--I think our boys are finally starting to come around to the
Beatles.I caught the older one humming "Day Tripper" over
the weekend, and from across the room I hollered, AH-HA!
They'd dug their heels in, you see, and were refusing to consider
the band.As far as I could tell, this wasn't because of the music
itself, but something to do with a "loser" at school who's
reportedly a Beatles freak.
So it wasn't an objection to the songs or the performances, really.They just didn't want to align themselves with an
"annoying little freak who wears turtlenecks all the time, and
smells like cheese and poop."
It would be easy to scoff at this kind of logic, but I kinda know
where they're coming from…
At the same time, however, I think it's important to build a strong
musical foundation.The boys need the Beatles as a touchstone, an anchor.If they start out with John, Paul, George, and Ringo, they'll
know about great songwriting, non-conformity, passion, integrity,
etc.
And, more importantly, they'll be able to recognize the genuine
article when they encounter it in the future, and not be fooled by
charlatans.
So I loaded 1962-1966
and 1967-1970
onto the Secrets' iPods, completely against their will.I'm not forcing them to listen or anything, that's up to
them.But, if they're ever curious… it's all right there at their
fingertips.And I'm confident they'll someday thank me for my
interference.
Yes, Toney takes care of the church end of things, and I handle the
music and goofiness. Together we're working hard at protecting the souls of our
children.
--All the welcomed humming around here has got me to thinking
about the Beatles...
When I was a youngling I bought a lot of 45s, usually in drug stores
if you can believe it (good God, I'm old…).I had things like "American Pie," Cheech and
Chong's "Basketball Jones," "Hot Rod Lincoln,"
"The Streak," "The Cover of the Rolling Stone,"
and "Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)."You know, mostly novelty crapola.
But by the time I made it to Junior High, I was obsessed (obsessed!)
with the Beatles.And for a long time I wouldn't buy any music whatsoever,
unless it was somehow Beatles-related.I mean, why waste time on the inferior?Right?
Over the years I played their albums so many times I can't really
hear them anymore.And that's not a
joke. They're all so familiar at this point, they have no impact on
me.London
Calling is in the same category, and that's a damn shame.
I specifically remember the day I broke out of my Beatles shell,
because it was a monumental event in my life.I went to Budget Tapes and Records (the long-defunct Cross
Lanes location), to buy a new George Harrison solo
LP.And they were blasting an album by the Boomtown Rats inside
the store.
Trash!
I hollered inside my pompous head, and proceeded to flip through the
Beatles section, then each members' solo releases.Of course I already owned them all, but it was a ritual that
would not be denied.
And a funny thing started happening: I began to enjoy the Boomtown Rats record(!?).Horrified, I tried to pretend it wasn't so.But it was
so.The thing was good; it rocked, it was funny, and the lead
singer sounded like he didn't give a flying fuck what I thought
about any of it.
I bought the thing, hiding it behind the George Harrison album like
it was a piece of scandalous pornography featuring lesbian dwarves.And I took it home and confirmed its greatness, over and over
again.
This event touched off a new obsession (my third, counting baseball
cards), and I spent many years trying to learn about and purchase
every important (or semi-important) alternative rock album ever
released.
I began hanging out at the main Budget Records store, in Kanawha
City, where I became an unofficial student of the Evil Twin (now married
to the Evil Twin's
Wife!).The man clearly suffered from the same mental illness I did,
but was so
much farther along.
It is an honor to have studied with him.
And that particular obsession never really ended.Over the years it's become less and less pronounced, but I
still have a driving urge to discover new music.And I still buy CDs like a man entered in a CD buying
contest...Just ask Toney, she'll tell ya.Oh, she'll tell ya real good.
The Beatles?I don't listen to them much anymore, because their songs
can't get any traction in my brain; I've worn the tread down on
every one of 'em.
And I stopped paying attention to baseball cards when it got to the
point where I could no longer afford them.When I first got into it I could buy beautiful Mickey Mantle
or Willie Mays cards from the 1950s, for $5 each. Now
they cost about the same as a Hyundai Sonata.So funk dat.
This website is my most recent grand-mal obsession, I guess.Probably the first since the Boomtown Rats-triggered music
frenzy of '79.
--And speaking of the Beatles, my parents consider them to be after
their time.From what I can gather, my Mom listened to stuff like the
Platters, and the Coasters, and Elvis, and Fats Domino, and that
sort of thing.Then, apparently, she disengaged.
My Dad always listened to country, and would play Hank Williams
around our house when I was a kid.My mother hated it (“It’s all so mournful and twangy.”),
but I loved it.In fact, when I got older I went out and bought the exact
same albums my Dad used to play, and now have lots of Hank Sr. on
CD.
But there was no Beatles, no Beatles at all.Because, you know, it was after
their time.
However… if I stop and think about it, my folks were 22 years old
in 1964. It seems like they’d be perfect candidates to be Beatles
fans.But they, and all their friends, know next to nothing about
the band.They don’t consider them to be a product of their
generation. ...Even though the Beatles were/are almost exactly their
age.
I’ve asked my mother about this, and she says they had two young
babies in the house, and were dealing with real life.They didn’t have time to “sit around and listen to
records.”And my Dad just snorts at the idea of ever caring about a
bunch of artsy-fartsy English pretty boys.
The whole thing seems kind of strange to me.Did people grow up a lot faster in the old days?Isn’t that what they say about kids today?When I was 22 I was full-on music-obsessed.And when we had two babies in the house, ten years later,
nothing much had changed, except I went to fewer concerts.
Was the 22 of 1964 the 44 of today?I mean, how were my parents oblivious to such a thing?The freakin’ British Invasion! It’s
not as if they knew all about it, and rejected it.They don’t even seem to have noticed
it.I just don’t understand.
Does it have something to do with leisure time?Do we have lots more of it?Or do normal people (who aren’t afflicted by The Illness)
just continue listening to whatever they liked in high school, for
the rest of their lives?Is that why classic rock stations still thrive?I simply don’t know.
--But I’ll leave you now with some semi-related Questions to
ponder…
Have you ever hated something, without really giving it a chance,
because of other people who like it?You know, like the Secrets and the Beatles freak at school?I’m guilty of this, on a consistent basis.There are plenty of TV shows I wouldn’t watch (like Desperate
Housewives), even if somebody put a gun to my temple.Because, you know, I have a highly-prejudiced view of that
show’s fans.Tell me what you hate because other people like it…
Did you buy 45s as a kid?Which ones?And were they purchased in drug stores, like mine?
And are you like me and go from one grand-mal
obsession to the next?I’m not talking about some short-lived interest you
might’ve had along the way, but all-consuming
obsessions.Mine:baseball cards, the Beatles, “alternative” rock, and
TheWVSR – in that order.I realize I might be the lone freak here…
What about albums you’ve played so many times, you can’t hear
them anymore?Do you know what I mean by this?Tell me about it.
And the music your parents listened to…And people who seem to lock-in, musically speaking, during
their high school years…Or anything else I mentioned in this long-winded update.Use the comments link below.
Holy shit man, I’m spent.You folks have yourselves a fine… whatever day it is.
