My parents' music

Growing up, my parents enforced a pretty overwhelming "classical-only" music mandate, with very few exceptions. I may someday devote a post to detailing how I got to my current tastes, and what I owe my parents musically, but that'd be too long for today. I saw this "How Dad's Music Indicates What You Listen To" infographic yesterday and I thought it was very funny and rather accurate (although it could also influence you to go to opposites). I would open that up to what the people that raised you (or that you spent a lot of time with, parents, grandparents, family friends, etc) listened to - it's basically just what imprints you while you're young.

Like I said, in our house it was mainly classical - we grew up listening to Karl Haas every day. I can't say enough that while I don't agree with such strict limitations, it really did give us all an amazing musical education/foundation. Classical aside, there was some folk! They did listen to some Israeli folk/guitar music that both my parents loved (a distinctive style, lots of Spanish guitar, and basically 100% of the songs are love, dreaming of love, dashed love, lovey dovey flowers and birds and twilight, with maybe a smidge of traditionals, etc), and my dad had quite a variety of more traditional American folksy rock records that he would occasionally play.

The Parvarim / Haparvarim - here's a longish medley of the famous Israeli guitar folk duo (one of my favorites is played starting about 5:07ish):


And this one is Yesh Li Ahavah (I have love), although the only YT version I see has it listed as  אהבה פשוטה (transliteration: "Ahavah Pshutah" or"A Simple Love") (In the song the singer lists all the fancy stuff he does not have, like, no air-conditioner, no savings in the bank, no rich uncle, point being that it's ok cause he has love. It's so cute, one of my favs growing up.)

I think that music definitely influenced my brother, who is a really talented guitar player (he can play any instrument he picks up, and play anything he hears, it's really really annoying) and he really loves that style of playing, even though his musical tastes have also evolved over the years. And it influenced me because there's nothing I love more than a good folk rock song with lots of sad-lovey lyrics.

Now my dad is pretty conservative, not a hippie in the slightest (my mother on the other hand, when she was younger, yes), but one of the artists that makes me think of him the most is Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), because my brother and I stole my dad's Teaser and The Firecat TAPE from his special junk drawer, and never returned it because we loved it so much. I may still have it? I don't even know if I still have my walkman though to play it, LOL. I feel slightly guilty that what to him was obviously a treasured tape disappeared. But it is one of my top 10 albums of all time. I love Cat Stevens (also, the main reason I'm sad he changed his name is not religion, it's that Cat Stevens was such a perfect name) SO much, and listening to it repeatedly early on played a large part in imprinting that style on my mind/heart. I am very thankful they had good taste!

Apparently, other than classical, our house was really big on guitar-driven peace/love music (and for the readers who have met (or heard tales of) my parents, you probably never guessed they were such sweet 60s/70s softies.) Reconciling my young idealistic(?) Cat Stevens loving dad, with the current version is fascinating and nearly impossible? Although given that he went to a foreign country and met and rapidly married my mother might show that he had some crazy hippie romantic notions at one time. It's a very interesting mainly-hidden layer of my parents' life.

So here's a little Cat Stevens, in honor of my dad.


Tuesday's Dead



Moonshadow



Peace Train



Wild World



And a personal favorite - Ruby Love


Happy Father's Day! 

Thank your musical influences!