I don't usually write posts specifically about my guy ... but today ... I'm going to make an exception.
Stoney is a bit younger than me. Not a lot younger, mind you ... but some. I have my toe right there on that line between "age is just a number" and "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." He's always been kind and never made a big deal out of it ... other than once or twice when we're talking about a movie or a television show and he'll smile this mischievous smile and say he couldn't stay up that late or some other smart ass remark. But this weekend, I discovered a definitive gauge exists to determine that, in fact, we are from different age groups.
We were going to St. Louis to see Drive by Truckers. And when we're traveling, he lets me do something special ... and he has no idea he's even doing it.
See, when I was married, my ex always chose the music we listened to ... and it was always the Beatles. Occasionally when the mood would strike him we'd listen to a odd, eclectic mix of 70's songs ... but not only did I never get to choose the music ... I could never touch his iPod.
I try very, very hard never to pull that relationship into this one. Stoney shouldn't have to pay for my ex's sins. I try not to talk about that time or make choices or requests based on bad memories. I slip now and then ... I talked a bit about that mess this weekend and I feel awful about it. But I do try to pretend, for all practical purposes, that all that time never existed.
So ... back to the present ...
Without knowing how cool it makes him ... Stoney lets me play with his iPod. He lets me pick songs ... plays along when I'll ask him to pick one ... and he tries to find fun songs I've never heard of. It's one of the best parts of traveling with him. It's an adventure ... seeing what songs he has and which songs he doesn't. And here's where we circle back around ... to age.
I am firmly Van Halen ... he is ... wait for it ... Van Hagar. How could ... just ... ugh! When I saw his list of Van Halen songs and the big gaping hole where "Everybody Wants Some" and "Dance the Night Away" and "Pretty Woman" should've been ... I reacted with a suitable amount of shock and disdain. I'll admit he made a very valid point ... by the time he was old enough to appreciate Van Halen, they already had Sammy Hagar in the lineup ... and David Lee Roth had become a joke. I can't deny it ... if you hadn't lived through "Big Bad Bill" then "Ice Cream Man" would seem ridiculous.
So ... I can accept the fact that while I was drinking tequila ... not in a trailer by the sea, mind you ... that he was still in high school ... hell, actually it was more likely middle school. And I'm also going to accept that he would rather hear "Why Can't This Be Love" than "Beautiful Girls" ... as blasphemous as that might be. I've fallen for a Van Hagar listening Cardinals fan. Sweet Jesus ... what has become of me?!
I want some too! Whoa!
Everybody wants some! Hey, hey!
How 'bout you?
Van Halen - Everybody Wants Some
I'm 44, which puts us at about the same age. I love the first three (of four, I guess) incarnations of VH (the failure of VH3 wasn't Gary's fault; the band just seemed to forget how to write songs; the boringness of _Balance_ just before it is evidence).
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what? The Sammy era was better. The songwriting was better; the variety in musical styles was better. And Eddie was better not having to carry the sonic load of what had essentially been a power trio. The addition of a second guitarist, one who wouldn't steal any of the spotlight from Eddie but who could hold up his end of a song? Huge.
Evidence: "Finish What Ya Started." I didn't think anyone could outsexy DLR ("reach between my legs and...ease the seat back...") but Sammy does it in this song ("I got the tools...to satisfy..."). And that is the tastiest guitar playing Eddward has ever done.
Agree to disagree? :)
Oh Scrivner ... Scrivner Scrivner Scrivner ... how could you do this to me? I can't deny there are some damn good Sammy songs ... Finish What Ya Started and Black and Blue for instance. But Dreams?! Or When It's Love?! What a bunch of synthesizer-heavy, over-processed, commercialized crap.
ReplyDeleteActually ... I think it's not really even fair to compare the two. Van Halen with DLR vs. Van Halen with Sammy were two completely different bands. The first is much more metal ... more guitar heavy ... the second is much more ... Sammy. LOL
I do have to tell you ... the whole Panama "reach between my legs" thing ... that was life changing. I wasn't sure what I wanted from DLR ... but I knew it was something ... and it involved him reaching down between his legs. LOLOL
Yes ... we'll have to agree to disagree. haha :) Someone on Stoney's side ... you know, I'll never hear the end of this ... :)