Vinyl: Changing Lives at 45 Rotations Per Minute
- Jimmy Ellegate
- Sep 15, 2019
- 4 min read
"Should have tried to do some more
25 or 6 to 4"
A song about writing a song.
Robert Lamm, the keyboard player and lead singer of the band Chicago, describes how these lyrics are quite literally about him trying to write a song at either 3:35 AM (25 to 4) or 3:34 AM (26 to 4). Opening with a powerful guitar riff and eventually including a catchy saxophone and brass band motif, it is easy to see how this song became so popular. But Chicago was not the only band to do this. In an era of music we call rock, bands like The Beatles, Supertramp, and many others used their talent to create meaningful and interesting songs that are easy to jam out to, and is one of the major reasons why I find it so appealing. I have been listening to this genre for as long as I can remember.
My mom often likes to recall an interesting phase of my infancy when I would refuse to sleep unless rocked to an album called “But Seriously, Folks…” by Joe Walsh. This album remains a personal favorite to this day, and I can see how the soothing guitar riffs of songs like Tomorrow and Indian Summer might have calmed me down for bed. That, or I just wanted to see the goofy album cover or hear the "flock of wah wahs” that comes at the last 30 seconds of Life’s Been Good (I suggest listening to the end of that song so this reference makes more sense).
From here, my passion for rock only grew. Throughout my childhood, there would always be music playing. “Something to fill the void,” my parents said, as if the constant noise from three toddlers was not enough. Whether it was 92.9 Jack FM, 97 Rock, or some random vinyl album from our collection, there was always some sort of music playing. The constant exposure eventually led me to where I am today - “an old man trapped in a teenager's body,” as my friends like to say.
This passion for old music took on a whole new meaning as I began high school. I used it as a means of individuality; as a way to set me apart from other people. I broke out of the mainstream rock music that was played on the radio and got into more unknown rock bands such as Genesis and unknown albums such as “Crisis? What Crisis?” by Supertramp. This, in turn, led me to start collecting my own vinyl records. I started out collecting the classic 33 ⅓ RPM (your average album) and eventually got into a phase of 45s. It is here that our story begins.
Searching through a box of 45s is a brutal process. 45s are songs that were released as singles, and therefore these records are very small. People normally accrue many of these over their lifetime, listen to them once or twice, then throw them in a box for decades until they decide to donate them. This results in hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of damaged 45s at any given store that collectors such as myself painstakingly look through to determine if any are worth salvaging. It was during one of these investigations when I discovered “Cat’s in the Cradle.”
The 45 was in fairly good condition, and I had heard the song on the radio a couple of times before, so I decided to pick it up. When I played it for the first time, I paid close attention to everything - I wanted to make sure I hadn’t wasted my money on a scratched album. I soon found myself distracted by the painfully sad tale that Harry Chapin, the one hit wonder artist, was singing.
The song tells the story of a father and son who never find time to spend with each other. When the son is born and while he is growing up, his father is too busy with work. Every time the dad says he is too busy, his son always says something along the lines of “I'm gonna be like him, yeah, you know I'm gonna be like him.” Many years pass, and eventually the son is older and the father is retired. When the father tries to spend time with his son, he says he is too busy. Essentially, the son has become his father, and this vicious cycle repeats itself.
This song hit me particularly hard because, at the same time I had discovered it, I was also getting more into social media and spending significantly less time with my family. It made me realize that spending time with family is much more important than Snapchatting people, and that I needed to create a balance between my social, school, and family life. While I will admit that the full effect of the song did not hit immediately, I can definitely see traces of it affecting my life now.
My older sister lives in Europe and my younger sister goes to college a couple of hours away, so spending time with them is a little difficult. We schedule a time every week when we try and call one another to catch up. The song made me particularly appreciative of my mom, who always found time for all three of us kids. For this reason, I go home every weekend to eat dinner and spend time with her (in addition to having her do my laundry, of course).
Cell phones and social media take up a lot of our time - time that could be spent with family. Maybe if “Cat’s in the Cradle” was still a popular song today, more people would realize how important time spent with family is. This song alone had a very positive impact on my life, and I think it would do the same for others. Many popular songs today sing about and promote sex, drugs, and even violence, and researchers agree that it may encourage these behaviors (http://blog.sonicbids.com/what-kind-of-impact-does-our-music-really-make-on-society). Perhaps if the message of the lyrics was more positive or promoted self-growth it would encourage people to make a healthy change, much like this song did for me.
There was a point where I was embarrassed by the music I listen to. But the fact that rock songs like “Cat’s in the Cradle” have made me question aspects of myself and made me change to be a better person assure me that there is much worse music I could be listening to.
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