Sittin' here listening to my iPod. Karen Carpenter is singing "Masquerade". Anything by the Carpenters takes me back to road trips in the '78 (I think?) Caprice Classic station wagon we owned when I was a kid. Yes, it had an 8-track player in it, and we owned just a handful of 8-tracks to play in it. One was "Now and Then" by the Carpenters. We logged many a mile listening to that album. I didn't know much about Richard and Karen Carpenter back in those days; I just knew I liked their music. I remember being really sad when I heard that she died. Funny all the stuff that gets stirred up when you hear a song. That one tune brought forth all of that from my memory bank.
Now it's "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. That takes me back to playing 45s at Lauren Porter's sleepover birthday party in the 4th grade. We stayed awake until dawn and got really silly in the wee hours. Remember that "Stop! Drop! Roll!" commercial that Dick Van Dyke did as part of a fire safety campaign? That came on TV in the early hours of Saturday at Lauren's, and we just lost it. That phrase and that song takes me instantly back to those memories. Makes me smile. I wonder where Lauren is now? Last I heard she went to Florida State majoring in marine biology. I haven't seen her since my high school graduation, May 30, 1991. Maybe she'll Google herself one day and find this entry.
"Cold Hearted Snake" by Paula "I can't say anything bad about you 'cause it will hurt your feelings" Abdul makes me think of Josh T., another high school friend. He had a mad crush on the petite AI judge, and he loved the video for this song. I admit, I played the song one too many times in high school. I love the part where she talks; I had every word memorized. I wish Saturday Night Live would do a Paula parody using that song to describe Simon. I love Amy Poehler's Paula. Cracks me up.
"Jesse's Girl". Now there's a song. Standing in the basement with a hairbrush as a microphone, singing this song as the 33 spun on the turntable. That's back when Rick Springfield was on "General Hospital" and I watched with my grandmother (her "stories", she called them...) Ah, sweet 80s crushes. Dr. Noah Drake made a short reappearance on GH not too long ago. He was still cute in an older guy kind of way. (Yes, I still watch GH. It's the one soap I held onto all these years, and mostly because I did used to watch it with MaMa Dos. She'd cringe if she could see it today!)
Funny how I finish up a paragraph as each song ends.
Ah, Connie Francis. "Where the Boys Are" is one of those songs that sticks with you. I remember seeing the movie on TV when I was in high school. I decided that day that I wanted to have a daughter named Merritt. I loved that name so much. My husband didn't like it as much as I did, so alas, we have no children bearing that name.
Oh, man. Now it's Prince's "Diamonds And Pearls". How many times did I hear that in my headphones when my sister and I flew from Alabama to Madrid in 1992? Only about 10,000 times. Every time I hear that song I remember that flight. We got bumped up to first class because our names were left off the flight roster or something like that. If I ever find myself needing to be on a plane that long again, I will definitely splurge on larger seats. 'Twas niiiiiiiice. Caviar, lots of snacks, hot towels in the morning, sleep masks, free headsets, reclining seats.... too much luxury for one 19 year-old to deserve, really. The reality of coach hit us on the flight home. That sucked. ::Shiver::
Alright. I need to get back to Saturday chores. It was fun walking down musical memory lane, though.
Oh, wait. One more.
My friend Michelle P. introduced me to this song. "South's Gonna Do It Again" by Charlie Daniels Band. She had a black Honda Prelude with a sunroof when we were in high school (her parents owned a few gas stations, and Michelle was the youngest of three daughters by several years.... so she got pretty much anything she asked for... I loved the Prelude the most!) I remember coming back from the movies with her one night, blasting this song (from the CASSETTE TAPE...ha!) and loving it instantly. I went out and bought the tape not long after that. I replaced the tape with the CD when I was in college, and now the whole thing is on my iPod. Michelle also introduced me to the Steve Miller band. She has good musical taste.
Okay, now I'm done. Laundry calls.
No comments:
Post a Comment