I've tried to compose this post several times, and every time I'd get further and further off on tangents. Let's see if I can keep it 'tween the ditches this time...
I've reached an age where, when I hear any particular song from my past on the radio, I'm immediately reminded of when I was younger and heard the same song. Yesterday's instance was Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat"--the radio station we listen to at work played it in the morning, and I was reminded of 1976/1977 all over again. The funny thing with me is that not only will I remember a particular time, I usually remember which model I was building at the time. For instance, there was one summer where I had the Styx albums "Grand Illusion" and "Pieces of Eight" in heavy rotation on the old 8-Track (Yes, I had an 8-Track as a kid, and I kept the format until long past when most people had abandoned it. In fact, the stereo up in our workshop still has an 8-Track player!) , and that same summer was when I built Monogram's 1/48 scale B-24J kit. Styx also accompanied a near-all night build of Monogram's 1/48 scale Me-262. Ted Nugent's "Dog Eat Dog" and "Double Live Gonzo" were the soundtracks to several builds, and Jethro Tull was an almost constant companion through many models.
When I was young, I didn't really appreciate music. I don't know why, but that changed when I was in Third or Fourth grade. The music teacher at my school had a way of making me listen to what I was hearing, rather than just letting the various notes rattle around in my coconut a few times before going out the other ear. I even took some piano lessons, learned to play recorder in Fifth grade, and we also had a piano lab in Middle school that I enjoyed. But, save for those few experiences on the performing side, my interest since then has simply been as a consumer--although there have been times I wished I had learned how to play an instrument. And, of course, I wouldn't want to take piano lessons, or guitar lessons--nope, I'd want to learn something eclectic and out in left field, perhaps the mandolin...
Speaking of eclectic, my tastes in music are certainly that. Over the years, I've been a fan of many artists and many genres of music. The aforementioned artists (Styx, The Nuge, and Tull) were the tip of the iceberg. The funny thing is that I wasn't really a big follower of some of the artists that I listen to these days--they were then simply background sounds that accompanied a favorite activity. My main interest in music then--as now--was Jethro Tull, and I can't put a definitive answer as to "why". Between the lyrics, the theme, and the fact that you can listen to early Tull and hear jazz/blues based music, while later iterations are flavored by folk, electronic, and the exotic, well, you can get anything you want. I also went through my Black Sabbath/Ozzy and Hendrix phases...and still listen to some of their off-the beaten-path stuff, too. Then, to be really eclectic, there's always that 8-Track of the "Moving Waves" album by Focus. Want some fun? Put on "Hocus Pocus", and if that doesn't mellow you out, nothing--not even the strongest of pharmaceuticals or alcoholic beverages--will.
Today, though, listening to either the "Oldies" channel or the "we play music from the '70's. '80's, and today" (still don't have an XM radio--remember, I held on to 8-Track tapes into the early 1980's), I hear a lot of songs I heard as a kid, which brings me back to Al Stewart, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, America, Bread...never really a fan when I was younger, but I've come to appreciate the work as I've *ahem* matured. You can only listen to AC/DC for so long before you start to think that while they're still good, there has to be something better. Unfortunately, today's music--a good deal of it, at least--is the Shop-Vac of s-u-c-k. Sure, every era has some clunkers, but the modern trend towards people who are famous for being famous, drunk, or out of control means that I have little tolerance for it. Exceptions include Kelly Clarkson (that girl has a set of pipes that won't quit), Katy Perry (she's got a sense of humor, and a lot of her music would have been right at home during the New Wave), Sara Bareilles, and, as corny as it sounds, Michael Bublé. That leaves acts of years gone by, many of which are still performing, still recording, albeit to smaller audiences.
And, when I'm feeling nostalgic for my college days, nothing cures those blues like putting in one of the CD's from Rhino Record's "Like, Omigod! The 80's Pop Culture Box (Totally!)". If Missing Persons, Bow Wow Wow, Haircut 100, or Donny Iris can't fix what ails ya, nothing can.
We won't go into the discussion on MTV and whether or not the music industry was ruined when MTV debuted. Not yet, at least...
Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.
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