Soundtracks of my life, Song 2

As I began looking for songs that took me back to points in my life, I discovered an interesting thing. A lot of the earliest songs I can remember that I'd want to put on this list are from 1967. I thought about that for a little bit, and I realized that while I did listen to some music before that, it was really bubble gum stuff. I suppose at that time in my life, my tastes started to change, and music was more than just sounds. While I may add some of the songs prior to 1967 at some point, it is really the music from that point on that fits the idea of life soundtracks, at least for me.

What I realize in looking back is that music did not play an important role in my life prior to 1967. The significance of that fact does play a role in where songs fit into my life, anyway . . .

This next song is one that made me realize that. I spoke earlier of how the idea of girls started to change for me about this time. After that first school crush of Amy McLean, there was another girl, Beth Fuller. Beth and I shared classes, so I actually had the opportunity to talk to her, a definite benefit when try to actually "make the moves."

One of the social skills that I never really mastered was small talk, chitchat, whatever you call it when you are trying to sound interesting to another person, usually of the opposite sex. One of Beth and my early conversations concerned popular culture, i.e., what music you listened to. Not wanting to sound like a complete dork and say The Monkees (whom my sister had already informed me were not really a music group but a bubble gum concoction made up by TV), I struggled to think of a less "fad" kind of group. As I said earlier, music really wasn’t that important in my life to that point so I blurted out the first name that popped into my head, The Strawberry Alarm Clock.

In an early lesson about why you should not try to be extemporaneous without knowing at least a little bit about what you are talking about, I was then thrust into the following conversation.




Strawberry Alarm Clock. Do you like Incense and Peppermints?

What?

Incense and Peppermints

I . . . uh . . . have never heard of them.

It's not a them, it's a song. . by The Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Oh . . . yeah . . . what was I thinking. No, I really like their other stuff better.

Oh, you do? Like what?

Uh, I can't really think of the names right now, my minds drawing a blank. Uh . . . What about you?


Now a quick Google of The Strawberry Alarm Clock will show that they had one (count 'em) one Number One song, that being Incense and Peppermints. They did put out a couple of albums, but their next closest hit was a song called Tomorrow that made it to Number 23. Needless to say, I HAD NEVER HEARD IT.

So, I was caught, . . . bullshitting some girl I was trying to impress with my worldliness . . . at age 13. You'd think I would have learned my lesson right then. But like the dog I could always prove myself to be, this was just the first of several foot-in-mouth events of my life. Thankfully I survived, and I NEVER EXAGGERATE ANYMORE!!! Really . . . you don't believe me?

Anyway, here is the song that always reminds me of that conversation.

Oh . . . and as for Beth . . . well I overcame that little obstacle and she did become my first official girlfriend, thus teaching me the counter-lesson that bullshit did not ALWAYS walk.

One final note. This song is really a GREAT example of music from the psychedelic era, oh around 1967 to 1969, even if the band was pretty much a one hit wonder. This song is like, really far out man. Oh wow, don't laugh like that . . . you're freaking me out.