Sorry about the delay. Life just doesn't seem to stand still for a little side project like this. Seren and I have tried to simplify our nighttime ritual. First, for Lent, we are giving up eating after 9:00. I know for some, probably most, that is no great sacrifice, but it is for us. We are also committing to not starting to watch a TV program after 10:00 and I am promising to get off of my laptop by 10:00. We will see how this works out. But now, without further ado...

Music of My Life Project: Year 5 - 1978

I know that I've said that the previous years have been difficult, but that is typically because there are only 1 or 2 songs that even qualify. That is going to change fast, starting with this year, I think.

First, there is the Grease soundtrack. Grease is one of those movies that was on premuim cable alot in the early to mid 80's, when I was watching alot of cable. I must have seen that movie at least a dozen times. "Summer Nights", "Greased Lightning", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "You're the One that I Want". Hey, I even liked the sequel. Of course, these all existed only as movies for me. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized that the original was a stage musical. Still never seen the stage production, as a matter of fact.

The other option here is Billy Joel. Can't beleive that I'm made it this far without hitting good ol' Billy. In 1978, the choice would be "My Life" and "Big Shot". "My Life" is definitely a possibility. (Speaking of musicals, I would really like to see 'Movin' Out' sometime in my life)

But neither of these wins the crown. Now I have stood firm on the topic that I do not listen to country music. Unfortunately, over the years, this has required that I re-define what is country and what is not. For instance, many people consider Kenny Rogers to be a country singer. This is simply not the case, due to the expedient that one of the key definitions of country music is that it is music that I do not listen to. Therefore, the song for this year is the Western hit "The Gambler". This is one of the first pop songs to which I learned all the lyrics. It is one of the songs that my high school football team would sing on the bus going to games (along with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire")

Music of My Life Project: Year Four

This is the first year in which I have some memory. At least direct memory of the music in question for the timeframe in question. The song in this particular question is the famous John Williams score for the movie Star Wars. Star Wars, both the movies and the spin-off merchandising were a big part of my young life. I still remember that, when I was in fourth grade, my parents took me out of school early so that I could see a matinee on the day that Return of the Jedi opened.

John Williams theme is incredible, throughout all the Star Wars movies. I particularly enjoyed the way he tied/transitioned the theme from the third prequel into the empire's theme from the first movie. The tone of that theme conveyed as much of the storyline as any actor's expression or inflection.

Music of My Life: Year 3

Another tough year. I would say 'Bohemian Rhapsody', but that song did not exist for me prior to 1992's Wayne's World, despite being considered one of the top songs of last quarter of the 20th century. Another possibility would be Larry Groce's 'Junk Food Junkie', but health food has never meant anything to me.

No, for this one, I have to go back to my ballad roots and go with Gordon Lightfoot and 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'. As an aside, I always love looking things up on Wikipedia; I usually find out something new and completely unexpected. For example, I found out that TD Mishke, one of my two favorite radio personalities (the other being Jim Lileks), once interviewed someone about the historical details of the ship descibed in the song live on the radio, but did so by singing the questions to the tune of the Lightfoot song. The interviewee had not been told that this would be the 'format' of the interview, but proceeded to answer the questions straight-faced.

Music of My Life: Year 2

The year is 1975. The selection of songs seems kinda thin to me. Obviously, I was only 1 year old, so I don't remember the music from the time. Looking back there are some songs that I like. 'Kung Fu Fighting', 'Some Kind of Wonderful', and 'Shining Star' are all songs that I enjoy, but none of them have a special place in my memory.

The only one that speaks to me on any level is Harry Chapin's 'Cat's in the Cradle'. I really enjoy ballads, as I imagine the rest of this list will bear out. And this one has always hit me hard. It doesn't speak to me as a one-year-old baby, but throughtout my life. Listening to that song as a young man, I promised myself that I wouldn't treat my future children that way. I'd like to think that I haven't, but it's still something I keep in mind.

Music of My Life Project: the First Year

Birth to one year old. I can't say I remember the music from this time. But looking over the song list from that year causes some titles to jump out at me. My first throught was BTO's 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet', because the title speaks of untapped promise, and I really like that song.

But near the end of the list I found the perfect song for this time period. It's one of my favorite songs. I've even tried to learn to play it on the piano, much to my wife's chagrin. It's a fairly simple tune, without words. Perfect for a time before I could speak. So the choice for the first song is 'The Entertainer' by Marvin Hamlisch.