What's (Not) on My iPod - There are Two Songs, So Far

Haven't talked about music much around these parts in a while, so let's get back to it.

I got an iPod a few years ago, like a lot of folk. At the time, I didn't have a smart phone, so my iPod solved my desire for music on-the-go. I dove in with both feet, downloading music as fast as I could. I found many obscure songs, songs that were popular decades before but have been all but forgotten in the present.

There are two songs in particular I've yet to find on iTunes. The first one I'll mention is "Minimum Love" by Mac McAnally. This song was released in March of '83 (yeah, 30 years ago), but it's one I've always liked. It has a great mid-tempo groove, and romantically cynical lyrics. Check it out:

http://youtu.be/o0v0PySyZKU

McAnally has had some success as a performer and songwriter, especially in the country world. This song was released as a "soft rock" single, and got a lots of airplay on my local adult contemporary station that year. I remember cruising around town many a weekend afternoon, hearing this song come on and really enjoying it.

The next song also evokes strong memories, but for a decidedly different reason. The Unifics' "Beginning of My End" is the saddest song I've heard in 40 years of paying attention to music.

http://youtu.be/WALjBu_oG-g

How many people have had disagreements or arguments with the ones they love, with the expectation that there will be a chance for reconciliation? I'd guess most of us have taken it for granted that there would be a chance to say "I'm sorry", or buy some trite gift that attempts to make everything OK.

Whenever I hear the opening lyric "Up drove the hearse, Cadillac" I still get chills. Who would dare consider such a worst-case scenario after an argument with the one they love?

The first time I heard it, it was the late '60s. I was a 9-year-old kid in the back seat of my mother's car. My mom was taking the four of us kids somewhere (I don't remember where). As usual, there were conversations (read "arguments") going, kids talking like kids do in a car. I was daydreaming, when I heard the swell of strings at the song's intro. It was different than the the majority of Motown and Stax songs I was used to hearing.

Even as a kid, I was interested in the power of words, whether in a book or a song. The right grouping of words, with the right cadence, could take me away from my humdrum life towards something interesting. This collection of words told a story that hit my youthful heart in a way no other song at that time could.

I'd always liked this song, and filed it away as a powerful memory from my past. Twenty-eight years later, I lived a similar circumstance, and this song's effect came back to me in a more profound manner.

Out of the thousand of songs I've heard in my life, none have had such a lasting impact on me as this one. I've heard tons of songs regarding heartbreak, but I've never heard one as poignant and well-crafted as this one.

To say "I recommend it" wouldn't do it justice. But, it may touch you like it touched me.