Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Lost song of the day

- The Swingin' Medallions  -- "Double Shot (Of my baby's love)" off Double Shot


  My mother probably has the best musical taste of anyone I know.  She raised me on the The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, CCR, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Bob Dylan, and Fleetwood Mac, but she wasn't at all stuck in the 60's and 70's.  She constantly bought new folk and rock albums and would stay up to watch Conan O'Brien for the musical guests.  While her musical tastes kept evolving, she remained rooted: she has always been convinced that The Who and the Kinks are the best rock bands in history.  I feel like my love of music, of lyrics and intonation, of energy, came from her, so when I hear both old and new music I'll often think of her and think about whether or not she would like it.

  These guidelines she set for me also meant that I missed out on a lot of music growing up -- she never listened to Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie.  Two years ago I called her specifically to ask her why she never played any Velvet Underground.  So those would all come to me later.

   My father, on the other hand, stopped accepting new music into his brain sometime in 1969.  He listened to the Beach Boys, and Tom Rush, and early Beatles.  The latest song I've ever heard him really like was "The Weight" by the Band, which is fair because it's probably just about the best song ever recorded.  Because his car radio was glued to the Oldies station for my entire childhood, and there was such a limited catalogue of popular music recorded from 1955-1965, I learned all of those songs back and forth like he did.

   This song definitely comes from my dad's camp; it has silly and evocative lyrics, a loud and fast drum beat, and the hollow sound of a garage band.  Honestly, I know my dad knows this song but I can't say if it's one of his favorites, but every time I hear I think of him, which makes me happy.   I unabashedly love this song.

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