Well-done, Bryan. Just reading the words "Kiss on My List" takes me straight back to (good) memories of 1980. That piano lick right at the start feels like home to me. It's funny that nostalgia was thought to be a disorder.
Thanks, Jim! Glad you liked this one. At first I'd put 'She's Gone' on the playlist, only to discover I'd already used it (my spreadsheet has become invaluable) and that it was also from 1973, so a bit too early. Though it certainly sounds freshly 80s in its way. I was also surprised to find nostalgia had been considered a disorder - though my almost 17 y/o was telling me the other day that she hates nostalgia for the way it makes her feel, so I can understand how it might have been seen as such. And for a real 1980/81 nostalgic hit, play Hall and Oates's 'You Make My Dreams' and follow that up with Diana Ross's 'Upside Down.' I just did and almost made myself ill!
This is such a fun and informative post. Reflecting on your Proust quote, I’m struck by how often our nostalgia focuses on positive memories, and we forget (or repress) all the struggles and sadness we experienced at the time. There’s a reason Sedikides chose to leave UNC; it wasn’t paradise (as Duke fans would quickly point out). When I find myself being wistful about periods of my life, I remind myself that every period has its own challenges along with joy. Thanks for providing the opportunity to reflect.
Very glad you liked this one! I know what you mean about reflecting on the past - I find I frequently (like most people, I guess) look at the past through a filter which seems to remove the negative. And balance requires a memory of both good and bad - if only to remain honest.
Loved the little exploration of nostalgia. It made me think that any emotion, when taken to an extreme, might be a form of mental illness. And wow am I rusty in reading poetry! I really had to slow myself way down to settle inside that Shakespeare bit. Thanks as always Brian for the opportunity to reflect on thoughts other than my own.
Really glad you enjoyed it! To be honest, when 'nostalgia' popped into my head I wasn't really sure where it would take me. And as for poetry, it's been years since I've read any, but I've recently started teaching English again for the first time in over 20 years with the result that I'm having to get back into it - and with my more mature head on, I'm appreciating it more than I ever have before. And Shakespeare and Coleridge in particular. For two sublime poems, check out Coleridge's 'Frost at Midnight' and 'Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement.' The website poetryfoundation.org has the poems, along with a reading guide (which is essential). Let me know what you think - I'm always up for a chat about this stuff!
Great variety in a fascinating post, Bryan! LOVE the Playlist! All have been bangers for me as they came out (even worked out a heartbreak thru "Kiss on My List" in early '80s)! Thanks for the shout-out, too! Carol's a living legend, no doubt, and her music is often overlooked....but, no longer! Thanks again!-Brad
So glad you liked the post! To be honest, I wasn't really sure where I was going with this one when 'nostalgia' popped into my head - but I knew the playlist was going to have to have Paul Simon and my favourite track from Saturday Night Fever. It was your post on Carol Burnett that brought it all to completion, though - thanks for that! Bryan
Inspiration...it's liquid, mysterious, and lurking! Thank Carol's timing on the big 9-0, and my curiosity ("Wait a minute....don't I remember seeing some of her albums in the stores I worked in, and seeing her sing on her show?") in propelling her recent article to the surface!
I'm working on a Playlist, now, that, however much I may have had it formatted in my head beforehand, is thematically and artistically (in other words, quite naturally and organically...no self-indulgence!) ballooning into more of a monster than I figured!
But, I may as well let it live...it should be pretty cool when finished! It's a playlist on an Alice Cooper song that's not only an "Inside Tracks" on its various covers, but includes songs that were quite obviously influenced by it/him, even to the point of lawsuit in one case! This wacky Substack stuff......kinda fun, ain't it?
Oh, yes. Inspiration is certainly fluid - and only enhanced by the inherent wackiness of Substack! Thursday's issue is on Weird Fiction - and at the moment I'm trawling through various tracks for my playlist. I always road-test them - as a parent of two very active and social teens I'm in the car a lot - and I find the car is one of the most honest places to listen to a 22 minute list. To my mind, if the mix doesn't work while I'm trying to get across the M3 and then working my way through the back roads of Berkshire ... it doesn't work! And yes, it's definitely kinda fun - and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Your Thursday issue sounds spot-on for me during my teen dating years....oh, those awkward drive-ins, the forced bowling dates when I........wait a minute.....oh, "FICTION"! I'm sorry, I was seeing an extraneous "r" in there!! Hey, maybe another Playlist?? Inspiration, y'know!!!😱
I tried to post a 1999 photo of the Brevard gang at a Chinese restaurant in Arden but that doesn't seem to be allowed. This is actually a good thing as I did not seek permission from the other eight in the photo! Seven of the nine of us still in town - its the wandering writers who have ventured out - yourself and Joel.
Wow. I'd like to see that photo - maybe send it as an email to me? Can't believe it's been so long since 1999 ... and I'm thinking that must have been the Asian Garden or Grill or something like that?!
Well-done, Bryan. Just reading the words "Kiss on My List" takes me straight back to (good) memories of 1980. That piano lick right at the start feels like home to me. It's funny that nostalgia was thought to be a disorder.
Thanks, Jim! Glad you liked this one. At first I'd put 'She's Gone' on the playlist, only to discover I'd already used it (my spreadsheet has become invaluable) and that it was also from 1973, so a bit too early. Though it certainly sounds freshly 80s in its way. I was also surprised to find nostalgia had been considered a disorder - though my almost 17 y/o was telling me the other day that she hates nostalgia for the way it makes her feel, so I can understand how it might have been seen as such. And for a real 1980/81 nostalgic hit, play Hall and Oates's 'You Make My Dreams' and follow that up with Diana Ross's 'Upside Down.' I just did and almost made myself ill!
This is such a fun and informative post. Reflecting on your Proust quote, I’m struck by how often our nostalgia focuses on positive memories, and we forget (or repress) all the struggles and sadness we experienced at the time. There’s a reason Sedikides chose to leave UNC; it wasn’t paradise (as Duke fans would quickly point out). When I find myself being wistful about periods of my life, I remind myself that every period has its own challenges along with joy. Thanks for providing the opportunity to reflect.
Very glad you liked this one! I know what you mean about reflecting on the past - I find I frequently (like most people, I guess) look at the past through a filter which seems to remove the negative. And balance requires a memory of both good and bad - if only to remain honest.
Loved the little exploration of nostalgia. It made me think that any emotion, when taken to an extreme, might be a form of mental illness. And wow am I rusty in reading poetry! I really had to slow myself way down to settle inside that Shakespeare bit. Thanks as always Brian for the opportunity to reflect on thoughts other than my own.
Really glad you enjoyed it! To be honest, when 'nostalgia' popped into my head I wasn't really sure where it would take me. And as for poetry, it's been years since I've read any, but I've recently started teaching English again for the first time in over 20 years with the result that I'm having to get back into it - and with my more mature head on, I'm appreciating it more than I ever have before. And Shakespeare and Coleridge in particular. For two sublime poems, check out Coleridge's 'Frost at Midnight' and 'Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement.' The website poetryfoundation.org has the poems, along with a reading guide (which is essential). Let me know what you think - I'm always up for a chat about this stuff!
Oh hell, I tried those two poems straight up and think I caught at best 10%! I’ll need to try the guide alongside. Stay tuned.
Great variety in a fascinating post, Bryan! LOVE the Playlist! All have been bangers for me as they came out (even worked out a heartbreak thru "Kiss on My List" in early '80s)! Thanks for the shout-out, too! Carol's a living legend, no doubt, and her music is often overlooked....but, no longer! Thanks again!-Brad
So glad you liked the post! To be honest, I wasn't really sure where I was going with this one when 'nostalgia' popped into my head - but I knew the playlist was going to have to have Paul Simon and my favourite track from Saturday Night Fever. It was your post on Carol Burnett that brought it all to completion, though - thanks for that! Bryan
Inspiration...it's liquid, mysterious, and lurking! Thank Carol's timing on the big 9-0, and my curiosity ("Wait a minute....don't I remember seeing some of her albums in the stores I worked in, and seeing her sing on her show?") in propelling her recent article to the surface!
I'm working on a Playlist, now, that, however much I may have had it formatted in my head beforehand, is thematically and artistically (in other words, quite naturally and organically...no self-indulgence!) ballooning into more of a monster than I figured!
But, I may as well let it live...it should be pretty cool when finished! It's a playlist on an Alice Cooper song that's not only an "Inside Tracks" on its various covers, but includes songs that were quite obviously influenced by it/him, even to the point of lawsuit in one case! This wacky Substack stuff......kinda fun, ain't it?
Oh, yes. Inspiration is certainly fluid - and only enhanced by the inherent wackiness of Substack! Thursday's issue is on Weird Fiction - and at the moment I'm trawling through various tracks for my playlist. I always road-test them - as a parent of two very active and social teens I'm in the car a lot - and I find the car is one of the most honest places to listen to a 22 minute list. To my mind, if the mix doesn't work while I'm trying to get across the M3 and then working my way through the back roads of Berkshire ... it doesn't work! And yes, it's definitely kinda fun - and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Your Thursday issue sounds spot-on for me during my teen dating years....oh, those awkward drive-ins, the forced bowling dates when I........wait a minute.....oh, "FICTION"! I'm sorry, I was seeing an extraneous "r" in there!! Hey, maybe another Playlist?? Inspiration, y'know!!!😱
To be fair, when I was a teenager I took inspiration from anywhere, everywhere, anyone and and everyone. Hmm. That'd be an interesting playlist!
I tried to post a 1999 photo of the Brevard gang at a Chinese restaurant in Arden but that doesn't seem to be allowed. This is actually a good thing as I did not seek permission from the other eight in the photo! Seven of the nine of us still in town - its the wandering writers who have ventured out - yourself and Joel.
Wow. I'd like to see that photo - maybe send it as an email to me? Can't believe it's been so long since 1999 ... and I'm thinking that must have been the Asian Garden or Grill or something like that?!