Today's Shuffle: 03/10/05


Have you ever really tried to like music because someone you loved did?

When today's Party Shuffle fired up, my eye immediately gravitate towards song #7, a country tune by K.T. Oslin.

Over the years I have learned to appreciate certain flavors of "country" music. I have slowly built the country section of my massive CD collection. It still represents probably only about 5% of the collection, but it used to be 0%.

If I remember right, then this K.T.Oslin album may be the first country album I bought that wasn't by crossover artists like Lyle Lovett and kd lang.

And I bought it because of a man.

Back in 1992/1993 I was in love with a bee-yoo-tiful Mexican-American man who lived in Santa Barbara (a 4-5 hour drive from me.) He was beautiful and, sad to say, a bit screwed up. Identity issues galore: His whole family was hyper-sensitive about their heritage...to the point of making racist comments about cholos, as one example. Beautiful Screwed Up Man was like me, Hispanic without speaking Spanish. I once wondered aloud if he was bothered that I didn't share his heritage, but no, he actually liked that I was Spanish, not Mexican, as though that were superior. Anyway, let's just say he had family issues, and the more serious ones were about a lot more than his ethnicity.

He was also a Marines veteran and had served in the first Gulf War. That had also screwed him up. As he put it, it really fucks with your head to be sitting in some sand dug-out wondering if you'll ever make it home, if you'll ever be able to get married and have a family etc. Lots of brooding alone-time is not so good for an already depressive personality.

So, let's see uneducated, military dude with serious emotional issues who lived far away. Great relationship fodder, right?

But he could be sensitive and sweet...and let's not forget...he was bee-yoo-tiful.

His biggest flaw (in the beginning) was that he loved country music. I simply could not relate to that. He'd try to play me Garth or Clint or whoever...and believe me, as a music lover I knew he was trying to share something he loved with me and have me love it too. And I just didn't. Finally, he did play me one K.T. Oslin song that I could stand. So, in the spirit of love and acceptance I bought her entire CD. This was pre-song downloading of course. I proudly displayed my purchase, and we would play it on his boombox in this crappy illegal converted garage room he rented back of a broken-down old house where I hesitated to even use the bathroom if I could help it.

Luckily, he liked more than country music, including the Cure, Chris Isaak and others. But finding just one country CD that we both could enjoy was like a little bridging of the many gaps that were between us.

I haven't seen the guy in a decade, but I thought of him recently because I saw someone panhandling that could have been him. Sadly, knowing his issues, I didn't think it was out of the realm of possibility that he could end up like that. I certainly hope he didn't, though.

About all I really have that reminds me of that time is the K.T. Oslin CD, which given my dislike for country music you can well imagine I never pull out and choose to play. But every now and then the Party Shuffle winds up throwing you a musical curveball. Like a reminder about a long ago time, when you were happy...and then very sad.

Anyway, here were today's first 10 songs

Release It by Afro Celt Sound System (LOVE this band...LOVE them.)
De La Vuelta by Marc Anthony
Hand to Mouth by George Michael
Battle on the Tower from the Beauty & the Beast Soundtrack
The Jet Set by Joe Jackson
Ghost Train by Rickie Lee Jones
This Woman by K.T. Oslin
Halo by Depeche Mode
Darkness by Third Eye Blind
Blue Light by Prince & the NPG

Posted: Thu - March 10, 2005 at 05:39 PM       EmailFeedback

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