"Jungleland" - Bruce Springsteen, 1975

I'm fascinated with the way that music can transport us back to another time and place.

Today, the title of the blog doesn't have anything to do with the content but is simply what I enjoyed the most when I "shuffled" through some favorite songs on my iRiver MP3 player during my commute into Oxford for work this morning. I love my iRiver...although I must admit, enviously, that I love John's new iPod Shuffle even more!

I believe I've written previously about how much I appreciate shuffling music. You can get really cool insight and perspective on songs when they are pulled out of context through randomizing.

I'm feeling very happy today. I've madly in love with the most wonderful man I've ever known. We're going to get married when circumstances (and the UK Home Office) will allow -- hopefully some time early next year. I love my new adopted home here in England. I especially love the beauty of the countryside in Oxfordshire. I have discovered the joy of teaching...and I seem to have a knack for it. I have a wonderful life.

As I walked over the cobblestones along St Aldates, approaching my office, Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland" started playing through the Sony headphones. Wow. Now, that's a song I really love! Tt represents a very interesting time in my life...very, very different from my life now. And it's also always represented the gritty sound of urban life. I associate it with New York City, even though I was living in Houston at the time it was released. That song knocked my socks off from the first moment I heard it. And that was thanks to my younger brother Larry, who brought over the LP so that I could hear this new artist he'd discovered. Larry, I'll always remember that afternoon, over at the duplex on Dashwood.

Memories of the mid-70's started flooding back into my head, as Clarence's sax wailed.

Who would have ever guessed where life's road would have taken me these 30 years later! Who would have ever thought how incredibly happy I'd be now! Wow.

And where have all those years gone, anyway...?

Janet

PS I recently noticed, in somebody's blog (sorry...I can't remember whose it was...), that they indicate what music they've been listening to recently. What a great idea! Sorry to steal it, but I'm going to. Music is such an important part of my life, and I've been introduced to some fascinating artists recently. So I'm going to start indicating what I'm listening to each time I publish a blog entry. Maybe this will be interesting to some of you...whether the artists mentioned are familiar or new.

I'll start today, then, with:

Listening to...Bruce Springsteen (specifically "Born To Run")