Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Music

I like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I own the greatest hits CD, which my daughter currently enjoys listening to, especially "Free Falling" and "Don't come around here no more." I don't blame her, as I enjoy those two songs, as well.

When Tom Petty first released his "Full Moon Fever" album in 1988, I was an impressionable teenager. So when I first heard "Running down a dream," I thought, well that's ok. Then my friend told me how much the song sucked, and how much he didn't care for Tom Petty. So, being the independent teen that I was, I disliked Tom Petty as well. I was my own man!

One day, I was talking to this girl that I knew, a cute, smart, friendly girl who was a little older than me (2 grades) and who I was somewhat smitten with. The topic turned to music, and I casually mentioned how I disliked the new Tom Petty album. The girl explained that she thought it was kind of neat, and especially liked the video for "Running Down a Dream." You know what? The next time I saw "Running Down a Dream" on MTV, I watched it, and I realized that I didn't dislike the song. And if I didn't dislike the song, then perhaps I oughtn't dislike Tom Petty altogether.

Some 12 years after the conversation that helped me make my own decision about liking Tom Petty, I married that girl who told me she liked Tom Petty. It's strange, the things that stay in your memory.

2 comments:

nuje said...

Tom Petty is one of my favorites. My lady fan likes TP too. He is one of the few musical "artists" we both like. Mostly she likes music that I affectionately call "crap". And, I typically like music she affectionately calls..."crap".

Anonymous said...

I always knew you liked her. I love how the Universe brought you two together.

Tom Petty, cool. Beatles, crap (especially after 2 1/2 years of them, 24/7 at full volume - even now, five years later).