In keeping with last week’s ego trip (what is this, a blog?) I’ve decided to catalog the music that’s defined me, for better or worse. I’ll start at the ages of four through about 10 – that’s before I discovered radio stations other than ‘Oldies 107.5’ or music outside of my parents’ CD stash.
Bobby Hebb – “Sunny”
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This song gives me a nice, warm feeling. Pun most definitely intended.
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers – “Last Kiss”
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Few things anger me as much as Pearl Jam’s cover of this song. Looking back, though, I guess it’s a rather morbid track for a six year old to jam along with. I would eventually graduate to the more nuanced dark love of the Cure.
Miami Sound Machine – “Bad Boy”
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I’m relatively certain this song was in a soundtrack around 1988 or so, because I would borrow my parents’ black and green boom box to scan the radio for this song. [Update: Of course. It was in Leonard Nimoy’s “Three Men and a Baby.” It always goes back to Steve Guttenberg.]
Supertramp – “Dreamer”
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My parents ran a rather strict home, musically speaking. I clearly remember a ban on MTV and Madonna. Having a limited music selection, my sister and me would play my parent’s Best Of Supertramp comp. A lot. I’m pretty sure there’s home video to prove it. Also, just so you know, the very mp3 attached is ripped from the exact copy that my parents still own.
Belle Stars – “Iko Iko”
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My family moved to Houston after a year in Staten Island in late 1988. While we were looking for a real home, we had an extended stay in the hotel that’s now the Doubletree Galleria. My parents got two adjacent rooms, the kind with the shared door. One night, they kicked my sister and me out of their room so they could see a certain movie titled “Rain Man.”
I was livid; not only would they not buy Chef Boyardee’s for dinner, but they wouldn’t let me see the movie with them. A couple days later, though, they consoled me with the “Rain Man” soundtrack on tape, and I played “Iko” more times than they probably liked. To this day, I make it a point to own every version of this song ever made. But that’s a Tuesday Tunes for another day.
[Note: You know, if you're reading this on Facebook, you can actually listen to and sometimes download the songs in this post by viewing the original post by clicking on the "View Original Post" link at the bottom.]