Music, Musings and Memories.....

Here is a post that I started back on a snowy January day. Not sure it was worth finding and rewording, but it does have its merits:

It has been a rough few weeks with an overload of politics in the media and snowpocolypse making some of us stir crazy and little on edge. When I don't have my nose in a book or using blog therapy to de-clutter my busy mind I like to lose myself in music. Music was my first form of therapy though I didn't realize that was what it was. Growing up I had my own record player and a collection of 45's by the time I was six. I loved American Pie~even though you had to turn the record over halfway through the song which totally disrupted the flow. My brother broke my Donny Osmond "Puppy Love" single because I played it over and over too many times and apparently drove him to the brink of temporary insanity. I cried to "Billy Don't Be a Hero", "Season's in the Sun" and a sad song called "Rocky"by Austin Roberts. These were the ballads of my elementary school years that I would sing loudly in the shower, to my friends and in the car. I sang constantly which probably made more than a few people crazy since I have no musical talent to speak of. I grew up in a small town where our elementary school was blessed with the best Music Teacher ever in  my opinion. Miss Killip taught us "One Tin Soldier", "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Windy" and "Seattle" which were added to the set list of my personal performances. In 2015 we were lucky enough to have her come to our  multi class reunion to lead a few of us in a sing along that took us back forty years. Sitting with some of my classmates reliving music class was an experience that I feel so lucky to have had. I don't think that Miss Killip has an inkling of how many lives she touched and the happiness she brought to a town full of kids in the 70's.

In the fourth grade I received one of those boxy tape recorders that had the wood grain finish. I would sit for hours waiting for my favorite song to come on the radio and pray that the DJ wouldn't talk over the first lines. I'd sit and work to decipher the lyrics never dreaming that someday something called Google would magically pull up the lyrics to songs just by typing in a few words or a line. My children will never understand the hours of waiting for a certain song to come on the radio. The heartache of breaking a favorite record or not being able to find that little plastic thing that went in the middle of a 45 so that you could play it on your record player. Sometimes your cassette player would eat your favorite cassette and you prayed that you could fix it by using a pencil to help you spool it back together. The sadness you felt when everything went quickly from 8 track to cassette and you were left with all of these useless 8 track albums that you couldn't play anymore.

I can't even begin to make a dent in all of the artists who I love to listen to on any given day depending on my mood and what memories I want to invoke. Journey takes me back to White Salmon cruising around in Michael Bini's Pink Cadillac. Duran Duran reminds me of my amazing Walkman with the double jack ~ my best friend Linette and I could listen at the same time. Traci Eccles' VW Bug cranked out Cheap Trick with strict instructions that we couldn't sing along and ruin the experience. Bohemian Rhapsody is a song of two Kelly/Kelli's. I first heard it in Kelly Van Alstine's room and was instantly in love. I passed that love to my children. My daughter Kelli and I love to sing it in the car and bang our heads like Wayne and Garth in Wayne's World when it starts rocking near the end. Van Halen's Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love also reminds me of  my childhood friend Kelly. A trailer park at Spring Street Trailer Court is where my friend Angie Graves and I discovered Aerosmith and "Toys In the Attic". On a fourth grade spelling test we were all whispering the words to "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers under our breath so that we could make sure to get the correct spelling of Saturday. A neighbor names Lisa Marks loved the Bay City Rollers and we'd listen to them for hours as we poured over Tiger Beat Magazine. I could go on for hours but I think you get it. There are dozens and dozens more songs and memories.

In 1981 as I was about to enter my sophomore year of High School MTV came on the air. Due to the fact that many bands hadn't yet recorded music videos we were introduced to some obscure one hit wonders who did have music videos. "Fish Heads" by Barnes & Barnes, "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo and "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles were a few of my new favorites.

In college I loved the album Purple Rain by Prince. I was a bit shocked but thrilled when my husband bought a Prince CD to play in his truck several years ago. We differ in our music tastes most of the time but there are moments when we wholeheartedly agree on an artist. Besides Prince we love Pink and Matchbox 20. We have a hard time traveling together because like my friend Traci in high school, he doesn't appreciate me singing along and ruining the experience. I love him but I prefer road trips with my daughter and friends like Shannon who put up with me when I say "I love this song" for the hundredth time as we barrel down the road with the music cranked and me singing at the top of my lungs. Bad as it is, I'm happy when I'm singing. My road trip play list is an eclectic mix of old and new that puts me on an emotional roller coaster but I don't mind. I have always been a fan of Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell album. My son Kyle fell in love with Dream On by Aerosmith when he was three and to this day that is his ring tone on our phones. I laughed pretty hard when I realized my son Nicholas knew all of the words to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

 I have had the opportunity to take a few road trips with my daughter recently. Our shared love for music and singing loudly in the car makes for stress free moments and leads us on long strolls down memory lane. I have always been a lover of music and a listener of lyrics. To me the lyrics are just as important as the music itself. There are lines in songs that can make me laugh, bring me to tears and evoke bright, colorful memories. I love the fact that someone out there is able to find words that describe my emotions when I can't find those words myself. I think I just might start writing posts about my favorite lyrics. This one has gone on long enough though. Never underestimate the power of music.