My Musical Uneducation

I want to make sure my kids receive a proper education in music. My mom and dad didn't really care about the arts, and as a kid they didn't expose me to a lot of music. However, they did expose me to a lot of second hand smoke. 

My mom and dad had a record collection, about 5 LPs in total, hidden in a large piece of wooden furniture which also contained a record player and speakers. These albums, which I now realize were probably their "getting it on" music, consisted of a couple of Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis records. A strange musical library for two people who were for the most part pretty racist. 

We also had an AM clock radio, with a dial that was permanently fixed on 1070 WIBC, which aside from local Indiana farm reports, played sad-ass 70s country music - with lyrics like you picked a fine time to leave me Lucile, sleeping single in a double bed, don't make my brown eyes blue, etc.

My earliest musical memory occurred when I was about four. My mom taught me the lyrics to the songs Rhinestone Cowboy and Tie a Yellow Ribbon and forced me to perform these numbers, using our coffee table as a stage, whenever guests visited our house. I've repressed this for many years and only after a lot therapy am I finally coming to understand how this impacted me.

I also have a vivid memory of my dad strongly forbidding me from watching the KISS made for TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park when it was on television in 1978, causing a major rift between us, with deep emotional scars that linger to this very day. A classic example of old age suppressing youth. Seriously, what would have happened if I watched that movie?  I probably would have ended up worshiping Satan, or something. 

As an only child I didn't have an older sibling to help influence my exposure to rock music. I did have two slightly older next door neighbors, Pat and Brian. Their dad died of a heart attack before I was born, and as a result they didn't have a strong male role model in their life and they ran wild around the neighborhood; sometimes I got to tag along. Pat and Brian were my own personal white-trash version of Ricky and Doughboy from Boyz in the Hood. While they were a valuable resource for learning about things like torturing insects and lighting various items on fire with a magnifying glass, they were pretty worthless when it came to music. 

The first record I ever bought was a 45 single by the Village People. I made my dad drive me to the local record store the day after I saw the Village People guest star on the Love Boat. I really wanted YMCA,  but the store was all sold out. Instead, I had to settle for Village People's lessor known single San Francisco You've Got Me, a tribute to gay sex in the city by the Bay.  An odd choice for a five-year-old kid, and incredibly ironic considering my very homophobic dad approved the purchase.  I felt so cool buying my first record - until my dad embarrassed me by asking the stoned teenager behind the counter if he thought the song was rated G, PG, or R. Thirty five years later I remember exactly what the kid told my dad, "PG... I guess?" But the correct rating for the song is R, maybe even NC-17, and I am sure the record store dude had a good laugh for pulling one over on the old square dad. 

But then something magical happened to me when I was in elementary school.  My world, which was was previously void of good music got shattered - shattered by the debut of MTV. As a result I was exposed to some great music, which had a profound impact on me later in life. For example, I credit MTV for planting the seed for my love of British culture. In the early days of MTV they played of a lot of British music - Madness, Duran Duran, Culture Club, and I know that subconsciously this most have been a big factor in my decision to move to England later in life. I want to make sure my kids receive an exposure to music of equal magnitude - who knows what seeds will be planted for them that will blossom later in life. 


With that said, the Summer School of Rock Starts on June 1st.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The syllabus for our 12-week course is directly inspired by the blackboard from the film School of Rock, which covers over 70 years of the evolution of rock music.

Each week we will focus on two or three sub-genres of rock and the artists most influential within these particular categories of music.

A playlist will be posted that corresponds with the weekly lesson, which can be downloaded from iTunes and played in your car - in lieu of Justin Bieber.

And who knows - we might even learn to play a couple of cool riffs. 

Take a look at the chart below to see what we are going to cover this summer.

ENROLLMENT: 
The class is intended as something parents can do with their kids this summer, but it is open to anyone who loves rock music. Sign up to follow this blog by entering your email in the box below, and you'll receive an email notification for each new lesson and playlist.