Music is an amazing thing. It carries you through moments. A song will come on and can make you time travel to a specific place, you can smell the cut grass, or tear up like your at the funeral all over again.

Yesterday I heard  The Cat’s in the Cradle and I distinctly remember enjoying the catchy hook as a little boy. When I sang it in front of my dad I got the feeling I screwed up. I didn’t screw up, and my old man is very perceptive. He explained to me just what the song is about. He liked the song too, but he wanted me to know what I was singing. He also took the time to teach me about Neil Young and the Beatles, for more uplifting messages. Thanks Dad, I owe you one. 

Side note: an insurance company put out a commercial and redid the song with a positive dad message, it is awesome. If anyone has a copy of the song, send it to me! Goodtalkjosh@icloud.com

That was the first time I really paid attention to lyrics. The message of that song is a rough one, I’m lucky to  never had to deal with absent parents. More important though is that a song can spark that memory.

My mother brought home a few albums that when I see the cover art it brings me to our living room in my childhood home. Huey Lewis & the News Sports, the record shows a pool table behind Huey. I danced with Mom for weeks.
Another epic purchase was the Bruce Springsteen box set. There were 5 or 6 records that I wasn’t supposed to touch but did anyway. The album art was pretty boring compared to the iconic Born in the USA album, but because Mom treated the set with such regard, it burned into my memory bank as one of the greatest ever.
Finally, there’s one cassette tape that doesn’t take me to the living room, instead it brings me to the back seat of the blue Ford Tempo. Actually for some reason I also associate it to the particular parking space at the daycare that she would pick me and my brother up at. Bon Jovi’s New Jersey tape dominated the eighties from Bad Medicine to Blood on Blood  I had every lyric memorized and could air drum every intro. 

Uncle Dan introduced me to the make up bands. Twisted Sister was dubbed onto a Memorex cassette for me. I clipped the tabs to make sure it couldn’t be recorded over. We’re not gonna take it was the hit, but I Wanna Rock holds up. The logo was awesome on Stay Hungry, I sketched that into numerous Pee-Chees. It was way cooler than NKOTB!

Summer and the beach. Everyone has a soundtrack, it’s the quintessential teenage cruising to the swimming hole music that never fails to crack that smile out. I can feel the wind on my face riding in Tony’s silver Tercel and the smell of sunscreen and Kodiak spit every time I hear the Beastie Boys License to Ill . The whole album cranked to the max, blowing speakers up buddy.

Mazzy Star is depressing.

Led Zeppelin Houses the Holy on 8 track was wrestling camp in the motorhome music. We would pile 6 or 7 wrestlers into the Dolphin and cruise to Medford, or Sierra, or some other hot gym for week long, intensive training camp. 

Well, I’m revvin’ up this Delorean and about to hit 88, just found my Opiate vinyl and a Schmitt Ice. Love you guys!