james taylor | "something in the way she moves" | greatest hits | 1976
another effect of falling in love (and getting married) was that my romantic side finally prevailed (somewhat) over the ideological. no, i did not start listening to celine dion, but i did open up to what i call “parents’ music”.
“parents’ music” is different from the experimental, rebellious, psychedelic music i found in my mom’s college record collection. “parents’ music” is not the stuff they listened to while they were still edgy and open-minded; it’s not “fat angel” and “in-a-gadda-da-vida”. “parents’ music” is the mellow, corny singer-songwriters’ product that their generation coasted into in the mid-70s: james taylor, john denver, don mcclean. it’s what they listened to after marrying and bringing children into the world, after they’d lost their fire and settled into building portfolios. the idealism of the 60s had drowned in the hippies’ own arrogance and self-indulgence, and their music became self-centered and dominated by the relationship problems their promiscuity and selfishness brought down upon society as a modern plague. the angst created by their uncertainty about creating a prosperous life receded as they entered the professional workforce, and they replaced it with their easy-going greed. their music reflects this, i think.
anyway, now it was our turn – at 22 and 20, we were ready to try to be old and this stuff really appealed to us. i don’t listen to it much anymore, but i hear it all the time in the hallways at work. it evokes bitter-sweet memories of love found and opportunities forfeited.
