Music

Have you checked out Pandora yet? It is pretty cool. Based on one selection of music that you provide, it designs a radio station for you. I really liked the Billy Bragg radio station. It's nice to be exposed to different music. I'm a big WXPN fan (Philly station) and our little Elizabethtown College has a station and some interesting music turns up on there, but I'm not near as into it as I used to be. I remember when I was in high school and I lived and breathed what I heard on college radio. Although then it was Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. It was kind of far from where I lived so I had taken-apart coat hangers linked and stretching across my room to pick up the signal. I would make lists of the super-cool stuff that I wanted to buy. Being the early to mid 80s, all we had were lame stores in the mall and no such thing as Amazon. So, I'd keep my list and usually twice a year I would somehow get to New York City, either a school field trip or one of those bus trips where you could do your own thing and I'd go with my mom and I'd make a bee-line for Tower Records in the Village. I'd spend all my hard-earned babysitting money on things like the Communards or Housemartins or Billy Bragg or whatever. And just feel so cool for weeks and weeks. I particularly loved the Housemartins. I remember coming back and lording it over the few people I knew who knew who they were. The more obscure the band the better. I played "It's happy hour again" over and over. Then, one summer day when I was 15 or 16, I went to Hershey Park with my family. Blah. I'm not really a ride person, except for this one ride...The Himalaya, which basically went around in a circle really fast, up and down hills while some teenage ride attendant blasted music. And then you got to go backwards. And you felt a tiny bit cool for about 90 seconds, momentarily forgetting that your parents were waiting for you somewhere. I stood in line for awhile until finally it was my turn. I eyed up the ride attendent who was a teenage boy with long air. He will probably play some hair band or something equally gay and totally beneath my advanced musical tastes. I strapped myself in, eagerly awaiting the blast of loud music. What did he play? This long haired, AVERAGE TEENAGE BOY ride attendant? I wish I could go back and see the look on my face....I'm sure it was pure disgust.....the moment I realized he was playing "It's happy hour again" by the Housemartins.