I was mentally composing a post, the title of which was going to be “Today” when, of course, a song came into my head.
Then a post that was going to be about weather turned into a post about music. Quelle surprise! as Holly Golightly would say. (Ah, Holly Golightly, that’s another story, remind me to tell you sometime.)
And then I had to look up which album the song came from – Surrealistic Pillow – Jefferson Airplane’s second album but the first with Grace Slick. I had this album and played it to death. It has my favorite Jefferson Airplane songs on it – Today, White Rabbit, Somebody to Love’, ‘My Best Friend’, ‘Comin’ Back to Me’ – that’s about half the album.
Now here’s the thing – Jefferson Airplane put out many albums, including regrouping under the updated name of Jefferson Starship – but the only songs that stay in my heart and mind were the first ones I heard and loved.
Then I thought to myself – “Are first loves the best loves? The most important loves? The strongest loves? The most enduring loves?”
I don’t have an answer for that – not in the realm of music anyway. Music first loves are so intimately twined into who we were at the time we first heard them. Perhaps even integral to our world view, our view of ourselves. They stay – always.
There are ‘really, really like’ songs that we enjoy because, hey, they have a good beat and and I’ll give it an 80, Dick. But they don’t fall into the ‘love’ category because they just didn’t/don’t have that impact. (I think Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean is one of the top three dance songs of all time. I really, really like it but I don’t love it, doesn’t mean anything to me and I barely know the lyrics.)
Some artists are just so damn brilliant that they could sing the yellow pages and that would be my new song that I love. Billy Joel comes to mind. My latest favorite song that I love is And So it Goes. The song is from a 1989 album, I had never heard it, or can recall ever hearing it, until last week. I’m listening to it right now. It means something to me now, I’m not sure why. In 1989 it would have been more pertinent to my life – maybe I didn’t hear it back then, maybe I was too wrapped up in my crazy life to make the connection.
Retrospect adds another layer to meaning, doesn’t it?
“It always begins, or ends, with a song” I said in my last post. Should I end with a Billy Joel song that has a special meaning for me? No, but remind me to tell you that story. Instead, a song that just popped into my head – keep it in mind to play at my funeral –
Subject to Change Without Notice 
I have always loved Billy Joel. I don't know these other two songs but I know the Billy Joel one.
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Billy Joel is really terrific, isn't he. Sometimes I forget how brilliant he is.
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Music first loves are certainly intimately twined into who we were when we first heard them. The memories come back like it was yesterday as soon as I hear certain songs – mostly those in the 80s when I was in high school, college then married. Today's songs don't hold the same power for the most part but my body reacts nonetheless and I can't stop from dancing especially when a Bruno Mars song comes on!
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That was me! I forgot to change it – I can't figure out how to get this to take my Google log in!
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I suspect that when commenting you were using an IOS device – phone or tablet/iPad – because if you were commenting as yourself via Google is impossible! I can't comment as myself on my own blog if I'm using my iPad. Blogger is a right royal pain in the ass…I expect one of these days Google is just gonna say 'Feh!” and drop the whole thing.
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