Speak softly and carry a big palindrome.
Columbus never did discover that western route to Asia, largely because those pesky American continents were in the way, running nearly from pole to pole. On May 4, 1904, the US took a big step towards rectifying that problem when it took over a failing project to build a canal across the isthmus of Central America from the French and ten years later officially opened the Panama Canal. In one of those geographical mindfucks (a la traveling south of Detroit to get to Canada), to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via the Panama canal, you actually have to travel in a southeasterly direction.
And while the US has had its dirty little fingers in Central American politics for a long time, this was one of its first major efforts to throw its weight around as Teddy Roosevelt quite literally created the nation of Panama so the US would have an ally that would let them control the land around the canal, which Colombia was hesitant to do. A US backed Panamanian revolt against Colombia was so successful, it was over before the Colombian government even knew what happened…
Manuel Noriega knows you don’t mess with the US in Panama.
And in honor of Noriega’s “love” of rock music and the theme of this week’s Share Your World questions from Di, have a bonus earworm on me!
Original plan for the Panama Canal…
The First of May is a Bee Gees Song. Do you like the Bee Gees and if so, what is your favorite track?
I love disco, and therefore love the Bee Gees’ disco music. “You Should Be Dancing” got a well deserved Top 3 spot in my Countdown of Whatever three years ago, and would easily be my favorite song of theirs. The mellow, schlocky version of the band that preceded their disco days is an abomination of which I won’t waste words decrying…
They may be a fashion abomination, but these were the best days of the Bee Gees.
What was the first record (single or album) you bought?
I’ve mentioned this before, but despite my longtime love of music… which should be clear to anyone who reads my blog (my musical taste is another matter), I don’t think I’ve ever spent a dime in my life on anything music related. I’ve never bought an album/cassette/CD/whatever other physical media they put music on. I’ve never paid for a music download. I’ve never bought a concert ticket. I won’t even pay for satellite radio, which has major advantages to free radio. Let the music be free….
I didn’t even buy this piece of garbage. It was a gag gift from my Mom…
Do you know what was top of the charts the day you were born?
I don’t need to look, I already know. The #1 song the week I was born was also the #1 song of the year 1975… “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennille. But outside of that I don’t really know, so let’s see what the Top 10 songs were Casey Kasum was playing on American Top 40 that day (I was born on a Sunday, which was the day it was broadcast)…
Yikes, it’s a 70’s soft rock buffet! Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that. Of the songs on this list, my favorites would be “Wildfire,” “Magic,” and “One of These Nights.” “Swearin’ To God” and “Please Mr. Please” are the only ones I don’t really like. The rest is anywhere from just good to meh…
Do you and your partner have a ‘special tune’?
There’s that mystical and magical partner again….
Obviously not. And I’m just gonna throw this song on for the hell of it….
Gratitude: Music has no hidden agenda, it can inspire, soothe and calm.
Of course it doesn’t…..
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
wow that was interesting… I looked for my birthday billboard song….Jeannie C. Riley – Harper Valley P.T.A. ….. now I understand why things are like they are.. oh man…
I heard once that your birth song was supposed to say a lot about you…. but mine sure is a miss. Some poor guy I know who was born four months after me got stuck with “Island Girl” though….
Thanks for joining in ES. 1975 eh. Ah, the memories of the music in those days!!
I wish it could have been new to me then because I love 70’s music almost as much as 80’s despite having not even been alive the first half of that decade!
Now I really feel old!!
I remember when I first came to the internet in 2000, I made people who were my current age feel old. Because so many of the younger people went to social media, I’m still a baby in places like this even though I’m almost 50!
I’m 67 next week, so got a few years on you!!
This is more like a smorgasbord! I’m afraid to say what my first record was because then everyone will know I’m older than dirt.
Nothing wrong with being older than dirt, as someone who feels older than dirt most days….
🙂 🙂
They don’t make music like the mid-70’s anymore. I’ve been on a 70’s binge on Pandora while driving lately. Feels good to sing along with Michael Martin Murphey’s Wildfire down the interstate.
mid 70’s to early 80’s is about the only era I like soft rock from, with some of the absolute best…. Wildfire being one of them. Just don’t call it yacht rock, because that term makes my skin crawl…
I can absolutely guarantee I’ll never refer to it as ‘yacht rock.’ Egad, where do saying like that come from? What a totally ridiculous reference.
Those Gibbs boys! I bet they split the backs of their pants more than once. I’m only saying that because I saw it happen back then, and I know young men who wear vintage clothing and they’re always splitting out the backs when they bend and sit. I never liked the tight junk views of this era. Tight pants and short shorts (balls always peaking out) on guys were just too much. It was beyond comical. I’m no prude but some things just need to be private.
The short shorts for boys were still around when I was a kid in the 80’s. Probably the reason I hated shorts so much and never wore them outside of gym class. I’ve split my share of jeans in my life, though that’s a weight issue…. I’d never wear anything like the Bee Gees did!
My peep spent time in the Canal Zone when he was int the Army.We think it was because he could speak Spanish. Good thing that he didn’t speak Vietnamese. Because he could, a buddy wanted a Spanish speaker to ride with him driving from the Canal to Texas. He never taught this parrot Spanish..
Not even the curse words? Those were the only interesting thing in Spanish class…
The questions really played to your strengths this week, even though you’ve never actually bought any music…
I worry about the Panama Canal. How do they stop the Atlantic and Pacific from leaking into each other? Good job one ocean isn’t downhill from the other or it would have all leaked out 😮
I’m surprised North and South America didn’t float apart from each other once the canal split them apart. It would take a LOT of duct tape to remedy that situation…
I think they were still playing music on hollow logs and dinosaur teeth the year I was born so I have no #1 that year to share. Love (as always) the flashback ‘toon!
Pam
I’ll bet it was a drum solo by BamBam Rubble…
I tell ya…..that BamBam (we called him Double Bam) sure could drum!
Aw Evil, I’ve been away too long and I’ve missed you and the music! David likes to say our special song is “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother.” I’m not sure why. I’m neither a redneck nor up against the wall. Soooo, it’s always a bit awkward. “How Deep is Your Love” used t0 be my favorite BeeGees song. At least circa Saturday Night Fever. I was 12, sue me. By 14, hormones had kicked in and I had the hots for David Lee Roth. I got over that, too. Got to see Van Halen perform at the Texxas (two x’s, I think) Jam in 1979. First real concert. Good times! Also, I love Steve Winwood. Valerie’s a great song even though my ex’s second wife was named that. I was my ex’s first wife. If you like Steve Winwood, then you might appreciate this live version of “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith at
Good to be back and come back to The Nest. Mona
Found it!
Yay! Thanks for reinstating my membership. Looking forward to more! Mona
Hey ES, I thought I sent you a comment. Did it get lost in spam because it’s been so long? I’ve been out for over six months with really bad cataracts. Hope that didn’t get me kicked out of the squirrel’s nest. Anyway, I don’t remember what I wrote originally, but I do love the music! Mona
Let me go check!
Oh yeah, I remember adding in the http address to Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton doing a live version of “Can’t Find My Way Home.” 🙂 Hope you find it!
It’s weird for a comment like that to go to Spam, usually they just go to moderation and I get a notification about those. I like a lot of Steve Winwood’s 80’s stuff (which was all I knew him for at the time), and “Valerie’s” perfect 80’s with all those synth riffs…
Absolutely.