# The Day the Music Stopped…



## Herb G. (Feb 5, 2018)

I don’t actually remember when it happened. It just happened one day. I found myself listening to the all news channel. It was boring & repetitive. Every 20 mins, the same old chit.
Instead of hearing great music on my radio, I was listening to some butt hole telling me the stock market crashed, or the country was at war with so & so…again.
I used to listen to rock-n-roll day & night. All the bands I grew up with, music that shaped my life and made me the person I am today.
Music that could change a bad day into a decent day.
Music that could change my mood from bad to good. Music was my escape. It passed the time, it made the day go a little faster.
Working in a slave labor, soul crushing job was not my idea of fun.
Being worked like a rented mule was absolutely unbearable at times. Music offered an escape and made the drudgery go by a little faster.
My little portable radio was my lifeline to the outside world.
By Wednesday, the radio stations were offering concert tickets for the weekend. Be caller 19 when you hear the guitar riff and you could win.

I never won. I was never near a phone & they didn’t have cell phones back then. So, I would always hear after the commercial break that some Joe Schmoe from Idaho won the tickets.

Even if my favorite band came to town & I somehow had enough money to buy tickets, I didn’t have a car & I had to rely on other people for rides. I wasn’t about to buy somebody & their girlfriend an expensive concert ticket just so I could catch a ride to the show. So, I ended up always being left out.
All my friends went to shows, but I had to stay home. That’s ok, I still had my stereo to keep me company. My friendly DJ & I spent many a Saturday night together listening to great rock-n-roll. 
Sometimes, I could tape an entire live concert on my tape deck.

Music is a powerful force. I can listen to a song & recall where I was, and who I was with when I first heard that song. Music has seen me thru some really tough times. I don’t think I would have made it on some occasions if it wasn’t for music.
And then one day, it all changed. I found myself listening to traffic & weather on the 5’s.
I kept hearing the same news stories over & over, all damn day long. Where was my music?

When did it change? When did my life become so predictable & boring?
Sure, hearing the traffic report has its benefits, unless you enjoy wasting time, money, and gas sitting in a parking lot when you could be driving. Or when you need to make it to yet another doctor’s appointment on time. But does the weather report change every 10 mins?
But where was my riding partner, rock-n-roll? Stuck in the lost shuffle of numerous station presets? Off the dial? Remember when radios had dials? Now it’s just a bunch of flashing numbers telling you what station you’re listening to.

I get it. I mean, I understand that time passes and things change. Change happens all the time.

But when did I forget to listen to the music? How did my life change so much that I no longer had time to listen to music anymore?
I don’t know how or when it happened. My memory is a little fuzzy on that subject.
So, the other day when the power flickered and my radio went off & came back on, it had somehow changed stations. What was that strange noise I heard?
Wasn’t static, wasn’t some butt hole yakking about traffic or weather or the stock market.

It was a recognizable noise, I knew I heard it before. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I was in another room when it happened, so I went in the room where my radio is. I heard something eerily familiar. It was like something I heard when I was a small child, a long time ago.
I heard a beat, then I heard a guitar and drums too. Was that…music? I believe it was. Let me get a little closer, so I can hear it better. Yep, it was music. I didn’t remember the song at first, but I knew I had heard it before. Then it was a little clearer and I tuned my ears into it.

Yep, that’s definitely music. The song ended & another one started up.
That is, without a doubt, music. Rock-n-roll music to be exact. Now how did rock-n-roll music end up playing on my radio?
I knew I was listening to the all news channel before the power flickered. It was a little garbled so I tuned it in properly. Now I could understand it better & I knew it was my old friend. I don’t remember what song was playing, but it doesn’t really matter.
So, was it just a fluke or divine intervention come calling? Does someone or something want me to listen to music again? I don’t know. But I have been listening to it for a few days now. I had forgotten how much I liked my old pal rock-n-roll. These days, I don’t listen to it as loud as I used to because it hurts my ears. You have to go slowly with it when you first get back into it.

If your ears aren’t accustomed to it, loud music can really give you a headache.

Now, I know people have different preferences in music. Music is a highly personal thing. I happen to like rock-n-roll myself. I also enjoy smooth jazz. It depends mostly on what mood I’m in as to which style of music I choose to listen to. The point of all this is to remind you to take time and listen to the music.
Before you know it, it’s easy to let it slip out of your life.

Reactions: Like 3 | Great Post 7 | Way Cool 1 | Sincere 1


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## Wildthings (Feb 5, 2018)

and I thought this was going to be about Buddy Holly! Good post!


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## rocky1 (Feb 5, 2018)

Then there is the cutesie guy girl talk DJ combos, making stupid funnies at each other all morning. Laughing at one another, over remarks that aren't really funny, trying to pass it off as humor, when it is in fact sickening.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Lou Currier (Feb 5, 2018)



Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## CWS (Feb 5, 2018)

I listen to radio for 10 minutes in the morning. NPR news. That's it. Radio is just noise. But maybe that is why I am glad I am as old as I am.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Spinartist (Feb 5, 2018)

Acronym for NEWS - Negative Extreme Worthless $hi...

GREAT post!!! I had to read it three times!!


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## rocky1 (Feb 5, 2018)

Herb the greatest thing that ever happened to music is the I-Pod. You get the grand kids to copy all your old CDs, the neighbors old CDs, every CD you can find, save them in MP3or4 format, and download them on your I-Pod. Or, you can purchase music on Amazon, or various other Music services, and download them to your computer, and copy them to your I-Pod. If you have a NEW whizbang has everything vehicle, you can plug the I-Pod in and it shuts down when your cell phone rings in through the radio and you talk to your vizer to reply. If it's an older vehicle, the I-Pod will plug in directly to the stereo, or you go to Walmart and buy a CD adapter, or a Cassette adapter, and plug that into your I-Pod.

But when you get it plugged in, it plays Music non-stop, for however many days worth of music you have loaded to it, without interruption for the news, or the weather, or the cutsie sounding DJ duos, public service announcements, campaign promises, or even commercials!! It just plays music, uninterrupted for as long as you want to listen to music. With a broad appreciation of music, you could find yourself like me, and not have to listen to the same song twice, for oh... 18.5 days last I checked! 

Might be worth looking into! If the grand-kids tell you that you can listen to music on your phone, ask them who pays for data usage on their cell phone bill.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Lou Currier (Feb 5, 2018)

My son bought me a blue tooth adapter for my car stereo...works great.

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Feb 5, 2018)

Wife bought me the little postage stamp sized I-Pod, the Nano I believe it was. I exceeded capacity before I got through loading 'my' CDs, so I gave that one to her, and went and bought the big one, 160 GB... I literally have 18.5+ days of music on there, 450+ hours, and it's not a third full. The 2015 Dodge 5500, you plug the I-Pod in inside the console, it pops up on the stereo, shows album covers, with artist and name of the song playing. Phone rings, it stops the I-Pod, tells you you have a call, touch the screen, answer your call, when you hang up, it starts the I-Pod back up, right where you left off. I loved it over the road!! Sweet system!!

Reactions: Like 2


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## Tony (Feb 6, 2018)

I've got Bluetooth noise canceling headphones I use in the Shop to listen to my music and cut down on the noise, wonderful things! Tony


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 8, 2018)

I seem to have done the same thing with music. Except for when I'm in my shop, then it's rock and roll for me!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mr. Peet (Feb 10, 2018)

Lou Currier said:


>


Elsa used to stop in next door and visit with her childhood friend Ingrid Spangenberg. It was in the 1990's, assume they are passed on by now...

Reactions: Like 2


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 11, 2018)

But when I am on youtube I find all kinds of bluegrass that I dig!

Reactions: Agree 1 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (Feb 11, 2018)

I never really listened to music- ears have never been good so it was just the beat I liked. No music in shop- used to have Sirius in truck and car but it has gotten spendy and mostly people talking. Kathie has switched us to Pandora-wifi hot spot in both vehicles- just train it what you like.


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## rocky1 (Feb 11, 2018)

woodtickgreg said:


> But when I am on youtube I find all kinds of bluegrass that I dig!



Sirius has a few good Bluegrass stations. 




Mike1950 said:


> I never really listened to music- ears have never been good so it was just the beat I liked. No music in shop- used to have Sirius in truck and car but it has gotten spendy and mostly people talking. Kathie has switched us to Pandora-wifi hot spot in both vehicles- just train it what you like.



Nephew got the Sirius XM package free for however many months with purchase of new truck, then they wanted to charge him big bucks on the package. Called up and tried to talk him into signing for the regular ridiculous price. He told them he got a flier in e-mail offering an introductory package for like $5/month, and told them he might sign up for that. They said "Sure! We can do that.", and signed him for like 5 years, locked in at the introductory price. 

The one thing I haven't figured out is we have one bridge we cross on the St. Johns River. Span in the middle of the bridge rises to about 100 ft. to allow sailboats to pass. When you get on top of that 100 ft. rise, in the middle of the river, a half mile from any obstruction of any nature, the Satellite Radio quits. It is a total mystery to me why, but it does it every time.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Tony (Feb 11, 2018)

woodtickgreg said:


> But when I am on youtube I find all kinds of bluegrass that I dig!



Greg, look up a band named Hayseed Dixie. They started as a AC/DC cover band but Bluegrass. They've expanded to other band's music as well. Very good stuff, opened for AC/DC a few times. It'll get you moving! Tony

Reactions: Way Cool 1


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## Mr. Peet (Feb 11, 2018)

rocky1 said:


> Sirius has a few good Bluegrass stations.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Rock, does the bridge have microwave towers on it? Same thing happens on one of the bridges in Delaware. The microwave frequency creates perfect interference and cancels the satellite reception momentarily.


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## rocky1 (Feb 11, 2018)

None on the bridge itself, but there may be some nearby. The Bridge is simply an open concrete construction 2 lane bridge. There is an old naval reserve base nearby, and a small shipyard, but all of that is privatized now. However... The reserve base did have, and there still is an active airfield, there may be radar creating problems, but it works fine up to about half the rise of the span on either side, just not over the top half of the hump.


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