Random memory, Vol. 1

One summer day in high school, I was driving in a rural area near home and had a classic rock radio station on.

Given the lack of any homes or other cars, I threw caution to the wind and turned the music up really loud, even though - gasp! - the windows were down.

I kept driving and kept the music up as I passed, unnoticed by me, into a built-up area. 

I came to a stop sign right by a subdivision. Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" was playing very loudly on the radio. Then I noticed two early-high-school-aged girls on bikes in a driveway a few dozen feet to my right, staring at me.

Mortified, I shrunk a little in my seat, kept on driving and turned the radio back down.

Random music notes

Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was released right about when I turned six - and I was obsessed with that song at that time.

I had a little radio - wooden box, cloth-covered speaker, metal knobs - in my room, and I remember being very excited when that song was played.

I'm not sure how long the obsession lasted, but even now, if that song comes on an oldies or light rock station, I leave it on.

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Yesterday I sang along to "House of the Rising Sun" in the car on the way home and totally nailed it, or at least it seemed that way to me. And I've tried to sing that song a number of times before and it usually comes out as some terrible, strangled, wailing mess (no shock there - the song treads a very narrow line on that point).

But for some reason, and I don't know why, it really sounded good yesterday. Alas, no one was there to hear it.

Christmas music jackpot

I am not a big fan of radio stations that play all Christmas music starting in early November. But every so often, I'll be in a mood for some, so I'll turn to one of those stations while I'm driving.

I hit the jackpot today.

First up: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, "Sleigh Ride." (Argh... it's not on YouTube. Well, "Spanish Flea" is as good, just not Christmas-y)

This fast-paced brass version of "Sleigh Ride" was always played at the K-Mart in my hometown during the Christmas season. It brings me way back to when that store had a full-service cafeteria / dining room in the back - as a kid it was such a big deal to get to eat there. I remember hearing the song over the store intercom when my sister and I went to K-Mart on our own to buy presents... if we're ever together, and those trumpets start playing over the radio or wherever, we both crack up.

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Then, John Denver and the Muppets, "12 Days of Christmas."

A classic, in my book. The YouTube version linked to above is a bit different than the version I have on CD (yes, that's right, I have it on CD); the CD version includes Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew singing a verse, which is the best part.

When I was in college, there was a period of time when my sister, one of my older brothers and I all were in Madison at the same time. One December night we all piled in someone's car to go see the big drive-through holiday lighting display in a city park. We had a Christmas-music station playing on the radio, and this song got stuck in the rotation. I think it played three times in a row, in its entirety. Awesome.