Nothing Like Finding a Forgotten Song

 Once upon a time, there was no Internet. No Pandora, Spotify, YouTube or Google. In many ways, those were better times.   We listened to the radio, which we all know could be hit or miss.  Maybe we'd have to listen extra carefully to hear the DJ list the songs they played before a commercial came on. Or we'd actually call and talk to the disc jockey (or whoever answered the phone).

Once you knew what the mystery song was, and who recorded it, it was time to either buy the 45, or LP. Or be on the ready with the portable radio/cassette player to tape it the next time it played on the radio. If you got tired of waiting, you could request it, and then wait some more.

I mostly listened to "Classic Hits" or "Album Oriented Rock" stations. Sometimes if there wasn't anything good on those, I'd check the "Oldies" and "Soft Rock" options, and finally, contemporary or Mixed channels. By the end of the 80's there really wasn't much new music to entice me.

Fast forward 35 years.  I haven't listened to traditional or even satellite radio for decades. It's almost a quaint concept. Having to weed through and patiently suffer through loads of sub-par music to eventually be rewarded with something you actually wanted to hear!

There's something to be said for the element of surprise. It's a special feeling to be jolted to life by the unexpected joy of hearing a cherished song. Maybe one you've forgotten, or one you never tire of hearing. Sure, nowadays we can listen to a song pretty much on demand, and that's a great thing. But it was the magic of the moment that made the old ways special. An unexpected melody had the power to swing my mood, unleash old memories, and just plain make me happy. How about you?

Since I've aged, and now use Spotify, I've made the modern day equivalent of the 80's mix tape. Playlists are what they call them now. It's fun to listen to all the radio favorites that shaped my childhood. Songs that I'd only hear on the radio because they weren't serious music. Songs my dad would never buy, or play on his stereo in the den.  I'd call them guilty pleasures now, and wouldn't assault my dad's ears with bubblegum. Some of those songs were only memorable because they evoked the time they came from. They were little time capsules. Especially the ones from my high school years. 

The reason I started writing this post is because I recently awoke with a really obscure song in my head. I'm pretty knowledgeable about songs and artists. But somehow the information on this particular song slipped through the cracks. So how would I figure out what the song was when I only knew part of the melody and a few of the lyrics? 

I knew it was a 70's song, and it  reminded me of  "I'm not in love" by 10cc.  I skipped through  countless clips of that group in hope of finding it. When that didn't work, I went to Google Search. 

Clicking on the little microphone on the search bar brings up a page that's "Listening". At the bottom of the page there's a prompt to click for searching for a song. Then it asks you to sing or hum a few bars.  All I knew of my mystery song were the words "...to the sea" repeated over and over, so with my very limited vocal prowess I "sung" it for about 10 seconds.  There ended up being three possible results. The first one only had a 14% chance of being what I wanted. But it was the right one! 

THIS IS THE ONLY RADIO I HAVE SET UP AT THE MOMENT!!

                                            

So without further ado, here's the song! (see above).   It's been so long since I heard it (1980) that I really didn't remember the beginning. I'd never known the rest of the lyrics until now. It's kind of a sad, melancholy song that stuck in my subconscious. I added it to my playlist.

What are your favorite songs from the good old radio? Do you still listen to contemporary music on FM today?  Do you use a free or paid streaming service? Have you ever Googled a song to figure out what it was? Feel free to comment!