music I listened to

Yesterday, Chris was searching online for a singer whose voice he really liked as a kid.  Turned out to be the lead singer from Deep Purple.  The song he played, however, threw ME back into my childhood; Lalena.  the Deep Purple version was somewhat faithful to the original, but I really wanted to hear the Donovan version.  Chris didn't know it was a Donovan song, and he talked a bit about Deep Purple instead delving into what happened to the singer and it is a tragic tale of lies and greed.  The only Deep Purple song I can name off the top of my head is "Highway Star" which I heard recently blasting at the casino. Boy THAT took me back the the smoky bedrooms of my misspent youth.  Not going there right now.

Donovan, however, evokes a gentler happy time in my life.  My neighbor , Liz worked ( I'm not sure worked is the right work, she might have been a volunteer or something) at an underground radio station in the mid 60's.  Underground radio in Los Angeles was what later became FM radio.it was wild and free-wheeling and I don't know how they got away with the things they said, but it was NOT KHJ! Liz was that girl, the one everyone in the 60's aspired to be; artistic, beautiful with a cool car and a cool boyfriend.  She used to laugh and say "Trendsetter" in a high society voice so it came out Trend- said-a and flip her long hair and laugh.  You knew she didn't take it seriously.  She was the reason I knew about Crosby, Stills and Nash and Donovan.

I loved - and probably still love- Donovan's music.  It meant a lot to me.  I wrote  ( and still write) somewhat bad poetry.  I enjoy the process and sometimes it comes out just as I meant it to but it is not anything anyone would PAY me to do.  It truly is art for arts sake. 

But Donovan, he wrote such deep and lovely things. He made you think. He made you dream. He opened your eyes to the mystic and the mythical that defined the mid 60's

I just downloaded Spotify on my phone for my commute to work.  I just might listen to a set of Donovan, if he is there.