Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Blogger has been really blinky the last couple of days. But I'll try this and see if it gets posted.

I was thinking the other day about the way I connected with music when I was a lot younger than I am now. Or maybe it was the way music connected with me. Here's just one example of what I mean: I can remember vividly the first time I heard Robin Luke's "Susie Darlin'" on the radio. I was with Margaret Stubbs in her '54 Pontiac. It was night, and we were driving down Titus Street in Mexia, Texas. I remember the exact block. I can't rememeber the radio station, but it was a distant one, not coming in too well. I made Margaret stop the car right there in the street while I listened to the song, and as soon as I could buy the 45, I did. (And, yes, I still have it. It's in a box in the closet, along with all my other 45s.) Do kids still connect with music that way? I can't imagine anybody having that reaction to a rap number, but then I'm a hopeless old poop and what do I know? What always grabbed me was melody and harmony and sheer pop exuberance. In fact, they still do.

1 comment:

Cap'n Bob said...

I'll bet you know where Margaret is today, too. But all America wants to know if you nailed her that night. Or did she think stopping to hear Susie Darlin' was too odd for her blood.

Like you, I can't imagine any kid today looking back wistfully on (c)rap. Do kid couples have "our songs" with lyrics about killing cops and spitting on ho's? If so, I've lived too long.

I envy people who grew up in one place. You have continuity in your life and roots. I was a Navy brat who moved almost every year.

We had the DVD of Cold Mountain on the telly last evening. I fell asleep, and what I saw while awake didn't connect with me at all. Over the past weekend I took the old lady and my two daughters to see Harry Potter. I might have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been repeating a mantra in my had the whole time I was there: "Is this worth fifty buck?"

More later. And that's a threat.