And this is part three of the “12 albums that left a lasting impression” ramble. Context is everything. I remember someone telling me, when I was preparing to drive over to Nevada after my stepdad died, “be careful about which music you listen to because you don’t want to always associate it with this.”

 

That’s a good point in some ways. (Though I don’t actually recall much of anything about the drive – too much shock and sadness – and could not tell you what I had playing.) Certain music can get so tied to a particular person or time or feeling that we can’t listen to it later. The emotions seem to be stuffed into the notes and come pouring over us whether we want them to or not.

 

However, that can also just happen with any song. I recall once bursting into tears upon a hearing of “I Will Survive.” When I think of that song, I think of the jail dance scene in The Replacements. So why did that particular time make me cry? Well, it was a tough time for me on a personal level, and something about it just hit me. I didn’t want to be crying in the middle of Southern California late afternoon traffic, but music can do that. Music is like poetry – distilled emotion.

 

The last four.

 

Pink Floyd – The Wall

I knew the chorus to “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” – I think every school child in the early 80s knew that. In eighth grade, my friends and I would sing it at recess; we thought we were so cool – and we were so wrong. Then in high school, my boyfriend (yes, the same one who gave me the Journey album) showed me the movie and got me a copy of the soundtrack. “Goodbye Blue Sky” – “Run Like Hell” – “Hey You” – such amazing songs. Angsty, yes. But amazing. Maybe I thought it was perfect because I was in the middle of being an angst-ridden teenager filling notebooks with poetry that used far too many clichéd images. Haven’t we all been there, though? And that’s the point.

 

“Hey you – out there in the cold – getting lonely, getting old – can you feel me?”

 

 

Rush – Grace Under Pressure

This one, too, can be laid at the feet of my high school boyfriend. (Wonder whatever happened to Dave? After writing all this, I’m sort of feeling that I should find him and thank him for the music.) Rush was his favorite band; Tolkien was his favorite writer. The album Fly By Night has a song called “Rivendell” on it. Dave recorded that one for me (on the other side of Dream After Dream, as I recall). I liked some of it, enough to ask for more albums by Rush. He gave me Grace Under Pressure next, and that one hooked me. “Kid Gloves” – “The Body Electric” – “Distant Early Warning” – so much good music! And Peart’s writing has just gotten better over the years. Rush is one of my two favorite groups that I cannot be without. (Yes, if you read the other post, Indigo Girls is the other one. Yes, I have a little blue shuffle I call Speedy Blue that has nothing on it but the catalog of Indigo Girls and Rush. Yes, the combo makes perfect sense to me. But that is an explanation for another time.)

 

“Overwhelmed by everything – but wanting more so much”

 

 

The Smothers Brothers – The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers

This makes me think of my grandparents. My sister and I would play the Smothers Brothers records over and over when we went to visit my grandparents. My grandfather especially loved the humor in many of these. He was a big fan of puns and wordplay. (I have a little wooden lean-to with thumbtacks inside that he made. It’s a tacks shelter – yes, he’s partly to blame for my mother’s and by extension my sense of humor.) This album is one of my favorites because not only does it have great comedy (“Laredo,” “Cabbage,” “Map of the World” – although, sadly, not my ultimate favorite “Crabs Walk Sideways”), it also has some beautiful songs. They sound wonderful together. And one of my best friends even took me to see them when we lived in Las Vegas. I still play their music and indoctrinate others.

 

“There were these vicious beasts in these deep crevasses – and they sure looked like pumas”

 

 

Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

I first heard this music as the soundtrack for the 1981 film of the same name. I guess that says something about my taste since I was a pre-teen and I still really got into the drama of the film. Sure, it’s got a lot of funny bits, but it always struck me more as a reflective movie rather than a comedy. And my mom loves the film, too, so it makes me think of her. But the music was my introduction to the classical genre. Vivaldi and other composers have become a staple in my musical rotation; I concentrate best with instrumental music (so I’m not distracted by singing along). While my library now includes a decent amount of classical works, Four Seasons always has a special place in my heart.

 

Just twelve required on the list – and there are the twelve. I feel like I could go on about various songs and albums and all the memories they evoke, but maybe I’d best save some of that material for a future date.

 

 

 

**Incidentally, these were also on my first short list. But the whys and wherefores are for another time.

 

ABBA – Greatest Hits Vol. 2

B-52s – Whammy!

Bay City Rollers — Greatest Hits,

Melissa Etheridge – Brave and Crazy

Huey Lewis and the News – Four Chords and Several Years Ago

Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings

Les Miserables – London Cast Recording

The Replacements – Don’t Tell a Soul

Yaz — Upstairs at Eric’s