The Carpenters

I'm a rock-n-roll guy; have been for a long time. But I started out listening to my parents' record collection. And because I had a stay-at-home Mom, I spent my early childhood listening to her favorites, which included Johnny Mathis, Mamas and Papas and one seminal album from a brother-sister duo:

THE CARPENTERS.

The album was 1970's "Close To You," offering up the duo's first NUMBER ONE hit, the title track of the album. Mom loved it because of the layered harmonies and Karen's silky smooth alto voice. Mom was also an alto who could match harmonies with ANY melody. She had a knack for that.

Their music is nostalgic to me on an intrinsic level. Richard Carpenter's opening piano riff on "Close To You" is iconic and it immediately takes me back to Race Street in Princeton, Indiana. That's where we lived when I started kindergarten. Other than my Sesame Street record collection on 45, that Carpenters album was the soundtrack to my early childhood. By the time they hit the "wah" section, I'm five years old again!

Their early hits have been playing on repeat in my head. As a follow-up to their first #1, they released their second hit, "We've Only Just Begun," which was a California bank commercial tune. Richard saw it on TV one day and said, "That's a hit record!" He happened to know the duo who wrote it and rang them.

I ran across a YouTube video chronicling their meteoric rise to stardom in the '70s, appearing on Ed Sullivan, Bob Hope Special, Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, their own special...they were all over television during my childhood. But they're not an act I seek out or regularly listen to. Had it not been for this random YT video I watched, I wouldn't have them on repeat in my head.

But there's something about nostalgic music and how it works like an instant portal. Like comfort food, this music takes me back to the warmth of living at home under mother's care, back to my innocence, a time when I didn't have a worry or care in the world. That's what their music has done for me here lately during this time of uncertainty and change.

Sadly, the world lost Karen Carpenter at 32. She was but a teenager when Herb Alpert signed them to A&M records and suggested the Burt Bacharach tune, "Close To You," which was originally written for Alpert to record, thus the excellent trumpet solo part. A&M left the arrangement to Richard, who had a George Martin-like knack for that sort of thing. I've even heard other artists and admirers compare him to the incomparable Brian Wilson. And as I said, that opening piano riff was all Richard Carpenter. But the silky smooth lead vocal was uniquely Karen. I don't know if sudden stardom contributed to her eating disorder, but it weakened her heart and she died young of respiratory failure.

SEE HOW PERFECTLY SHE SANG:

There was no better easy listening music from that period than Karen and Richard Carpenter. I think they played in heavy rotation on WXTC, Indianapolis. Dad would always have that easy listening station playing at low volume in the living room when I was in grade school, after we'd moved from Princeton. I think I remember falling asleep to the trumpet solo way back then.

The Carpenters, for me, are comfort music.

Comfort Music

Sitting in a quiet cafe this morning, nearly lulled to sleep by the hum of the overhead flourescent lights, I put in a 70's music CD I had made several years ago. The soft rock music instantly changed the atmosphere in the cafe and improved my mood, wiping away the cobwebs from my mind. It dawned on me that this music from my childhood is as good as comfort food. Hence, I donned the term "comfort music."

Just like it's edible counterpart, the style of music depends on the individual. For me, it is the music that played on the car stereo, the transistor radio/Walkman or the intercomm system at our house while I was growing up. Yes, our house had a built-in intercomm system with an AM/FM radio tuner that we managed to break the first or second year we lived there. Still, that music, which ran the gamut from Motown to Folk to Rock, that provided the soundtrack to my adolescence is what I would call my "comfort music."




This morning it was "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft, "Listen To What The Man Says" by McCartney and "Old Days" by Chicago, just to name a few. Like I said, it was a homemade CD of 70's tunes that I either plucked from another CD of mine or from an MP3 download site. It is full of tunes, like the ones mentioned above, that take me back in time and make me feel at home. When played on a great sound system, they wrap me up like a warm, wooly blanket on a cold Indiana day. Some of them remind me of childhood trips to our cabin in Sullivan, IN. Others remind me of driving through downtown Indy on the way to Pee-Wee Football practice at Riverside Park, or through Broad Ripple and past the mansions on Meridian Street. Those are great memories and the radio hits of the 70's were my personal soundtrack.

Okay, before I start to sound like a late night Time-Life Music Collection infomercial, let me switch gears. I also love Smooth Jazz. That upbeat, modern "elevator music" serves as a great backdrop to any number of things from chores to making babies (not that I've ever actually helped in making one). The syncopated and groovy rhythms sometimes get me motivated or make me want to jump behind a drum kit. But when I'm really looking for inspiration, to do chores, projects or workout (not that I work out that often), I switch into what I call 99X gear, mixing up classic rock from the 70's-90's with some edgier, newer alternative rock. See, I'm a complex music lover. But back to my point, and the informercial, I find comfort in the music of my youth. Back in my days of innocence, it was Paul McCartney and Wings, Stevie Wonder. the Doobie Brothers and James Taylor who provided the soundtrack. I think what that music does today, besides transport me back in time, it reminds me of when life was a lot less complicated and anxiety-ridden. That's why I call it "comfort music."

Savoring Childhood for My Girls

Philip Gulley, a contributor to Indianapolis Monthly, penned a superb article titled "Poor Sport" in the September 2008 issue. It attacks with razor wit and sage insight youth sports organizations and the adult participants who support them.

The underlying message is that too many parents, in the name of sports almighty, are sacrificing the childhood of their offspring. Isn't society forcing children to grow up at warp speed already?

I am not against organized sports altogether, but as Gulley points out, much is to be gained by letting children form their own "leagues" in back yards and community parks. Much more is to be lost by shuttling them all over the country to compete for vain prizes and glory.

Kids need time and space to grow. They don't need adults micromanaging every minute of free time, pushing them to compete or serving as their "agents."

I remember countless kickball and wiffle ball games in my parent's yard where trees, bushes, buckets, frisbees and sometimes, stumps served as the bases. I can remember being picked last to play 3-on-3 blacktop basketball in the neighbor's driveway. Hey, I'm short, white and slow...but that didn't stop Larry!

The point is, I live in Fishers, youth sports capitol of the Midwest (maybe not it's official title, but one I'm happy to designate). And I could have my 7-year-old daughter in a myriad of after-school activities, including competitive soccer, swimming, diving or gymnastics. She's asked about participating in most of these, but I've made her pick ONE. She's naturally prone to water. I think her biological mother must have been a mermaid. So, I've enrolled her in swim lessons at the local high school. No, not the travelling swim team, just the plain old, swim lesson twice a week for three weeks. From there, we'll see where it goes.

Maybe she'll show a real knack for the breast stroke, and compete one day in AAU, but I'm not pushing it. At this age, I think it's best to let them try a few things first, and then choose. And if they choose not to compete, there's still the neighborhood kickball league.

I'm doing my best to let her and her 4-year-old sister enjoy their childhood. I see enough of their competitive side in day-to-day sibling rivalry. I don't need a bunch spectators and over-zealous parents to enjoy that sport.