That Damned Dial

[ink_ling]

Driving through Arkansas to Little Rock in the MeeMaw mobile -- temporarily named the GoldenGirl -- with a broken tape deck, you turn desperately but light-heartedly to the radio. Between cities, the channels get slim. I found myself listening to oldies stations between country and Latin channels and laughing out loud and banging the steering wheel. Heard "Back in Black" four times. "Mrs. Robinson" three and "Brandy" twice.

Made me want to own up to the oldie goldies I will let the dial rest on. I started making a list of those "classic rock" songs I actually enjoy when I hear them. And I remember that a lot of the choices harken back to the time I lived in East Tennessee, foothills of the Appalachians. Here's what I came up with:

* "The Only Living Boy in New York" -- Simon & Garfunkel
* "Trouble" -- Cat Stevens
* "Walk on the Wild Side" -- Lou Reed
* "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" -- the Temptations
* "Califonia Dreamin'" -- the Mamas and Papas
* "Into the Mystic" -- Van Morrison
* "Wild Horses" -- the Rolling Stones or the Jerry Garcia Band
* "Little Red Riding Hood" -- Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
* "Fire on the Mountain" -- the Marshall Tucker Band
* "Ain't No Sunshine" -- Bill Withers

Always makes me realize what a grin-getter occasionally indulging in nostalgia can be.