A couple of weeks ago, my post talked about the job I had working at the supermarket at the end of high school. As usual with my posts, the topics tend to stay in my thoughts during the following days as I go about my routine life. Often, the thoughts start branching out in various directions, and I just let those thoughts flow.
The very next day after that post, I was scrolling through my TV app searching for the evening's entertainment when I happened across a film called, "Blinded by the Light."
Fortuitous?
I would say so.
I won't comment any further about luck, but this was the perfect film for me to see after having spent the previous few days thinking about being 17 and 18 years old.
"Blinded by the Light," is a film that tells the story of a Pakistani teenager growing up in England. The film is set in 1987-1988, and is all about the youth discovering Bruce Springsteen during his senior year in high school, and how it changed his life.
When the movie first came out a couple of years ago, I initially dismissed the film without really taking the time to consider how much I might relate to the movie. For starters, the movie title did little to peak my curiosity. I was familiar with the song (same title), as it was quite popular at the end of the 1970s around the time that I was starting to listen to the radio. Back then, I was just listening while I played in my room, but was not really actively listening. The radio was tuned to some rock/pop station, and this why I had such an early exposure to the likes of Billy Joel, Kansas, The Who, Cheap Trick, and Manfred Mann, who I knew as the band that played "Blinded by the Light."
In fact, until a couple of weeks ago, I did not realize that Bruce Springsteen actually wrote the song. I was already familiar with the Boss, having listened to him on the radio in the background as R2D2 and C3PO trekked across the desert wasteland, otherwise known as my bedroom floor. At the time, I was vaguely familiar with "Born to Run," but the real attraction to that album would not come for another few years. The Boss track that I connected with as a 7 year old came around Christmas time, when the radio was regularly playing all the seasonal songs from popular artists. Bruce's version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," was (and is) a real favorite.
Despite the differences in culture and heritage, I connected with the film on so many levels. I, too, was actively writing during my senior year, and most importantly, I experienced the same moments where discovering a new artist or song or album immediately changed my life. Unlike the character in the movie, I did not experience just one such moment, but rather a handful (if not close to 10). In fact, such moments continued regularly during the next 10 years (and continue to this day), but the stand outs certainly come from that era. Most people clue into that fact the moment they walk into my living room, as those significant influences are literally displayed everywhere.
What was particularly inspirational from the film was how the character discovered his writing voice. I, too, was fortunate (erm, lucky) to discover my voice around the same time, and it took several conversations with college professors before I truly grasped how important this was. Not the writing ability so much, but more the ability to write with a voice, to express.
Over the years, I continue to seek out new inspirational signs from others; I am always interested in what influences people and drives them. I realized early enough that it is of no importance what I feel about what drives the individual, so long as they have something. Sure, it makes for a more interesting conversation or experience when there is a mutual connection or interest, particularly when it comes to music or art. A perfect example of this comes from the film itself: the guy puts a specific track on to the school's PA system, locks the door of the room (so no one can get in), then proceeds to run out into the streets dancing and singing. That is precisely what I feel like doing every time I hear that Springsteen song, and several of my close friends feel very similar. Sure, I had other bands instead of Bruce that spark that feeling, but the feeling is the same. (To be clear, I am a fan of the Boss, but without meaning any disrespect, other bands steered my life in the direction it has taken).
One of the things that I sometimes get a little troubled by is the lack of such similar experiences and influences in the younger people of today. To be fair, I am ever more out of touch with that generation, but still, I keep looking for the signs. And, perhaps they are more existent than I realize. I certainly hope so.
This past week I listened to a couple of podcasts from public radio. One report was about the band Kraftwerk, the pioneering electronic band that changed the music world, and I happened to be around for it. The other podcast was about how people will struggle to find their way, find their voice, as things start to quietly open up again in the world after such a long hiatus.
The report was specifically about a high school senior who basically never saw any of her classmates face to face until the last few weeks of school, and how awkward it was to kind of start over.
Whether it be a student, a 20-something, a senior citizen, or a 50-something like me, we are all going to go through a period of adjustment as we re-enter society. Everyone has a different experience and story to tell. Clearly many people have dealt with this (perhaps) better than others, but I think it is relative.
For me, I am planning to think about those life changing moments I had with that first listen to THAT band, or THAT song, and remember how I felt as I start to get back out there. Hopefully, others will be doing something similar.
As the movie concluded that Sunday evening, I sat there in my living room cheering, crying, laughing, pretty much hitting emotional euphoria.
I have a feeling that as we all get reacquainted with each other in the coming weeks, we will all be feeling similar emotions.
It is going to be interesting, exciting, and for me, it is definitely going to be an experience with a super soundtrack.
See you out there
bryan
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