I’m pretty sure I already mentioned once or twice that one of my new favorite records right now is Twin Cinemas by The New Pornographers. There’s a growing list of music that I’ve been listening to over the last three years, not at all coincidentally three years I’ve spent with Mr. Ben B., in any case, this music is very different than what I listened to before – not quite top 40, but far away from the folky-bluesy girl stuff I was favoring before, and certainly still love. Anyway, I was just listening to the fourth song on this record, waiting for my tea water to boil, and was suddenly possessed to totally rock out. What was weird about this rocking out was that it was without doubt the clumsiest, least rhythmic, fastest, mostly just jumping around and up and down and twisting and hair-shaking kind of dance, one that caused me to lose my slippers and completely lose my breath. It was a dance of unbounded joy, to be sure, and it was also a dance I am glad that no one ever saw and a dance unlike any other dance that ever came out of me. I like to think I have at least a little more rhythm than the next guy. Anyway, I don’t know what’s happening to my musical ear, it has certainly always changed somewhat from decade to decade, but I think it’s a little bit like what happened to my reading about fifteen years ago, when I used to read some hard core Jackie Collins and the like, and then I just didn’t, one by one I got some really great books handed to me and when I didn’t I went out and found them. What I can’t figure out for the life of me is why it took so long. Yeah, I’m not embarrassed about the James Taylor or Beatle records I’ve had since 1975, that stuff always holds up, but does that diminish the fact that when you have people over and they say, Hey, have you guys ever heard of Captain and Tennille? And you are able to walk into the other room and bring back not one but two Captain and Tennille records, which makes your guest laugh so hard for ten minutes and which were your favorites during years of your life when most people were listening to Black Sabbath or Zeppelin or something, anything, with some small bit of teen angst, Foreigner or the Dead. Yes, we all know I was a Billy Joel fan (if we don’t, we will soon, since I’m outing myself in an anthology coming soon), I guess he’s a step in the angsty direction from the Captain and Tennille, but I’ve taken plenty of grief about my Billy love over the years.
Well, there’s more to say about this, but I have stories to grade. Part 2 soon.
11 comments:
I don't take kindly to those who give grief to someone who has Billy love. That's entirely not cool. I love Billy Joel, but I also have tattoos of a Hendrix lyric and the Zeppelin symbols. So, of course, I don't use love of music (or singular artists) as a guage for much of anything. All what someone listens to will tell you is that "hey, this person likes music. and music is awesome. this person=awesome."
If anything, love will keep us together, not what we do or do not rock out to in our slippers while getting water for our tea.
(that was me trying to be funny, I know, I'm not good at it).
Billy? Foreigner? The Dead? Um, not angsty, not one of 'em. But I like your point. Rest assured, there is no need to attempt to gain angst points in relation to the Captain and Tennille. The 70s were tough on music fans. We did what we did. I had an angst problem that I didn't know about, in that I wasn't angsty when I wanted to be. I was a young musician in the late 70s and I learned to play drums to, yes, REO Speedwagon, the Star Wars soundtrack, and two disco records I'd really rather not mention. BELIEVE me, no angst in any of those.
Spazz out and spazz free, and do not fret your link to the Captain.
oh how I love discovering a hidden treasure of a writer's blog.
By the way, I'd never even heard of Black Sabbath 'til I was in college (early '90s). In the '70s, I was busy memorizing the lyrics to the songs on one of John Travolta's records (not the Grease soundtrack, mind you). aah, good times.
NK - I like your math equation very much.
Teo - true enough, those were meant less as angsty than non-C&T, and also true that it was a bit of a lean time in the music world back then, but I didn't think so at the time - I loved what I loved. One thing I'm beginning to learn is to embrace my all-over-the-mapness.
Catherine - welcome!
P - now it's in my head!
Love the New Pornographers (kind of curious about the Old ones) and I actually believe there's some kind of subliminal frequency/rhythm thing that CD triggers, which in fact demands spazz dancing...
Innocent Man was the first album i ever bought with my own money. paper route money, to be precise. i listened to it on my orange and brown plastic Fisher Price record player. it's my belief that people who say they don't like Billy are taking themselves entirely too seriously.
So,I love the folk-y stuff but I went through a phase in college where I loved Billy Joel all over again and let me say, I found the urge to listen to his music whenever possible and I mean, Allentown isn't really a good song for a spinning class, but I found a way to play that while I taught. New Pornographers rock! Here's to your spontaneous side:)
1. love billy joel.
2. sing me spanish techno. oh.my.god. that bridge/chorus? fuck. that's so good, it's nearly 3 am, and i sort of want to go play it. i will do it first thing tomorrow. morning. afternoon.
did you do the thumb thing (from the "elaine dance") ? because that would make it classic.
also this post might crack you up given your post:
http://waitingcasually.com/?p=43
I knew a lot of girls that had one C+T album. I guess there were probably some that had two. What was the other one? Muskrat Love or something?
I went to school with a guy who wore a hat and glasses and looked like the Captain. He was trying to be Elton John, though. He never figured out that people kinda laughed at him.
Look at all y'all Billy Joel fans, this is so great!
No Elaine dancing for me, but a whole new brand of spazzy.
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