Isn't it fascinating how certain songs just stick in your head, freezing a time, a place, and a feeling? And isn't it even more fascinating how the music you often have the greatest sentimentality for are those from your childhood and early teen years - not your young adult sow-your-wild-oats years as one would guess?
At least that's the case for me. I love the eclectic mixes I've come up with on Pandora.com. I have a "Rickie Lee Jones" radio station that plays new stuff like "Flood" and "Feist" and "Rilo Kiley" but it also plays (of course) Rickie Lee Jones, and Joni Mitchell and yes, Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady" which I believe became a hit in 1977 during the holiday season when I was in Jr. High. I love that song. It reminds me of the holidays, and a dance, and the lights down low with little twinkle lights and a Christmas tree in the corner, and a moment in time when I first realized a boy I liked very very much liked me too (boy it took a long time to land him - and then he would go on to break my heart many times all through high school). But this song reminds me of happy romantic anticipation and it always makes me smile when I hear it. Also, I had a brand new pair of chocolate brown velvet pants for that dance. With the way they're mixing the 70's and the 80's these days isn't it about time for velvet jeans to come back in style? I had a couple of lovely pairs, including a fabulous dove grey pair from "Gloria Vanderbilt." Oh how Anderson Cooper must have cringed over his Mom showing up in her own t.v. commercials, but I loved her. Of course we wore our pants so tight back then that I had to lay down on my bed to zip them up.
Wow, I just realized that it's 30 years ago for the Bob Welch song! I'm not sure I even want to think about how old the song "Come On Get Happy" from the Partridge Family is that played when I first put on the station tonight. Oh well, time flies when you're having fun.