Graceland

When I was younger, say junior high/high school aged, my parent's music used to drive me crazy. They would play the same songs over and over until I thought my head would explode. The first few notes of U2's "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" were enough to cause my head to spin around while my eyes shot lasers and burned holes in through my parents’ heads. The rest of 'The Joshua Tree' would cause me to go on into a rage, slamming my door and covering my head with the pillow. Any hint of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' would cause me to fall unconscious to the floor, frothing at the mouth like a dog that needs to be put down. I had suffered a near-fatal overdose of ‘Graceland’, since my father loved it beyond all reason and played it at full volume pretty much constantly for several years. He had the CD, the tape, the record, the book and the video. I am not exaggerating. Even a little bit.

Meanwhile, I was listening to such musical wonders as MC Hammer and Milli Vanilli.

The rest of the world very sensibly agreed with my parents. The 1987 Billboard #1 song was U2’s “With or Without you”. The Grammy award for Album of the Year went to U2’s 'Joshua Tree' along with Best Rock Group. Record of the Year went to Paul Simon’s “Graceland” (which also won Album of the Year in 1986).

In 1988 we overlapped on Tracy Chapman, probably because I couldn't resist singing along with someone who sang in my own range and didn't have testicles. This was the sole exception to more than six years of musical war (the lesser known cousin of musical chairs).

In 1989 my parent were probably still listening to Paul Simon and U2 because the best songs at that time were, in all honesty, kind of crappy. I, however, was eating them up with a spoon. To name a few: NKOTB’s “Hangin’ Tough” (although unlike all of my friends, I wasn’t in love with any of the New Kids and that was the only song I liked), Bette Middler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”, Martika’s “Toy Soldiers”, Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting”, and Debbie Gibson’s “Lost In Your Eyes”. I’m pretty sure that I know all of the lyrics to the above listed songs to this day. You don’t forget this stuff people, be careful what you listen to in your formative years.

When I think back on it, I grew up on Dire Straits, the Police, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beetles and Phil Collins; music that was good then and stayed good. My mom’s taste ran more to the ballads, Eric Clapton and such, while Dad tends a bit more to the blues side of things. When I got to buy my first tape, I carefully selected Phil Collins “No Jacket Required” and Dire Straits self-titled album remain one of my favorites to this day (I think I stole Dad's copy when I moved out. Shhh!)

It’s interesting to me how our musical tastes are now converging. Every year we go to Folk Fest, and while we aren’t always watching the same performances, we come home with a lot of the same CDs. We’re able to share what we find elsewhere too. I hooked Mom on Wide Mouth Mason, Dad gave me Eric Bibb’s “Friends” (we used “Dance me to the End of Love” as the second dance at our wedding.)

And tonight, I found myself in the car singing along to “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. I knew all of the words and the good harmony to sing, without ever having owned a copy of the song. When "Graceland" comes on the radio, I sing along and tap my foot with the beat (although with nothing really approaching my Dad’s arms akimbo chicken flapping enthusiasm).

I have finally come to appreciate the musical basis that I was given and it makes me wonder what sort of musical taste will pass on to our children. Will they end up with Paul’s love of CCR (which he got from his father), will they tend to Barenaked Ladies like me, or maybe they’ll learn from our areas of overlap, like Great Big Sea or the Waifs. Meanwhile our musical tastes continue to expand and refine over time so that we can come to love great music that our kids will hate when they’re in junior high. But maybe one day, when they're much older, they'll be going to Graceland, just like me.