My Life in a Playlist

Day 15: The Knack - Oh Tara

Hoo, boy. This will be an interesting week!

The last song I mentioned was on an album I could not have of my playlist. It has a song so nasty and racist I wouldn't even mention the name. Besides, this is about guilty pleasures, not mortified I ever played it, even that one time. I suppose I could just put every track of this album up, but the whole thing is a delight to me.

I fell for the whole "New Beatles" idea, and yeah, I was a newly minted sixteen year old, and this was perfect for all the angst. Later they'd call it power punk. Whatever. First it was lauded, then panned, to me it was just fun. Since it holds so many memories, it stays in my shuffle.



Another story, if you want. That summer I worked in a restaurant at night, but was always looking for day jobs to add to my cash flow. If you're sixteen and don't have good cash flow, none of The Knack songs work out for you... So I was up in a fancy suburb doing yard work. I knew the guy through a guy, and I was just moving leaves. He called me over to meet his daughter Sharona. So of course I mentioned it. When he stared bawling me out, she disappeared, and he reminded me the song was about older men with younger women and his kid was fourteen.

He never asked me to work for him again. His loss, I was into older women! Besides, I've never met a Tara that has ever given me "knacky" thoughts.