YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

NOTE: This entry was inspired by my son who has slept 11-12 hours each night for the last several nights falling asleep to James Taylor and John Denver.

By far the most overplayed soft rock artist on the radio, on CD’s and pretty much any media that can play music is James Taylor.

James Taylor along with John Denver, who, while not quite as overplayed, has enjoyed eternal life in every music collection of every white suburban child of the 1970’s.

You have to admire these guys for 2 reasons:

1. They both made music that went against industry standards at the time they made it and were successful.
2. They made Granola famous.

Even though these two artists are probably the two you are most emabarrassed about having a soft place in your heart for, I’m here to tell you that it’s ok to dust off these gentlemen’s greatest hits albums, because I’ve found anew use for them.

Before I tell you this use, let me begin by saying that I would see neither of these guys in concert (especially John ‘cause he’s dead), and by no means do these men stretch the boundaries of musical diversity. Between Fire and Rain, You’ve Got a Friend in Carolina, and Country Roads, Take Me to the Rocky Mountain High, it all sounds like one song to me.

Traditional uses for this music for me at least, were always reflection, and nostalgia for those road trips I used to take with my folks that featured famous phrases like “Are We There Yet”and “Don’t Make me Come Back There and Slap you Silly.”

But now, in fatherhood, my advice to you is throw away every piece of Barney you have and break out the JT and JD, turn the lights down and turn the music up and watch your child drift into Granola eatin’ oblivion as he/she falls asleep with ease. A few nights of this and your alarm clock will be a pleasure to turn off at the time you set it for.

It started as me, hoarse voice and all, singing You’ve Got a Friend to my son, and watching him get the greatest sleeps since his existence started several months ago. Then I thought since JT sings that song way better than me, why not just put the whole album on, and it kept working. As an add on, I tried JD’s Greatest Hits as a way to chill him out before bed, and let me just say that the JD experiment is on its way out of Beta and into the mainstream.

Now after I finish this entry, he probably won’t sleep a wink for nights to come. But if you think like I do…that Barney is an overhyped freak of nature and a strain on our brains and well-being, then reacquaint yourself with my new best friends, John Denver and James Taylor.