Beanbag Chronicles

Good morning fellow blog peeps!

I'm back with another exciting episode of The Beanbag Chronicles.

These were the songs that eased a pimply faced, greasy feathered haired, desert shoe wearing, freckled and bespectacled, hormone raging pre-teenager sitting in my bean bag chair, with my big clunky head phones on, basking in the glow of my lava lamp and multiple candles dripping on old Chianti bottles that my parents threw away.

As with most 7th and 8th graders who start to become sexually aware of "things", Mother Nature plays a nasty trick on you and decides to turn you into the most revolting creature on earth!I turned to music and clung to the tunes that I thought must have been written by people who could have read my mind and knew exactly what kind of torment I was going through.

I had an exciting find while rummaging through my tub 0' photos! I found an actual picture of the beanbag altar!

Here is was:

This was taken when I was a little older...like high school old! I can tell because I had my varsity letter in this picture and the old Chianti bottles were replaced with bottles of wine I actually drank. Some horrible stuff like Reunite Lambrusco or something equally nauseating!

The ol' lava lamp is up in the far right corner...covered by a puppet or something. I was Waaay too cool for lava lamps in high school...I graduated to BIG lollipops and pickled people instead.


Sheesh!!

Compared to my little sketch...I wasn't too far off I don't think?

So...back to the chronicles.

With the last few posts most of you must think I was a semi-suicidal pre-teen.

Not really - I think for the most part I was a happy kid. Moody...but generally happy.

I thought I would "pep it up a bit" this week and post one of my all time favorite artists!

The Captain and Tennille!

These records nearly drove my family absolutely crazy because I played them constantly.

I think Toni Tennille was the first crush that I had on a celebrity. It was something about that blond bobbed, big teeth, big boned gal that I just couldn't get enough of.

The Captain - eh...He kind of freaked me out a little.

:::sigh:::

Anyway - it's Friday...the weekend is here and it's time for some happy music to get it started off right!



Be nice all - I could have picked Muskrat Love!

Love will keep us together baby...yes it will!

Have a great weekend everyone! Peace!

The Beanbag Chronicles

Welcome to the Beanbag Chronicles:

These were the songs that eased a pimply faced, greasy feathered haired, desert shoe wearing, freckled and bespectacled, hormone raging pre-teenager sitting in my bean bag chair, with my big clunky head phones on, basking in the glow of my lava lamp and multiple candles dripping on old Chianti bottles that my parents threw away.

As with most 7th and 8th graders just when you start to become sexually aware of "things", Mother Nature plays a nasty trick on you and decides to turn you into the most revolting creature on earth!

I turned to music and clung to the tunes that I thought must have been written by people who could have read my mind and knew exactly what kind of torment I was going through.

This week the song I’ve chosen is: Operator, by Jim Croce. He was like the original "sensitive guy" wasn't he?

The guitar in Jim Croce’s songs was what made me go out and take lessons when I was in 6th grade.

Oh….to play like that!

But it wasn’t Jim playing…it was a guy named Maury Muehleisen.

Muehleisen was a classically trained pianist who took up the guitar at age 17. His own career as a singer/songwriter didn’t go far, but he later paired up with Jim Croce and became his lead guitarist.

Unfortunately, both Jim Croce and Maury Muehleisen were killed in the same plane crash on September 20th, 1973.

That was a very sad day.

I remember sitting in my friend Sue’s house playing his album over and over again…I think we nearly wore it out.

Here is an interesting tid-bit from Song Facts: In 2000, the Martin guitar company produced 73 guitars in honor of Jim Croce. In each of these guitars, an uncirculated 1973 dime was inserted in the third fret fingerboard in honor of this song and the final line, "You can keep the dime."

The Beanbag Chronicles

Driving home from work the other evening, I selected a playlist on my iPod that I must have created a while ago and have no recollection of creating it!

The songs were all female artists...most of them are kind of what you would consider sappy songs.

Slow...kind of mellow...

...then one song came back and I was immediately transported back to when I was in 7th grade. A pimply faced, greasy feathered haired, desert shoe wearing, freckled and bespectacled, hormone raging pre-teenager sitting in my bean bag chair, with my big clunky head phones on, basking in the glow of my lava lamp and multiple candles dripping on old Chianti bottles that my parents threw away.

Stacked on my record player were 3 or 4 albums of pre-teenage "I'll never fall in love" songs that will depress even the cheeriest.

Remember those days?

Your body is starting to mature, you're becoming sexually aware of "things" and at the same time Mother Nature plays a nasty trick on you and decides to turn you into the most revolting creature on earth!

And so...I was brilliantly inspired for my next series of heart wrenching, ear bleeding, nauseating songs.

But...at the time...when I thought I would never find my "special someone", they were what comforted me.

I've mentioned it before, but I was a total teenie bopper. My sister, who is 4 years older than me, was far cooler and into artists like Led Zepplin, Greg Allman, The Rolling Stone, the Beatles and more of the rock genre.

I was teased relentlessly for my taste in music as a kid, but hey...it made me happy at the time and my tastes have "matured and developed" since then!

This first song, and the inspiration for the series, was done Helen Reddy.

Don't worry it is NOT: "I Am Woman"!

This was one of her lesser known misses, but it was perfect for the adolescent little me who was hoping someday to fall in love.

When I was telling M about this song...she remembered it too and she was more from the cool rock genre kind of kids (more the Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath girl actually) , so I didn't feel all that bad about it.

The first line of the song sets the mood for sure, but it's the "oooohhhhaaaaaaahhhaaahhhh" that really gets me!





:::sigh:::

Those were the days!

Oh...and I have many, many, MANY more!

Tune in next week kids for another heart wrenching episode of "The Beanbag Chronicles"!