What is the music backdrop of your life?

 The music backdrop of my life is like a warm, enveloping blanket of eargasmic pleasure. It wraps around me, comforts me, soothes my soul, lifts my mood, reminds me of memories long past, makes me tap my feet, and is a constant friendly companion.

I play music in my shop when I work. I play music when I am at my computer. I play music when I read and even a lot times while I sleep. It’s playing right now. For some reason, I no longer listen to music when I drive. I used to blast it every time I went somewhere.

With a few exceptions, I love most types of music. There are a few genres that I don’t particularly like (Rap-they seem so pissed off! Speed metal-Ow my ears! and old Country/Bluegrass-a few of these twangy hits and I feel like drinking beers and kicking ass) Even in these categories I still manage to find some great songs.

I have several old blogs about music. I have a new blog started about how I started listening to music. I have over 37,000 music files (161 Gigabites) on my computer and over 400 LPs, CD’s and even quite a few 45’s. We won’t mention the 8 tracks collecting dust in a drawer somewhere.

So many great songs! So many hours of listening pleasure. There is no way I could pick a favorite. I tried once, quite a few years ago. I came up with over 100 favorite songs and 600 runner-ups. Since then I have added hundreds more.

Music is not a backdrop in my life. It is at the forefront and is a major part of life. I can’t imagine how drab life would be with out it.

But there are certain songs that have always been in tune with my life. Like me, they have been around for quite a bit.

Burning Bridges-Mike Crew Congregation

I was an Air Force brat and moved around quite a bit in my formative years. I once went to five schools in two years, and lived in eight different places during that time. In most cases I didn’t have much time to make really good friends, so it got easier to close the door on those friendships when we moved away. I think it also helped me resist the “peer crowd” mentality because I was always just on the fringe of several cliques.

I like the powerful feeling of this song-like you can just plow right on through anything.

“All the burning bridges that have fallen after me
All the lonely feelings and the burning memories
Everyone I left behind each time I closed the door
Burning bridges lost forevermore”

 Kodachrome-Paul Simon

I was a mediocre student in High school. I thought a lot of the stuff we were learning was useless information. Later in life I realized I was mostly correct. I also became very interested in photography. This song became a favorite and has remained there for years. My favorite lines:

 “If you took all the girls I knew when I was single

brought them all together for one night

I know they would never match my sweet little imagination”

Everything looks worse in black and white”

Like a Rock-Bob Segar

Every lyric in this song reminds me of my youth; It was a time when I felt indestructible and all my dreams where still untested. A time when my life was just starting to take off and anything and everything was a possible reality. If you don’t know this song, follow the link. You can thank me later.

 Stay Awhile-The Bells

This song was pretty racy way back in 1972. We considered it “our song” and played it at our wedding. I’m sure the church going crowd blushed way back then. Still married after 50 some years, so I guess I meant it.

“She brushes the curls from my eyes
She drops her robe on the floor
And she reaches for the light on the bureau

 And the darkness is her pillow once more
How she makes me quiver
How she makes me smile
With all this love I have to give her

I guess I'm gonna stay with her awhile”

Cat's in the Cradle-Harry Chapin

Cat’s in the Cradle sums up my relationship with my father. We never had any animosity between us, we just never seemed to be in the same place at the same time.

I can also relate to Halfway to Heaven-Harry Chapin

“Now I have been a straight man and I've played it by the rules
I been a good man, a good husband, a good old fashioned fool.
I have a fine wife and two children just like everybody's got
But after fifteen years of marriage the fires don't burn too hot.

Ahh someone played a trick on me.
They set me up so perfectly
They Gave me their morality
And then changed the rules they set for me.
Someone must be laughing now,
Though it don't seem funny somehow,
How the world's accepting now
What they once would not allow
Back in my younger days.
The world has changed in so many ways.

My mother once said to me so many years ago now
Don't you touch those bad girls, so I never had girls
Until I had my Mary when we married.
My Mary then had my two sons
My life as a lover was already done
It was over before it had really begun.

Ahh someone played a trick on me.
They sent this little girl to me,
She is my new secretary
And she's something to see.
yeah She's a nice girl, but it's a young world
And she lives her life so free, and she sure gets through to me

She brings her pad into my office, she wears a sweater and a skirt
And somewhere deep inside of me something starts to hurt.
She's wearing nothing underneath, and I can see what's there to see
She smiles and says, "You wanted me?" I'd have to agree.

You know how much I want her,
And I know that I could have her.
I know I could, I know she would
Make love to me, so wonderfully.
God damn, I'm one crazy mixed up mixture of a man.

In my head all my life I've been a sinner,
And in my bed with just my wife I'm still a beginner,
But tomorrow night I'm taking that little girl out to dinner!

There's no tick tock on your electric clock
But still your life runs down.”

How does music affect your life?

Written for the GBE #17.