Rant #3,564: Music, Music, Music

Monday was one of the least busy weekdays I have had in some time.

I had some work to do, did it, and as I said in yesterday's Rant, I didn't use my car at all, and it is still legally parked in a handicapped spot 

So I watched more TV than I usually do, did my exercises, including two walks back and forth to our mailbox--which is in a separate building in the complex where we live--and pretty much didn't do too much else.

I did digitize a few records in my collection, and that is always fun, and it eats up plenty of time, in yesterday's case, about two hours.

I record all of this music, put it on a thumb drive, and VOILA!, I have some great music to listen to while driving.

But it isn't just digitizing these records ...

I save the music to several different folders on my computer, so it takes some time with each song I do to complete a recording and move onto another one.

I have been digitizing my records for about 15 years or so, so I have thousands of songs in the MP3 format stored away ...

And the great thing is that I can probably go 15 more years and not be even nearly finished in digitizing everything that I have on vinyl records, LPs and 45s.

Yesterday, I was digitizing a couple of my singles, and it struck me, maybe for the first time, how much time has elapsed since these records came out and where we are in the current time.

I wasn't even digitizing my older records yesterday, doing some from the 1970s and 1980s, but it just struck me about the time ... heck, these records are over 40 years old!

I bought these particular records myself when they originally were out, and they say that your record collection defines who you are, and who you were when those records were originally released, and the singles I digitized yesterday certainly define me, back then, and now.

Meat Loaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" is the perfect record to digitize right now, what with the World Series currenty in the spotlight.

However, while it was a huge radio song way back in 1977, it was not much of a hit on the Hot 100.

It is the only song that I like from the artist, and I guess, back in 1977, it was a must have for me, because Yankees broadcaster and Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto is on the record, doing a play by play of ... well, if you know the song, you know it was about something other than our national pastime.

I guess the giggly factor was there for me at 20 years old when it came out, and I really cannot believe this song came out 47 years ago.

I did a few other records, including two from Men At Work, both from the early 80s.

"Who Can It Be Now" and "Overkill" were huge hits in 1982 and 1983, and I remember that I waited on line for a few hours at Jones Beach to try to buy tickets to see them in concert, but I ended up leaving because there was no way I was getting a ticket with the line as long as it was.

But those songs were all over the radio more than 40 years ago ... I was in my mid 20s, and I really liked the Australian band Men At Work.

More than 40 years have elapsed? I can't believe it!

Listening to the Meat Loaf and Men At Work in 2024, I have to say that the music is still good, still fun, and still very enjoyable to my ears.

I can't wait for the experience of listening to the music in my car, where I have always believed that you get the best listening experience.

But listening to songs from 1977 and the early 1980s in 2024 is a fun, an interesting thing to do, and gives me a window into where I was mentally and emotionally way back when.

Listening to music from 40, 50, 60 years ago is one of the few ways you can time travel, without leaving the present day.

Where have all the years gone?

And why was the music so much better back then than it is now?