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")