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Finally Legal: Seven of My Favorite Songs from the Year I Turned 21
Why seven? Why not.
As I was looking back over some of my earliest stories, I saw that I have written two articles about my favorite songs from a pivotal year in my life. The first was inspired by a prompt from Buddy Gott (the writer formerly known as Pierce McIntyre) about songs from the year I turned 16, while the second was inspired by my desire to write about “Born to Run” (something I don’t do nearly enough), which was released when I was nine. Since both of those were written more than two years ago, it’s time to go to that well once more.
I’ve chosen to highlight songs from the year I turned 21 for several reasons. The USSR was still in business back then, giving us one big enemy to worry about rather than the countless smaller ones we have now. Politics were still a semi-civil affair (who would have ever thought that someday Ronald Reagan would be too “liberal” for Republicans?) and the median price of a house was $250,000 less than it is today. Also, there were no cell phones, which means no cell phone cameras, which is why there is no photographic evidence that can come back to haunt me if I ever run for office.
The title of this piece is actually a bit misleading, however; by the time I turned 21, I could already legally vote, smoke, and drink (having been…
