She's Eclectic

Last night I told a friend that I was a little scared of hearing this song over the holidays. It can make me cry in normal times, but also, Mom loved it. 

I decided to listen to it, to test my reaction. I did not break down. It seemed like an affirmation. Like, we did celebrate her home. And she's still here, and she's OK. My therapist's view of where she is now has really stuck. I keep offering caveats – "I don't know for sure, could just be fade to black, I know…" But that stubborn, wonderful knowing she's still in the Universe and more than OK stays with me.

I have looked for this for decades now. My 45 is long gone and it doesn't appear to be commercially available now. I like it better than the album version. It has a nice choral part in the chorus. I like the "you can feel it" repeated at the end.

Update: I found it! On The Best of James Taylor. Another little piece of my happy past retrieved.

I will always think of my cat Vincent when I hear this. I would grab him into my arms and whirl him around like a dance partner when this was playing. I remember sunshine and silly sweetness. I will never get over losing him.

I heard this when I got back in the car after Donna's funeral service.

This song captures 1980 better than any other. All that "soft rock" that I was so embarrassed to admit I loved. Not anymore. The sun shines when I hear this. I wear leotards and have my hair cut short and spend a lot of time at the Classic Motor Company drinking chablis spritzers.

Another song without a YouTube video. The lyrics are beautiful, reminding me of my first years in SoCal in the early ’00s. People slag on California, Southern California, and Los Angeles in particular. I love it. Maybe because it's such a center of creative energy. Yes, there's a lot of icky, slick, ego-driven crap that goes along with that, but such is the way of the world. Don't lose track of the love.

4/6/2020 – Found it! So beautiful.

This has the golden glow about it of the 80s I loved. It wasn't all New Wave and purple jumpsuits. Maybe it was being in the Young Adult phase, but I was caught up in a sense of fun and and possibility then that is perfectly captured by this song. 

I love this so much. Sweet piano jazz, horrifying lyrics. The backstory in the YouTube note is kind of sad, though.

There are many songs from back in the day that I've gotten thoroughly sick of. Not this one. "Seamstress for the band" jumped out at me, as I was just getting into embroidering and sewing. The album cover of Madman Across the Water is one of the most personally influential pieces of art I've ever seen. 

4/6/20 – Found a better video. The best, in fact. I love L.A.!

I heard this song on a promo for the series premiere of The Walking Dead. It gave me a completely different impression of what the show would be about. I suppose someone thought they were clever with the "Walker Brothers." And the song is fittingly pessimistic. But I thought it would be more artistic and contemplative than it turned out to be, with Stephen King-esque nods to pop culture throughout. Whatever, I remembered the song from the 60s and it captures the era very well.