Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease
I think it’s true what they say
About the squeaky wheel
Always getting the grease

After my ex-wife moved out, I played certain CDs again and again. And they revealed meaning I never knew they possessed. I truly got "It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)" from "Bringing It All Back Home". I resonated with "My Love’s Leavin’" off Steve Winwood’s "Back In The High Life". And I discovered the lyrics of "Shower The People", from James Taylor’s "In The Pocket".

That’s what happens when you’re suddenly alone. You listen to music. Not just any music. OLD music. Music you know. Music that comforts you. Music that’s your friend. And the amazing thing is, even though the tracks are frozen in plastic, they reveal new meanings you skipped over, that you didn’t digest the first fifty or hundred times through.

I always thought "Shower The People" was just a trifle.

Now it’s my credo.

You can play the game
And you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn’t written for you

I went to one of America’s finest institutions of higher learning. I’d like to tell you how great it was, how I was excited in class, how my mind was opened. But that would be a lie. What I treasure about those days at Middlebury was the skiing. Every fucking day. That’s what I was doing in Vermont. And that’s the main activity from back then that I still participate in.

I’m a member of the California Bar. Unlike a fiftysomething promo man who gets laid off from the label and has no options, I can always practice law. Theoretically. It’s just that that’s not who I am.

Who are you? Are you the person your parents told you to be? Or are you the person YOU want to be? The latter is not easy. You have to cast off the trappings, your education. You have to go through fits and starts, down blind alleys. You must SEARCH with your only guide being what feels right in your heart.

I’d say that’s the American way, but I’d be lying. Now more than ever the American way is finding a cushy spot and lying there, away from the buffeting wind of your desires. Sure, you’ve got money. But what did the greatest group of all time say? Money can’t buy you love?

Actually, the greatest group of all time signed James Taylor to its label. Hunt down that initial Apple album, finally released on CD. The production sounds dated, but the magic remains. Especially in "Something In The Way She Moves". I quote lines from that song in my mind all the time. But it’s the lines from "Shower The People" that I live by.

It’s not easy speaking your truth. Society says it doesn’t want to hear it. You’re supposed to put on a brave face. Be upbeat.

But that’s not human nature. What did Woody Allen say? Life is about the miserable and the horrible? That you should feel lucky if you’re just miserable?

But no one’s miserable anymore. Until they O.D. after being seen smiling in "People".

But in the sixties and seventies, to be honest in your records was the goal. And nobody was more honest than James Taylor.

After finally getting "Shower The People", I started writing different stuff. Instead of always writing business-oriented stuff for businessmen who were all business, I started to reveal what was on the inside. What I felt. Inspired by these records.

That’s when people started to testify.

I’d like to tell you I’m not afraid to lay my life on the line.

That would be lying.

It’s embarrassing.

But it’s the truth.

And the only reason I do it is because of these records. Fuck what I learned in college, everything I know I learned from these records. Who I am, and who I want to be. These people were my icons. They were following their own muse. Exploring for the rest of us. That’s why I bought the records. That’s why I went to the shows. That’s why I write this stuff.

You can listen or download the podcast from Rhino’s site

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