Music Monday: Band on the Run

When I was a teen, in high school, I was known for my love of wide ranges of music. I knew bands, I new their music. When I had a job, working for a paint and wallpaper store in a suburban shopping mall, I would spend most of my pay on the latest albums at Sam the Record Man. I'd make mixed tapes for myself and my friends, and there would always be music playing at my house.

I was a music junkie.

A friend of mine, Neil Talbot, would call me up sometimes, and when he heard my voice, he would start his own version of the game, Name That Tune. He would drop the needle onto some vinyl, a tune would play for a second or two, and he would then lift the needle and ask me what it was that he had played.

I had a success record of more than ninety percent.

Today, I still know my music, although I'm not as familiar with today's pop hits, even though my youngest daughter insists on playing Jump FM or Hot 89.9. At the office, in our washrooms, CHEZ 106 is piped through speakers—possibly, in an attempt to drown out the sound in the stalls.

It doesn't work.

I don't like commercial radio, because it seems that more time is spent listening to mind-numbing ads or goofball DJs than in listening to any music. But when CHEZ 106 does eventually get around to playing music, it's mostly the music from when I was younger. And I love it.

Lately, I've returned to playing the game that Neil ran with me on the phone, only this time, it's a bit different.

From the moment I enter the washroom, I have to identify the song that's playing as soon as I can. By the time I reach a urinal or stall, I have to be joining in the lyrics or at least mouthing the words, when the washroom is full.

It usually takes a second or two to identify the song, and I often join in the singing shortly thereafter.

One of the songs that is on a steady rotation, one that seems to play often when I enter the washroom (even though I don't always go at the same time), is the classic song from Paul McCartney and Wings, "Band on the Run." Sometimes, I'll sing along, even if there are others in the washroom.

Here's the song, with a YouTuber's rendition of a video. Enjoy.


Happy Monday!