Sing us a song of the century

So music has always been an important part of my life. It helped that I had 2 older sisters, so there was always a radio playing at a young age. We would listen to Casey Kasem's top-40 countdown every week, religiously. Don't believe me? How else would I know that the #1 hit of the year for 1982 was "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John?

Then came the age of MTV. You know, that channel that used to be about music. Even though we didn't have cable as a kid, we did have a half-hour show on U66 (a silly little UHF station) that showed videos. It's hard to explain the mind-blowing experience of seeing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" or the Police's "Every Breath You Take" for the first time.

My parents gave me a turntable (yes really) when I was pretty young so I could play records and 45s. Our motorhome had an 8-track (seriously I am not as old as I sound), but we only had like 3 tapes. So we'd listen to them over-and-over-and-over... When I got older, I bought a stereo system for my room which led to music wars between me and Angela. Both of us playing our music really loud trying to drown out one another. I don't know how Mom and Dad put up with it.

Anyway, the point is that I love music. So it was a really special treat to see one of my favorite bands, Green Day, in concert recently. I had always heard how great their shows were, but all the descriptions were inadequate. It was a truly amazing marathon 3-hour event with no breaks. I wish I had the words to describe it all. Instead, let me try a picture. I got lucky and caught Billy Joe flying through the air in an incredible leap. It just scratches the surface, but it'll give you a hint of what it was like.

That's all for now. Until next time, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."