeker

Read more of Jeff’s weekly Inspirational Music Monday posts here.

This week’s “Music Monday” inspirational song is “Start It Up Again” by Maduar.

Happy 2010 everyone! Now that the eggnog has been finished and the presents have been put away, most restart the grind today.

For those unemployed like me, it’s time to go back to work on your job search. It’s time to look at your resume with a fresh perspective, renew those job alerts, refresh your networking strategy, and review what has and hasn’t worked for you so far.

Madaur is a group that you probably haven’t heard of before, unless you’re really up on your eurodance trios from Rimavská Sobota in Slovokia. The Czech band formed in 1986, but got their break when they released their first studio album I Feel Good, which started a run in the ’90s of a platinum record, 3 gold records, dozens of no.1 hits, winning a Slovak Grammy for band of the year in 1994, and also performing with such dance music stars as Technotronic, Snap, and Culture Beat.

“Start It Up Again” is from their 2001 album Walk This Way. The band is all about having fun in life, as the video for this song clearly shows. Gratuitous shots of strippers in a boxing ring, guys? Kickboxing choreography? Really? Well, at least their message is good-hearted.

The song’s lyrics mention that we’re living in a world of doubt and fear, and we’re losing out on our future every day. If you believe in your dreams, get out of the box and break the wall holding you back. And since there’s so much to do, you should wake up, go do it, and go prove it.

It’s a new year with new possibilities. Don’t let the worries of 2009 hold you back. Believe in yourself that you can start it up again, and get that job!

By Jeff Fryer, 405 Club Member, Music Connoisseur, Contributing Writer, & active job seeker

Read more of Jeff’s weekly Inspirational Music Monday posts here.