The Soundtrack of My Life, Yakkety Yak Please Talk Back

It's only when I started putting together these Soundtrack posts that I realized how much happened my sophomore year of college. I think this might be the "busiest" year of my entire life in terms on pivotal things going on. I had no idea that was true until beginning this project. We'll see if time later proves me wrong, but there have been quite a few songs (significant events) for this year.

On my last BoTB post, I told you my initial meeting/first date story with J2. On the BoTB before that I told you the initial meet with J1, but I never told you the rest of the story.

Today you get the rest of the story for J1: Sophomore Year.

I would post a photo of J1 for this year, but I don't have one. That might seem odd, but it isn't. Not really.

So, if you'll recall our first meeting was odd. He threw open the door and screamed "What?" after my repeated knocking. Then, he came downstairs and played cards with us. You must want to know what happened after that auspicious beginning!

Turns out we really connected. He was another one of my "connect" people for sophomore year. It was a bizarre relationship. He had a girlfriend, who I never met. I was kinda/sorta in a very oblique sort of way dating his roommate. I can't really call it dating, but I can't call it not dating either. I think I was trying on the idea of a "boyfriend," and he wasn't really a good fit, so it stagnated in a place of sort of dating. Kind of reminds me of 6th graders and how they date. They "go together" but nothing actually happens. Now, I think J1's relationship with his girlfriend was more serious than that, but I also think my involvement in his life made it more complicated. ha!

J1 and talked. A lot. We'd play a game or two of euchre and then opt out and just sit and talk for hours. The lobby had furniture and "cubby holes," so you could easily just sit and talk. I'm not sure that his roommate thought much about it, though he should have, because who spends hours just talking??? Well, we did. We talked about Everything. Honestly, I can't think of a single topic that was off-limits. Well, I didn't ask him much about his girlfriend and he wasn't all that keen on discussing my non-relationship with his roommate, but other than that...

J1 and I had a lot in common. The best and worst was that we were equally broken. Equally ridden with holes. When you're full of holes no one understands better than someone else bullet ridden with holes. My parents divorced. J1's divorced when he was 5. His dad remarried very happily, but his relationship with his bio mom at that time was pretty much non-existent. Holes. J1 blew out his knee ending his aspirations for playing football and baseball. Baseball was the real kicker for him. I quit music and had no idea what I was going to major in. I was aimlessly taking CORE classes to try and find a new dream, a new passion, a new anything. Holes. I could go on, but those two subjects alone could keep us talking for days.

J1 didn't come back second semester my sophomore year. I don't know how it would've all turned out if he had. Probably wouldn't have started dating J2, so I'm kinda glad it worked out like it did. J2 was a really nice guy, even though it didn't end well. Getting there, people. Next post I'll tell you what happened with him! But, I didn't think I'd ever see J1 again after he quit school. Turns out I was wrong about that, but if you'd asked me in January of 1988 about J1 I'd have told you I was really sad he couldn't find a reason to stay.

The song I chose to describe this time with this person is Something About What Happens When We Talk by Lucinda Williams. Lucinda's voice is always raspy, raw, and a bit jagged. Kind of how I felt back then. This song talks about a relationship very much like the one I had with J1. And at the end when she says, "But all I regret now is I never kissed your mouth," I know just what she means. When I thought I'd never see him again I knew what it was to ache for something you never really had.

If I had my way
I'd be in your town
I might not stay
But at least I would've been around

'Cause there's something about what happens
When we talk
Something about what happens
When we talk

Does this make sense?
It doesn't matter anyway
Is it coincidence?
Or was it meant to be?

'Cause there's something about what happens
When we talk
Something about what happens
When we talk

And conversation with you
Was like a drug
It wasn't your face
So much as it was your words

'Cause there's something about what happens
When we talk
Something about what happens
When we talk

I can't stick around
I'm going back south
But all I regret now
Is I never kissed your mouth

'Cause there's something about what happens
When we talk
Something about what happens
When we talk

Something about what happens
When we talk
Something about what happens
When we talk

Have you ever met someone that made you feel this way? That you could talk to forever? 


If you're enjoying these posts, feel free to share your own Soundtrack. This isn't a hop. No requirements at all, but a suggestion to do it one song at a time. (If you participated in the hop several years ago, you can still do this. Just post them one song at a time, with the freedom to add more songs if you'd like.) I'll link to all participants at the bottom of each of these posts:

StMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Cherdo on the Flipside 

Holli's Hoots and Hollers 

THE DOGLADY'S DEN

Show and Tell.

Manzanita posted a video of her granddaughter singing in her last post.  I said something in my comment saying that her style reminded me of Lucinda Williams.  I asked if she knew who that was, and she responded by saying, "No. Tell me."

Now, I could have waited until Thursday and posted a Lucinda Williams video.  However, she didn't say Show and Tell Me.  Of course, I can't effectively do one without the other.  So, there will be some video footage included here.  Who is Lucinda Williams?  Tough question.  I have never heard her on the radio and I listen to a variety of stations.  Wikipedia states that she is an " American rock, folk, blues, and country music singer and songwriter."  That said, I have never heard her on country radio.  I have heard one of her songs on country radio back in the 90s.  Passionate Kisses by Mary Chapin-Carpenter was written by Lucinda Williams.  Ironically, MCC writes almost all of her own material.  Almost.

Here is a song by Lucinda Williams to give us a jumping off place:



All of Lucinda's song are so real and gritty. That is just one thing that I really like about them. They are also about subjects most people can relate to, because they have experienced it.  Something About What Happens When We Talk is an experience that I believe I can safely say has happened to everyone at same time.  My favorite line: "I can't stick around because I'm going back south, The only thing I regret now is I never kissed your mouth, Because there's something about what happens when we talk."  Heady, powerful stuff.  Yeah, it didn't work out, but there was something magical when we talked.

Let me tell you how I discovered Lucinda Williams.  It was via a fellow that I was long distance dating Augusta-Atlanta.  He really liked music (all kinds) and was sure that I would like Lucinda Williams if I gave her a listen.  He was right.  After that, I started racking up her CDs every time I came across one.  They are all gold.  My relationship with the guy was relatively short-lived, but my relationship with Lucinda Williams has lasted nearly fifteen years!!!

This is the first Lucinda Williams song I ever heard.  It is the first cut off of Car Wheels and A Gravel Road.  It's called Right In Time.  As you listen, think about every crush you've ever had.  Or that moment when a relationship is just blooming and everything is going so well.  Or maybe when you reach that place when you know that person is the one, but you are still single.  However, you know it's just a matter of time.  Pick your scenario.  But that person is Right In Time with you.



This last tune is my favorite. Yep, that is my strategy... save the best for last. Maybe not the best idea given you probably only watched the first 30 seconds of the first video anyway. hahaha.  However, if you are still hanging in, this song is three minutes of perfection.  It's called Side of The Road.  It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.   "It only means I need a little time to follow that unbroken line to a place where the wild things grow, to a place where I used to always go."





Are you familiar with Lucinda Williams?  If so, do you have a favorite song?  Did you enjoy one of these songs more than the others?  After listening to these songs are you now inspired to seek her out on YouTube or through your other music sources?