Twisted Mix Tape Tuesday: Life Is What Music Makes It

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"The Soundtrack Of My Life" is the topic for this week's Twisted Mixed-Tape Tuesday romp.

(In other words, it's another trip into the personal past of the writer.  How exciting!  Next thing you know, we'll all be doing a post on "How To Properly Perform Morning Defecation While Cutting One's Toenails.")

This might be an easy feat for a person in their twenties or thirties, but when you are only months away from one's sixties, the task becomes much more difficult.  What really becomes difficult is when so much of one's life was shaped by the music of their early years, instead of the rinky dink crap that's being produced in today's supposed music industry.  

"Yo-Yo, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me.

Don't cha know, years ago when I was a squirt, 

No gats, no drugs, no people ta hurt,

I lived each day, like it was my last, 

never thought I'd be around, talkin' 'bout the past.

But here I be, damn good lookin' to see,

Yeah, I'm still here, makin' love 'til three.

So take yo ho, and warm her up for me,

Cuz you ain't sh*t, I'm almost f**kin' six-ty."

Jay-Z, watch your tail.  

I'm ready to put you to shame!

I guess one could say that an elementary school music teacher, by the name of Mrs. Dyer, had a lot to do with my love for music.  Twice a week, we'd have a music class in which we'd sing standards of the day, as well as some of the early folk songs.  Back then, it was a good thing to be patriotic and in love with your country.  What better song to express this than "This Land Is My Land?"

This patriotism was also formed by our required reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance To The Flag each morning before starting our class work.  Most say this without thinking about it.  I ask you to please take a couple of minutes and listen to this version done so well by one of the phenomenal comedians of the day, Red Skelton, in one of his more serious moments.

I remember when we first sent troops over to Vietnam.  We were told we were fighting the spread of Communism by doing so.  Most of us believed the government and what they told us.  We were Americans and the government never lied.  Only the U.S.S.R.'s government did that!  At least, that's what we were led to believe.  The American fighting man was the best there was.  Our efforts helped to end World Wars I & II, as well as the Korean Conflict.  There was no better song to express our belief in him than this song.

The battle for Civil Rights was going mainstream.  Whites against Blacks, Whites against Whites, Blacks against Blacks, everyone had an opinion.  Equal rights didn't mean either side was superior.  Neither did it mean that there was something owed to either side.  It meant that all men were created equal.  We could live together, accepting each other as equals, and breed a new culture that didn't hate.  Alas, our aspirations obviously fell short due to those on both sides that wish to use race as a reason or excuse to this day.  Still, no one presented our hopes the way The Youngbloods did with "Get Together."

America was turning upon itself.  Old against young, wealthy against poor, educated against uneducated, the battles were fought.  Sometimes, innocent blood was shed, as was the case when a squad of National Guardsmen fired upon a protesting group of unarmed students at Kent State.  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's classic "Ohio" tells the story too well.

(Ohio)

Finally, the war was over!  It was time to party, and party we did.  Many smoked pot and rocked all night long, and the disco crowd snorted cocaine and danced all night long!  Polyester ruled the dance floor as discos became the norm for the "in" crowd with money.  Forget your troubles and woes and Dance, Dance, Dance!

Marriage ... does anyone really know what happiness is until they're married?  (Of course, by then it's too late to do anything about it!)  Sometimes marriage works and sometimes it doesn't.  It takes two to make it work.  Not just some of the time ... all of the time.  When one gives up, or looks for excitement elsewhere, trouble occurs.  Then, it's time to evaluate.  The Mark-Almond band says it best with "What Am I Living For."

We become so involved in our own lives, we forget about those that brought us into the world.  Men are particularly bad about this as they've been taught to be independent and self sufficient all their lives.  (Tell that to a wife the next time her husband asks, "Honey, have you seen my car keys?")

Still, the fathers are the ones that usually suffer the greatest in the realm of being shunned in later years.  Perhaps, it's because they were working so hard to keep the family together and financially prosperous, that they forgot the ones that needed them most, and rarely found them there.  Harry Chapin says it best in "Cat's In The Cradle."

As one grows older, they remember the moments of youth and reminisce.  However, they also become much more appreciative of what they have.  Long term marriages, never easy, can be some of the greatest success stories of the universe.  No, the beauty of youth isn't present.  Nor is the beauty of middle age.  Yet, within the wrinkles lie a tale of love greater than can ever be made for the silver screen.  "On Golden Pond" is one of those movies that comes close to expressing this, but misses many points.  The things that once bugged the hell out of you that spouse has done over the years suddenly become points that you love about them.  No matter what they do, you only see them through the beating of your heart.  They are indeed, so beautiful.  Here's Joe Cocker.

When death becomes a reality that is nearer than ever before, you joke about it.  Fear does nothing but ruin the moment, so enjoy what you have left.  Blood, Sweat & Tears now with "And When I Die."

We are all living in the moment.  Oh, we plan for the future, but the future is never guaranteed.  I've already died twice in my life, once by snake bite and once by heart attack.  Either the third time will be the charm, or I'm going to be like one of my cats and do it seven more times.  

I don't know that I believe in an afterlife, but I can't say that I don't believe in it either.  If it's there, then hopefully, some of my actions during my life will be negated by the good ones.  Hopefully, it's enough to get me to the good destination.  Here's the Edwin Hawkins Singers.

If there is no afterlife, well, then that's it!  I'll have lived my life to its fullest.  I've climbed cliffs, sky and skin dived, snow and water skied, worked with venomous reptiles, alligators and big cats, totaled out a motorcycle,  been shot at, played in a rock band, worked as a radio disc jockey, did stand-up comedy, succeeded in business, swam with the money sharks in corporate headquarters, and had a swim fin nipped by a barracuda in Puerto Rico.  I've traveled the world, ate foods many would turn their noses up at, and slept in places others would be scared to death to even visit.  

Now, if I could only finish my damn book before it's over!   

Ciao!

Twisted Mix-Tape Tuesday: The 60's

I'm sitting here, eating a reinvented Twinkie and reminiscing about the times of my youth, thanks to Jen and Kristi, the hostesses of the Twisted Mix Tape Tuesday blog hop, and Troy (at "As Long As I'm Singing") who suggested today's topic.  The topic?  

List five seminal songs that made you who you are today.

(Thanks, Troy.  Just what I needed ... self analysis at my age.)

With a life spanning almost six decades, it is impossible to say what songs shaped me during all of my years.  

(It would be easier to blame that on the damn Twinkie!)

There has been music in my life as long as I remember.  As a child, I had the benefit of viewing the ED SULLIVAN SHOW every Sunday night.  Yes, I remember the first time the Beatles ever performed there, as well as the Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Animals, Diana Ross & The Supremes, and so many others that laid the foundation of music today.

(Of course, the memories grow somewhat more dim as the years progressed 

and smoking Mother Nature's offerings improved my appreciation of the sounds 

coming from that black and white television.)

I have to remember the times ... the 60's.  I was old enough to understand, but yet, not understand why people of different color weren't treated as equals, why people I knew were dying in a war in Vietnam that made no sense, and how politicians fed the masses lies in hopes their minds wouldn't understand the truth.  We were a nation divided ... and rightfully so.  The ancients felt they could have it all as long as the masses were separated by hate and racism.  It was our duty to bring it all together with love.  (The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair tried to do exactly that!) The Youngbloods said it best:

Our parents just couldn't understand.  They had never questioned the government, but instead, had accepted what was told them as cardinal truths and allowed themselves to be herded like cattle.  We were refusing to follow the laws and social paths they had been a part of.  We were revolting against all the "Establishment" had to offer.  Anti-materialistic, social restrictions in demonstration of love, relationships, and even our odd  clothing styles and hair length became our way of saying, "We're different than you and not going to allow ourselves to fall into the herd."  

In a way, Steppenwolf's song, "Born to be Wild" wasn't just a song about a biker going across the country.  It became a statement of how we were different, stronger, and loving the fact that everyone was unique in themselves ... not needing to be like the previous generations.

(I know, years later, we've all become amazingly like our parents.)

Or, have we?  Where my parents might have collected dishes, tools or savings bonds, many of us have vast music, movie and/or comic book collections.  Where they took the road of "having to brag", we've taken the road of "having to enjoy."  I guess the philosophy of "Live For Today" and "Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life" did sink in deeper than we envisioned, after all.

Amid the atrocities we were revealing, there was a unity among the "long hairs."  In fact, there was really a feeling of trust and belonging that held true.  Even when "the man" used this against us (such as record promoters, military recruiters, and Charles Manson), we still held together.  It was a pact of the young to lend each other a helping hand when in need.  To stand together against the evils of the day.  And, to lend support even when relationships failed.  Carole King's "You've Got A Friend" was an anthem for us.

My constant battle against today's "Political Correct" society stems from this time.  As our society seems to want to return to the concept of locking you into a mode of accepted behavior, we fought against the accepted behavior of the day.  We knew that each one of us had something to say, to do, to experience, and there should be no social restrictions that kept this from occurring.  

Oh, we were still polite, for the most part, and understood that there were considerations of others that needed to be followed.  But, we also believed that the more we followed the path, the more likely were were to become cattle, herded without thought, to serve whatever purpose the government desired.  Freedom was our goal ... and still is in today's world of "HUGE GOVERNMENT."  Let man rule themselves, and let industry and government serve their needs, instead of us serving theirs.  The Rascals helped us to comprehend with this song.

But, times change, greed meets new acquaintances, and government becomes even stronger than before.  People become stupid and start believing in the politicians words again.  Big business brings society to its knees as individual debt rises, wages decrease, labor unions are made illegal by state governments, and political correctness becomes the way of the world.

(Sometimes people fail to see and hear 

even though they haven't lost their eyes and ears.)

There are still some of us fighting the battle, but we are dying out.  We still want people to be free, equal, and happy.  We deny the fact that we are becoming a "Big Brother" society and hope and pray that we get it together before it's too late.  We're not the prophets of doom.  Rather, we want to be the voices that bring about freedom, love and equality.  

Regardless of Don McLean's "American Pie", the music hasn't died.  It's still deep within us.  No, not today's bullshit POP music that doesn't carry a message worth listening to.  Instead, an internal beat that continues to say, "We can make it if we try.  It's not too late, baby, the time is today.  We have to teach our children, do away with the ball of confusion, and keep alive the freebird inside of each of us."  

As long as music's alive within, we have a chance!

Don't ever let it die!

Oh, would you like a Twinkie??