Have you ever heard somebody describe a dream or aspiration and liked it so much that you adopted it as your own?
I don’t mean something broad and obvious like “I want to travel the world” but something specific and tangible like “I want to see the Taj Mahal at sunset.” The image clicks with you and suddenly, yeah, you want to see the Taj Mahal at sunset, too.
So what does this have to do with Tom Petty?
In my senior year of high school, Petty’s fabulous Full Moon Fever was at its popular peak. The album had five singles reach the top five on the Billboard charts, a remarkable feat. It was certainly on constant rotation on my CD player. Relatively early in the CD era, it included an amusing middle bonus track where Petty delivered a message to CD listeners, telling them they’d reached the point of the album where those listening on record or cassette would have to flip to side two.
Anyway, one of my high school friends told me once that he had a dream of being at a party, pulling out an acoustic guitar and launching into ‘The Apartment Song’ while everybody gathered around to listen. It was such a random comment, and such a vivid image, that it’s stuck with me ever since. I can’t hear this song without imagining the thrill of creating music for an audience in an intimate setting like that.
I’m not sure why he chose this song in particular and not, say, ‘Yer So Bad’ or ‘Zombie Zoo.’ But I hope he realized his dream, because I know I’m not going to be able to do it for him.
Neighbors knockin’ on my wall
Times were hard, I don’t wanna knock it
I don’t miss it much at all
Oh yeah, I’m alright, I just feel a little lonely tonight
I’m okay, most of the time
I just feel a little lonely tonight
I used to need your love so badly
Then I came to live with it
Lately I get a faraway feeling
And the whole thing starts again
Oh yeah, I’m alright, I just feel a little lonely tonight
I’m okay, most of the time
I just feel a little lonely tonight
I used to need your love so badly
Then I came to live with it
Lately I get a faraway feeling
And the whole thing starts again
Meet Me In Montauk 
Maybe he liked the idea of playing a song in a room filled with people that repeats the line “I just feel a little lonely tonight” 7 times? 😉 Figured it was a good way to earn sympathy and wind up with someone willing to go home with him?
Regardless, I, too, hope he fulfilled his dream. Not sure why it’s too late for you to do the same. Learning to play an instrument is not as difficult as learning a new language – you just need to make time to do it. So…. ? Can we count on your entertainment at some point in 2010?
Finally, this album is up there in my top five albums of all time. It’s probably my very best example of an album being superior to the songs that make it up. Not that the songs don’t stand well on their own – they do. Just that hearing them one after another in the order Petty placed them makes for one of the more satisfying listening experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. It’s also one of the best driving albums of all time.
I would just augment the dream so that, when I pulled out the guitar, Tom Petty would pick it up and start playing the song right then and there:)
I agree that this is one of the best albums recorded by anyone, although I’m not even sure if it’s my favorite Petty album, as I find Wildflowers to be nearly perfect in an entirely different way. Still, I agree with Amy that if you are driving down the highway, preferably in a convertible, there are few better albums to blast through those car speakers than this one.
I’ve always wished that I could either awe people with my amazing piano playing skills or beautiful voice; however it was not to be, but it’s a nice dream, isn’t it?