To an obedient Catholic girl growing up in an affluent, sheltered Boston suburb, Billy Joel’s 1978 hit Only the Good Die Young felt like an invitation.
For me, there was no greater growth experience than college. The college experience is like no other. The sheer number of new people and new ideas you’re exposed to in a short timeframe is bound to change even the most “set in their ways” 18-year old.
I was lucky my parents paid the bills and my college had no core requirements whatsoever, so I could take whatever classes I wanted—from poetry to Russian history. (Amazingly, I didn’t take a single science class.) Throw in my semester abroad, internships, guest speakers, drug experimentation, and a winter trip to the Soviet Union, and it really was a mind-expanding time for me.
It’s sad that the liveaway college experience has become so expensive and debt-producing. It’s not fair. I think the four-year model needs to go. Three years of college is plenty, and would be significantly cheaper. “Uni” – as they call it in the UK – is only three years. I mean, maybe a few select majors (like Engineering) need four years, but everyone else (Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, Business, etc.) could be done in three.
Speaking of the college experience, we went to see One Love, the Bob Marley biopic, based on DanLovesFilm’s recommendation (American critics be damned) and I had fun. There are definitely some weaknesses in the script and I had a hard time understanding the Jamaican/Rastafarian accent, but the music is the music and it’s great. Marley is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir and he’s 🔥
So, GenX: I recommend you have yourself a cocktail or a weed gummy (or both) and go see One Love. You’ll have a good time jamming in your theater seat to one of our key college soundtracks.
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One thing that makes me feel patriotic is beautiful, sweeping American vistas. I have been known to break out singing “America, the Beautiful” in public. I think it should be our national anthem. The words are better than the “Star Spangled Banner.” And most people can sing it. It’s not as hard.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountains majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
I’m also a big fan of “This Land is your Land.” I can – and will – join in singing harmony whenever I hear it.
This land is your land, and this land is my land
From California to the New York island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
This land was made for you and me.
Here’s the Woody Guthrie original version from 1940.
Other countries have spectacular scenery too, but ours is so vast and varied—from sea to shining sea.
🎵 🇺🇸 🎶
LAST ONE: the iconic Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2023. Pictures don’t really do it justice. There’s a quiet awe to the place that perhaps this video captures just a tiny bit.
If you made it to the end of this post, THANK YOU for looking at all my pics. I loved taking them.
🇺🇸
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Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.
I don’t know about my ideal day, but last night was pretty much my ideal Grammys. GenX, am I right?
I mean, Tracy Chapman performing “Fast Car” with Luke Combs (her voice still sounds great and she looks fantastic), Annie Lenox singing “Nothing Compares To You” in memory of Sinéad, Fantasia Barrino as Tina Turner, Billy Joel with his first new song in 30 years, and JONI MITCHELL absolutely wrecking us with that rendition of “Both Sides Now” – at age 80, after a brain aneurysm.
Well done, Grammys.
I also give two thumbs up to the new Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop.” It’s about the night they recorded We Are the World in 1985, which won Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson a Grammy for best song.
What books do you want to read?
Bloganuary is asking the wrong question today. The Oscar nominations are out, so this is the time of year when you try to see some (or all) of the nominated films.
I’m in the “outraged” camp that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig did not get nominated for Best Actress and Best Director. WTF!
Here’s where I stand on the Best Picture nominees. (I’d like to see all of them eventually.)
American Fiction – seeing it tonight in a movie theater
Anatomy of a Fall – haven’t seen it yet
Barbie – saw it twice in movie theaters; LOVED it; it should win
The Holdovers – saw it in a movie theater, but probably would’ve been the same on a small screen; enjoyed the New England connection and scenes; more melancholy than I thought it was going to be
Killers of the Flower Moon – watched it last night on Apple TV; important story; beautifully made film, but I fell asleep a couple times (I knew it was 3.5 hours going in, but I had a drink and a weed gummy anyway, which was probably a mistake); DiCaprio is still hot – even when he’s playing pure evil with bad teeth
And yes, it’s a TRUE story. All Americans should watch it. I suggest coffee.
Maestro – watched it on Netflix a couple weeks ago; I’m a huge fan of Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway and classical music and have sung it many times (I even had a friend sing “One Hand, One Heart” from West Side Story at my wedding), so I was disappointed that there wasn’t more focus on his musical greatness; the big conducting scene gave me goosebumps, but the film is more about his marriage; didn’t need to see Bernstein snorting coke; the montage of Bernstein’s music which plays over the closing credits is one of the best parts of the film (listen until the very end)
Oppenheimer – saw it in a theater; other than the big blast scene, I found it pretty boring; I couldn’t keep all the white guys straight; the film is mostly about politics and would’ve been better as a miniseries; overrated!
Past Lives – haven’t seen it yet
Poor Things – saw it on New Year’s in a movie theater; it’s a weird, niche art film with a lot of explicit sex; I appreciate that it was making some interesting points about women and shame, but it’s too bizarre to be nominated for best picture
The Zone of Interest – haven’t seen it yet
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
If you name a little girl Mary, someone’s bound to give her a lamb. “Lamby” was my very special stuffed animal when I was small. I’m not sure if the song reinforced my love of the toy, or vice versa, but Lamby was far and away my favorite stuffed animal. And I had a lot of stuffed animals.
Lamby was too important to toss and currently lives in a box in my attic.
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What colleges have you attended?
I went to just one college—Trinity College in Connecticut—four years, straight through, with one semester abroad. In many ways, it was the quintessential New England liberal arts college experience, except we were in a city (Hartford), not a rural area. Music was a big part of it. My college memories all come with a soundtrack. That’s one reason I love this blog. If you’re a GenX music lover (and who doesn’t love music?), you need to check it out. He’s a wonderful writer with a great playlist. It’s about as close to my college soundtrack as I can imagine.
Here are a couple photos from Trinity College Spring Weekend 1985. We had the Ramones and Til Tuesday on campus. Til Tuesday leader/songwriter Aimee Mann (with the platinum mohawk) had a huge hit with “Voices Carry,” so I think she was the headliner, but it looks like there was some slam dance/mosh pit energy happening during the Ramones. What could possibly go wrong? (According to classmates on Facebook, something bad did happen that day, but I have no recollection of it. I just remember a good ole time. Funny how memory can be selective like that.)
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I hope you enjoy this recording that my choir made in 2021 during the pandemic lockdown. We each recorded ourselves singing alone at home and then sent the files to our choir director. She mixed them together using some sort of software and it really sounds quite good, especially considering she’d never done anything like this before. It was also very meaningful to the choir, and to the congregation, to hear our voices blended again after being separated for so long. Many were struggling with loneliness and isolation.
The text “Dona nobis pacem” means “Grant us peace.” The melody has been passed orally, although it is sometimes attributed to Mozart. English-language hymnals usually mark it “Traditional.” It is sung as a round, so you can sing any of the three parts at any time. You’ll never be wrong.
Beyond use at church, the round has been sung around the world in secular settings as a prayer for peace.
Merry Christmas.
Peace on Earth.
What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.
OK, I’ve heard versions of this question many times and I think it’s meant to be rhetorical. It’s a way of encouraging people to take risks, dream big, and push their limits without the fear of failure holding them back. It’s a message of empowerment and motivation.
One new thing I tried in my forties was voice lessons. I had always liked to sing, but never had lessons. While taking the lessons, I sang in a few student recitals, which was no great accomplishment, because some of the singers were truly terrible. I even participated in a couple of musical theater productions as an adult. I’m glad I took the lessons, because now I have some vocal technique to rely on when singing with my choir. Occasionally the choir director asks me to sing a solo line or two. I typically accept the solo…and sometimes I actually enjoy singing it.
What’s your all-time favorite album?
My husband and I recently cleaned out our attic and ended up selling both of our vinyl record collections to a local record dealer. It was sad, but they were getting warped in the attic and we don’t even have a turntable anymore. His albums were worth more than mine because he had a lot of obscure hardcore/punk and niche local bands. Mine were mostly pop, with some Broadway mixed in.
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors and Carole King’s Tapestry were two that I really hated to give away, because I loved all the songs and the cover photos. But the album that I think I’ve listened to more than any other is Bob Marley Legend, which is basically a compilation of his greatest hits.
It came out in 1984 and was a college staple for me. Ten years later, we danced to “Is this Love” at our wedding reception and just recently listened to it for the umpteenth time on a short road trip. It has withstood the test of time!
So rise up this mornin’ and smile with the risin’ sun, cuz every little thing gonna be alright GenX. We’re good.
Addendum: My husband, who is a couple years older, would choose The Clash’s London Calling.
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