let's go rainy-day nostalgic again, shall we? ...yes!

... just the other day, i was feeling quite musical as i do whenever i'm alone and have got nothing to do. in the past, being the sneak that i am, i comb through my dad's vinyl LP collection (without him knowing). among the 100-or-something big ol' discs he's got: Santana, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and other rockin' groups that defined his generation. (i fondly remember singing "oye como va" and "stairway to heaven" even if i didn't know the words, as the LP played loudly in our turntable one new year's eve.) ... but let me not forget The Beatles as part of his repertoire. he's got tons of them! it was actually my pop who introduced me to their music and their ever-enduring influence. again, i reminisce "Abbey Road" playing on the car stereo on sunday trips so much that i know almost all their songs in that album by heart. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was genius, as i love "A Little Help From My Friends", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Getting Better".

an instance that led me to rediscover again the LPs last monday was when kazaa randomly played "So Far Away" by Carole King. to me, that song is so beautiful that even if you play it a million times i won't grow tired of it. it's like one of the best (love) songs in the universe! and so, inquisitive and incorrigible as i am, i trooped to dad's cabinet and scoured through those dusty big things to find "Tapestry", because i vaguely remembered seeing that before. "Tapestry" is King's 1971 album which was a big hit, considering there were a lot of great classics in it (posting the track list):

1. I Feel the Earth Move
2. It's Too Late
3. So Far Away
4. Home Again
5. Beautiful
6. Way Over Yonder
7. You've Got a Friend
8. Where You Lead
9. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
10. Smackwater Jack
11. Tapestry
12. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

of these, more than half of them are those i am familiar with and like (1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12.) "It's Too Late" (Grammy Record of the Year) was featured in the soundtrack of "The Lake House" and got me to like it sooo much again. i remember walking in the campus field with my college friends last march when some people were setting up for the graduates' baccalaureate mass and they test-played "You've Got a Friend" (Grammy Song of the Year) on the big speakers and i fell into a state of deep ponderance. carole's voice is so damn gorgeous and light and so earnest you just want to be so thankful to have friends. (honestly, this makes me teary! *sniff*) i am more exposed to the James Taylor version but this one rocked my socks. her music, her voice, her melody is so incredible it withstands anything... to think she wrote all these songs -- she means every one of them and connects them to every listener! it is therefore no wonder that "Tapestry" became one of the biggest-selling records of all time.

the only obstruction to my Musical Heaven was that i couldn't play it. our hi-fi component of 20+ years died 2 years ago, and our new one doesn't have the "phonograph" function, that's why i couldn't connect my surviving turntable anywhere to listen to it. right now, i am only content with reading the lyrics found at the back of the LP and 'try' to sing them. what a sad fate. :( as the only Carole King song around in my player is still "So Far Away", i'm thinking of downloading her other stuff.

but i won't be satisfied with mp3s hanging around my PC. (my drive's not CD-R.) i implore YOU -- anybody, somebody! give me a copy of "Tapestry"! (i wonder if they still sell 'classics' though.) even if it's pirated -- just please, not the karaoke version! @_@ if you do, i will tell the gods your name and you shall have eternal glory and happiness! ha ha! :D

---