Thankful

 

I've been challenged. Well, sort of.

I'm not sure I have 30 days of it in me but I do think it's a good idea that I'm, er, thankful for.

Co-conspirator John Nash has been inspired by his muse to write about things he is thankful for. It's a wonderful concept.

I could certainly use a little more positivity around these parts. But, like I said, I don't know that I can keep that going for 30 days. I've accepted a few other challenges in the past and I feel like I lost the vibe for it a few days in, despite keeping it going.

Much like writing a post per day for 1,037 consecutive days. 

John's first post this month is about being thankful for his ability to write. It's a point I can't argue with. Much how I feel when it comes to Susan, I'm envious of John's (and Susan's and others) ability to spin a paragraph to the point that I often just want to stick to speaking. Which I'm barely capable of.

But, I do have things I'm thankful for and one hit me during the day.

I'm thankful for music, of course, but I'm also thankful for the bands and songs that have stuck with me over the years.

Stuck with me. Hmmm...Much like "Stuck with You."

As much as I love The Beatles and others, only one band inspired me get up before dawn to fly cross-country to visit the bar where the cover of their most famous album was created.

Granted, I went to San Francisco on business but I took advantage of the opportunity to drive a car into Marin County to grab a beer at The 2am Club, the site of the cover photo of "Sports" by Huey Lewis and the News.

I'm thankful -- sometimes, more than I realize -- for HLN.

I have these moments where I downplay the band. I even have moments where I wonder if I love them as much as I've professed over the years.

I've also had moments where it's even been a point of embarrassment. They've never been regarded kindly by critics.  Also, I'm quite sure, two things would come up if you were to ask people who knew me when I was young: 1) the Yankees and 2) Huey Lewis and the News with 3) the Steelers and other "Rob quirks" following up.

But, back to the band. To be honest, I disregarded them at first. I wasn't big on their first couple of singles. You've likely heard of them. One was called "Working for a Living" and the other was "Do You Believe in Love"

Yeah. I'm an idiot.

But, somewhere, as I watched an episode of "Friday Night Videos" on a VHS tape in the year of our musical lord 1984 (I recorded it every week) a bolt of lightning struck me.

It was, dare I say, "A little help from above," over a year before their biggest song hit.

It hit me. There, in the thick of synths and New Wave and electric drums and other 80s production trademarks was a band who honored the roots of rock and roll. "Sports," the album that made them (briefly) the biggest band in the world had "a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost" as Patrick Bateman said.

I listened to some of their rare older stuff as I drove home today and appreciated their early work. While it was really too "New Wave" for many, it's still stuff that I adore. Each album -- each song -- felt like a musical history lesson with not just New Wave elements but pop, rock, funk, jazz, blues, soul, zydeco, creole, country, and more. 

Plus they were the regular guys --the local bar band -- and having met several members over the years (and saying a brief hello to Huey himself) that really comes across in person.

So, yeah, I'm quite thankful for Huey, Johnny, Chris, Bill, Sean, and Mario (the original band) and the members that have come and gone in the years since.

The music became more than just the sound. It became a cultural touchstone for me. With songs and members that were completely harmless to the public, it was a fine connection to my parents, and hearing it takes me back to different times in my life.

So, to be listening to them as I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and to have their (likely) last album cover debut while I was in San Francisco? An album cover that features the Golden Gate Bridge? The connection continues.

I can tell you about the big hits. I can tell you about the rarities. I can tell you about the songs that aren't as well-known that I love. I can tell you how great they were in concert and what a tight-sounding unit they were.

I can preach from the Good Church of the Power of Love, originally housed in a place called Uncle Charlie's and forever held in The 2am Club in Mill Valley, CA.

They don't need to be in the Hall of Fame. The songs that didn't make it (or get released) happened that way for a reason. 

I can tell you where I was when I first heard "The Power of Love." I can tell you where I was (and the radio station I was listening to) when I first heard "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and how I felt like my life -- yes, really -- had been changed.

I can tell you about standing in Record Town in the Jefferson Valley Mall, patiently waiting for the staff to cut open the boxes with "Fore" in them in 1986.

I can tell you about seeing them for the first time at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY, or the night at Madison Square Garden that I still hold sacred. But I can also talk about the more intimate shows.

I can tell you about standing in Scott Wilson's living room with MTV on when another video started. I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh what is this?"

Scott and his mother exchanged looks and said they'd change the channel.

Then I saw the caption.

Huey Lewis & the News
"Bad is Bad"
Sports
Chrysalis Records

"STOP! Don't touch a thing!"

I was enthralled. The video was past cool. 

It was hip to be square (even if the song was misunderstood).

You had to be there. You have to hear it and feel it for yourself.

They're my band -- not that I won't share them. 

But they'll always be mine.

I'm thankful for that.