70s White Guy Music

For a long time, I thought that America was one of my secret vices.

The band, not the country.

Whenever I'd hear "Sister Golden Hair" on the radio, I'd get a warm feeling inside and think, I sure do like America, but I certainly can't tell anyone. I didn't get quite as warm a feeling for "A Horse With No Name" but it was warm enough not to disabuse me of my notion.

Yesterday, I was disabused.

When we can't listen to our favorite low-end-of-the-dial radio station (i.e. when we are out of range, or it's not the acoustic show, the kids' show, the musicals show, the Israeli show, or the a cappella show), we tend to listen to oldies stations (this is a literal we, not a royal we--if it's just me, I'll listen to hip-hop, top 40, alternative, or classical, because I'm that kind of consistent and dogmatic gal, but with the girls, it's usually oldies). We especially like the station with the tag line "The Songs You Grew Up With," because honest to god, it really is the songs I grew up with: 70s white people album rock (well, that's not exactly right, becauseI used to play dancing school to Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow, I entered the world of radio with early 70s top 40--"Billy, Don't Be a Hero," "The Night Chicago Died," "Spinning Wheel," "Cat's in the Cradle"--and by the mid 70s I was already getting into reggae, but it will do as shorthand).

So yesterday we had quite a bit of driving, and for some reason unbeknownst to me there was preaching on the low-end-of-the-dial radio station, so we put on "The Songs You Grew Up With," and the very next song was "Sister Golden Hair." God, I love this song, I thought, and prepared to sing along. But instead, for some reason, I listened. God, that song sucks. Thin voices, wafty instrumentals, stupid lyrics. What was I thinking?

Then I started to reconsider my admitted love for 70s white guy music. Maybe I only think I like this music, I thought, maybe it's just habit, maybe it's just that I recognize it which makes me think I like it, confusing familiarity for affection. But no, I really and truly do love Elton John. And then--can you see where this is going? yes, it really happened--Elton John came on! "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Now that is a great song. Why? Great lyrics, full voice, flamboyantly melodramatic music. Like Queen. I still love Queen too. (Is there a thread here? Why, of course. How could we have been surprised when Freddie Mercury died of AIDS? I mean, the band's name was QUEEN.) (Though I still like the Eagles, and they are awfully heterosexual.)

But then, and you're really not going to believe this, later on in the ice cream store, on a different oldies station ( they all must buy the same tapes from whatever mega-music company it is), "Sister Golden Hair" came on again! And again I thought it was stupid! And then, yes, really, I'm not kidding, "Tiny Dancer" came on, and it was great! (And I do indeed love that scene on the bus in Almost Famous.)

Final score: Elton John - 2, America - 0.

Conclusion: Some 70s white guy music is worth listening to, and some isn't. But the rest of you already knew that.

[There is a kind of sweet reason I thought I liked America, which is that when I was 17, I spent a month working at a school for the children of migrant workers in Florida, living with a woman who I really liked a lot, and she liked America. But I hope she doesn't anymore.]