R.E.M., “Sweetness Follows”

Posted on February 19, 2007 by Jon Martin

It’s these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and thunder
Yeah, yeah we were… altogether…
Lost in our little lives.

I bought my very first copy of “Automatic for the People” at Faneuil Hall in Boston, on the day it came out. My uncle Troy decided to take me into Boston for the day, and I was very pleased to be going to Faneuil Hall. I had made one previous trip there that resulted in a positively delicious hamburger from Frog Lane – a below-ground restaurant that charmed me with its novelty. (I was thirteen. Leave me be, thank you.) Come to think of it, I believe that I had gone there with my uncle Michael who, if memory serves, was likely trying to impress his new girlfriend with his child-handling skills. (He’ll return later, in another entry.) Either way, the burger was pretty tasty. This is, of course, neither here nor there. The best trip, by far, was this one with Troy. Continue reading →

Muppets, “Rainbow Connection”

Posted on February 16, 2007 by Jon Martin

Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?
I’ve heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it.
It’s something that I’m supposed to be.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

It’s not the first song I can remember. I’d like to say it’s “Puff the Magic Dragon,” but, sadly, it’s probably Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” (We had MTV from the outset, and so, as you might guess, I actually got to see a video or two before they switched over to the “All Real World, All the Time” format.) And, while this isn’t about Dee Snider and company, I do have an odd anecdote about that song. Until I was five years old, we lived in an apartment building near Fort Hill in Lowell. For reasons too ancient to be remembered, I found myself four years old and mad as Hell. I believe this had something to do with the landlord and his policy of keeping pets from entering the building. Or, it may have been the loss of my favorite Looney Tunes plate to a cruel microwave. In any event, having studied my television well, I decided that the only sensible thing to do was to take my cassette single of “We’re Not Gonna Take It” outside, along with my mother’s tape deck, and to play it at full volume from on top of a nearby hill. I was so sure that the Man would crumble, and that pets would be let in. (Or, perhaps, the plate would be magically restored.) This was, actually, the first day that I got a bee sting, as I chose a poor hill, and I ended up with a sore forehead and still no cats or plates. I think that might be as close as I’ll ever get to a “down on his luck rocker” story. Ah well. Continue reading →

Songs That Saved Your Life

Posted on February 16, 2007 by Jon Martin

“But don’t forget the songs that made you cry,
Or the songs that saved your life.
Yes, you’re older now. And you’re a clever swine.
But they were the only ones who ever stood by you…”

-The Smiths, “Rubber Ring”

So, I’ve been working on this play. It’s called “The Years I’m Missing,” and, among other things, it’s about nostalgia, music, internal language, and “coming of age.” I’m stuck. I have been for a long time. Given that so many of the narrative components are about the principle character’s (me, mostly) experience with music, I thought it might be interesting to start working through my writer’s block by working on little essays about particular songs of importance to me. What’s that? Why, yes, I have read Nick Hornby’s excellent “31 Songs.” Why do you ask?

Ok, so I stole the idea.

It’s still worth doing, isn’t it? I can’t promise these things will happen all the time, but I am planning at least a dozen, and I hope to have one a week. You’ll be able to follow the progress by simply selecting this category from the list. Oh, and I’d really love to talk about any of them with anyone who might want to comment. Music’s best when you can share it. So, there we go. I won’t be listing them in order of importance, as that would be both insane and impossible, but I will likely start with those that are easiest to talk about.

Be brave, kind reader.