Saturday, September 19, 2009

Things my kid will listen to

Jim Croce


My relationship with Jim Croce goes back a looooooong way. He was my dad's favorite, and when I was little I apparently ruined his Jim Croce 8-track (yes, I'm that old.) And later on in life, I bought him Jim Croce Greatest Hits on CD, so I made amends. But oh, my gosh, did I hear about it in the years between....

I grew up listening to "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown," "You Don't Mess Around with Jim," "Operator," and "Time in a Bottle." My dad's favorite was "I Got a Name," and we danced to "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" at my wedding.

Jim Croce's story is really sad - he died young in a plane crash, leaving behind his wife and young son (named Adrian, coincidentally.) Every time I hear his music, I think about my dad and how much I love him and how lucky I was (and still am) to have him around. I know, I know, it's kind of a downer, but his music means a lot to me, and I want to pass that down. And everyone needs to know that "you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind" - it's vital information!

7 comments:

  1. OK, wait........Jim Croce?

    Aaron, help her, please. :)

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  2. Diversity in musical exposure is key. If you don't expose her to a wide variety of music and musicians, she could very well grow up to love whatever "Spice Girls" group is popular when she's a tween. And then you would have to kill her... or yourself. Rock on with your Croce.

    I'd like to add Buck Strickland to your list. His songs make me laugh so hard I could pee myself. They're not intended to be funny, which makes it all that much better. I assume, too, that you've got Ray Stevens on your list for humor...

    Additionally, I think that you should have her start listening to the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack now. It's a classic. :)

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  3. As a musician having performed everything from classical to blues, I wholeheartedly agree that musical diversity is the key. Spice Girls.....Lord deliver us. Bottom line of course, and I was just kidding above, really (sort of).......if you want Croce, Croce you shall have. But I have two good-natured suggestions, you know, both as a musician and also as a not-really-an-aunt aunt and all:
    1) There's a lot of great music out there without subjecting the poor thing to disco, and
    2)Ummmm........Aaron??????????? Pleeeease??
    Love to everybody,
    Melissa *$

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  4. Ray Stevens is a MUST! I listened to him with Granddaddy Wimberley. I need to do a blog entry specifically devoted to the magic that is Dirty Dancing, but she won't get to see that until at least age 12. And Jim Croce is NOT disco! He's a folk singer, and he's a sentimental favorite. But I'll totly have her listen to the BeeGees just for their delightful kitchiness. Now THAT'S some disco :)

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  5. Oh Lord, I know who Jim Croce is.......I listened to him in the 70's. And when I got to the no-disco request, I was going to specifically request No BeeGees! So...I give up. But here's what I'll do......first, I'll stay out of the music discussions on this blog, because I will turn it into a blog about music! And second......I will babysit! And, oh yes, we will listen to music.........GOOD MUSIC! Just like I did with Aaron when he was a kid........
    Love,
    Aunt Melissa who will save this poor child's musical education :)

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  6. Hey, while you're at it, why don't you throw in some Barry Manilow, Donny & Marie Osmond, and Britney Spears? Oh, and boy bands...........LOTS of boy bands!
    And now I really am going to stop. :)
    Love you.......
    Melissa
    (Don't worry, Addison, you WILL get to hear some GOOD music!!)

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  7. See, I think that there is real value in exposing this baby to Britney and boy bands.

    Real value #1 is that by exposing her to bad music, you will only increase her appreciation of good music.

    Real value #2 is that you can show her through non-example of what she doesn't want to be like. (For example, she will want to wear shoes into gas station rest rooms...)

    Real value #3 is that - like it or not - all of the aforementioned "musicians" have made at least one awesomely bad song. Thank you, VH1, for coming up with this label. It has made it acceptable to admit liking songs like "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "I'm Too Sexy" because you explain that you like their badness...

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