#185) "An American Dream" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - I've got all sorts of songs that remind me of my childhood, most of them on the "AM Gold" or "Singers and Songwriters" side of things (my parents were not exactly rocking out to Kiss back then), but "An American Dream" is one of the first songs I remember really liking.
In fact, that's all there was to it. I was around the age of seven when it was released, and it didn't mean anything to me, didn't stir my young emotions, make me think of being on the road or wish I was older than I was, didn't accompany any Wonder Years-esque experiences. I just liked it. Liked the way it sounded. And so rather than making me think of anything specific, it kind of just contributes a shade to the abstract watercolor of my memory. I guess I do remember throwing a fit once when my older brother turned the radio off while I was listening to it, but that kind of stuff happened a lot.
These days, I still enjoy the chilled-out melody, Caribbean(ish) vibe, and Linda Ronstadt's harmonies. Interestingly, the song makes me think of two colors together: red and white. Although I have to say I don't find the subject matter - taking a trip in your mind because you are "without any means" - quite as charming as I think I'm supposed to. But at least I can listen to the whole thing, without getting into a physical tussle with my brother.
I'd soooo win now. :-)
"I think a tropical vacation this year, might be the answer to this hillbilly beer..."
#186) "Lullaby" by Shawn Mullins - When I first heard this song in 1998, I was not impressed. Here was "that guy", I thought, drawing his super sensitive hair out of his super sensitive eyes and mumbling knowing lyrics under a heavily processed rhythm, trying way too hard to be something, to create an image, tell a story...and likely getting laid a lot for all his super sensitive effort.
I don't know what my problem was. Maybe I just wanted to be that guy!
But in any case, now, far removed from its hey-day, from the glare of pop radio and distraction of whatever celebrity it might have afforded Mullins at the time (for a short while), this song is pretty moving, and reviewed with fresh ears even takes on historical significance.
Better than any "grunge" band or song, "Lullaby" captures the disillusionment that was seminal to Generation X - those of us who came of age caught between the narcissistic Boomers and the jaded (depressingly dumbed-down) Millennials.
With sharp references to parents who partied with "Dennis Hopper, Bob Seger and Sonny and Cher", the girl in the song finds herself anxious in her twenties as a result of having grown up with all that mess, adrift in a strange, unnerving world, and with this story Mullins hit the nail on the head, I think, about an entire generation, the first to have to grow up dealing with the consequences of all the freedoms that came out of the Sixties. It's from a Hollywood Hills point of view, of course, but it could really be anyone, anywhere. There were many times in my life, coming and going, job to job, year to year, I think I met that girl. Now, she lives permanently impressed in the abstract watercolor of my memory.
Maybe in a way I was "that guy", after all...
And today, although generally I walk on the sunny side of the street, sometimes it's hard to look outside and rest assured "everything is gonna be all right"...
"She still lives with her Mom outside the city / down that street about half a mile..."
