At the time of this writing, David Cassidy has recently passed away. (For the reader who does not know who David Cassidy was, I urge you to use your computer search engine to find out.) David Cassidy was a singer and TV star who was, for many people, mostly teenaged girls, the embodiment of a “heartthrob.” His “All American Boy” appearance and the cute love songs he sang were adored by many girls my age during the early 1970s. I was not among those who adored, let alone liked the music of, David Cassidy. Thanks to my uber cool older brother, Frank, I was introduced to the music of Jimi Hendrix at a young age. While many of my friends were listening to David Cassidy sing “I Think I Love You,” I was cranking up the volume on “Purple Haze,” “Manic Depression,” “Crosstown Traffic” and other great tunes by Jimi Hendrix. When Mom said, “What is that awful music you are listening to? Turn it DOWN, NOW,” I reminded her that the album spinning on my turntable was on loan from her adored son, Frank. I have never, ever, liked pop music. One never has to ask me, “Do you prefer Michael Jackson or Alice Cooper?” or, in today’s world, “Taylor Swift or Marilyn Manson?”. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with pop music; it’s just not my style. R.I.P. David Cassidy and thanks for the inspiration for this post. Now, let me turn up the volume on some great rock and roll music!
Melissa does like it loud! Some of her favorite things are loud, including the Corvette she drove for many years. Both its engine and sound system were loud (the latter had to be to be heard over the engine of the former). She plays bass guitar, loud, and seeing/hearing loud rock & roll shows is one of her favorite pastimes. We find ourselves compatible in many of these ways, though her tastes are “louder” than mine. Earplugs help. But as for David Cassidy or Jimi Hendrix, I’d be on the loud side of that. Being a few years younger than Melissa, I’ll admit to watching The Partridge Family, a little, not for David Cassidy, but because I thought Susan Dey was cute. The Partridge Family show has certainly became part of the American pop culture of the 70s, even if it was on the bubble gum side. And, David Cassidy’s fame and fortunes had tremendous highs and, sadly, lows. As Jimi Hendrix burned out and David Cassidy faded away, the contrast in the two is tremendous. My musical choices were different than any of these, but it is interesting to learn about people and their preferences. Interpersonal differences and similarities can take many forms – for those with interests in music, learning that a person younger than me loves “show tunes” tells me that the person probably has a very different perspective on many other things than do I. So, like a person’s choice of preferred sports teams, music preference is also a basis for common experiences, or maybe not. If I had to make the choice Melissa proposed, I’d pick Jimi Hendrix too. It is really not much of a choice.
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