freakboy muses music: Anachronistic Origin

I have decided to focus on music for the month of September.  Before I blog about any particular performer or album, I feel I should give a brief account of my first taste of music. Perhaps it will give you a better understanding of these music-related posts and of me in general.

I was born in the 1970's and for the first ten years of my life I predominately listened to what my sisters and I fondly referred to as Mom's Songs.  My mom had an eclectic collection of records that I could not get enough of.  I don't know what my American peers were listening to in their first decade of life, but my ears were full of Elvis, Fabian, Debbie Reynolds, Brian Hyland, The Coasters, Annette Funicello, Johnny Preston, Nancy Sinatra, Lonnie Donegan and a little Scatman Crothers(*), among many other artists.   *(my mom was hip)

These songs were my 33/45 rpm audio world, but other music managed to slip in.  Some from a sister or two...The Beatles, AC/DC and the soundtrack to GREASE.  Some from radio....I have a vivid memory of the aroma of my mom's pancakes, mingled with a hint of my dad's Old Spice aftershave, while Blondie sang "Sunday Girl" into my heart, mind and soul.  Even my dad's seemingly endless love of 8-track polka and peculiar country songs(**) may have ultimately contributed to my eclectic view of the music landscape.  **(sample lyric: "I love coffee in a cup...and grass.")

In hindsight, it wasn't until Michael Jackson's THRILLER hit the charts that I really took active notice of "new" music.  Then thanks to the music I saw on MTV and HBO's Video Jukebox, my view expanded, and continued to expand over the decades thanks to a relative and a friend or two sharing their interests, plus from a few unexpected sources, which I may or may not blog about this month. 

Now, many years later, I find my view at an almost limitless expanse thanks to streaming services.  So much music literally available at my fingertips, and while I still listen to Mom's Songs, I keep an open mind and ear to new, weird, and interesting music I may come across online.

Freak Out,

JLH

P.S.  Here is an old post about a turning point in my music history...
http://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2016/03/only-happy-when-its-1995.html