Monday, January 26, 2009
Time in a Bottle
There is room in my world for all kinds of music, even ‘70s AM radio singer/songwriter stuff. I have a playlist I put together on iTunes with songs by Dave Loggins and Leo Sayer and 10cc and Rickie Lee Jones. But, to my ear, the three greatest songs to come out of that specific genre of that specific era are “Leader of the Band/Washington Post March” by Dan Fogelberg, “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, and “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce. And if you’re of a certain age, that last song goes hand-in-hand with the Muppet Show. Sentimental, nostalgic, treacle-y, sugar-sweet awesomeness.
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3 comments:
Good calls. What is interesting to me about those songs is that even as a kid -- I'm 42, so I first heard "Time in a Bottle" and "Cats in the Cradle" probably when I was eight or nine -- I sensed that there was something heavy or meaningful about them that I didn't hear in other songs. Another one that made me feel that way was "One Tin Solider," though that's probably because I saw "Billy Jack" at way too young of an age.
I agree. We’re just a few years apart in age, and I too could sense the weightiness of those songs. They affected me as a kid and, through both nostalgia and my own sensitivities, I listen to them differently now but still recognize the truth and sincerity behind them.
I think songs like Ben Folds' "Still Fighting It" and Peter Gabriel's "Father, Son" are cut from a similar cloth.
How did I miss the Muppet Show version? I don't remember that - and we were avid watchers.
I also really like "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon (late 70's?). Need to look up the words to that one so I can sing it without the soundtrack.
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