February 22, 2022: What About Music?

I’ve been thinking… about music. I love music. With Alexas throughout our house, the subscription to Apple Music, and my ear buds for the train rides and treadmill, it’s never been easier. Yes, I still listen to just the radio in the car; I like not knowing what song may come on next still… kind of lost a bit with all the on demand music at our fingertips. Anyways, been thinking about writing about music a bit… mix it up, you know? Well, not going to jump both feet in, but may sprinkle a little here and there, including today, where I kind of look back and understand why I enjoy so many types of music.

My parents liked to listen to music; they had a ton of albums that they’d spin over the weekend from time to time. This is where my love for the classics comes from. There is no more classic than The Beatles. Between their albums and Breakfast with the Beatles, their music is ingrained in me; I love them to this day. Who doesn’t, right? More than the Beatles was spinning in our living room, and in our family car rides. Billy Joel comes to mind; plenty of Chicago. Sprinkle in some ELO, Styx, and Queen. I certainly love all this old stuff to this day. These all go back to my earliest memories of music. I finally graduated to getting music of my own. My first ever cassette tape was Huey Lewis and the News; Sports was the name of the album… go figure. Heart of Rock & Roll, If This is It, and of course, I Want a New Drug, which my Dad had to explain to me… haha. Anyways, I was off and running.

Into the grammar school years, my buddies were into heavy metal; I got into it too. Guns N Roses, Poison, Motley Crue… yeah, bring it on. I remember my friend wearing the GNR Lies t-shirt to the park with the naked lady parts blacked out. Sure, Appetite was awesome, but GNR Lies… seriously underrated. As I entered 8th grade, I was finally introduced to rap music. My good friend gave me a cassette tape to check out. I remember listening to it with my walk man, walking around my house, thinking “if my parents only knew what I was listening to”. That first album: Eazy E: Eazy Duz It. Yeah, buddy. This began my journey into hip hop, which took my through a good decade plus. Perfect timing if you ask me, with Nas, Biggie, Wu Tang, and Jay Z all making their debuts around that time I was really zoned in. Of course, it wasn’t exclusively that… Playing cards with my friends, it would be Santana, Chicago (again), Fleetwood Mac for starters. Working at an Italian Restaurant, a whole lot of Frank Sinatra. As I became of age and started partying, I mean, no better place than Chicago to take in that house music, and all the variations of that played in the clubs and bars each week, shit, each day. When I got older and moved to California, I really dug into some other classics, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Doors, the Stones, and Led Zeppelin. I guess you can say I like a wide variety of music…

It really all depends on the mood, no? Sure, there are certain songs I will almost never skip, but depending on how I feel and/or what I’m doing at the time, will certainly dictate what genre I go to. My wife is a big music lover too, and of course, that means my son will be there right along with us. Lately, he’s been singing Encanto songs, word for word, after only seeing the movie one time. He has his music that he asks Alexa to play as well. It’s fun; everybody has their own tastes. Maybe I start ranking some albums, I don’t know. Or maybe I just pick a day or two here and there to dive in a bit more. OK, maybe it’s time to get back to Chicago sports now…