lovin the spoonful

For some reason I've been obsessed over the past few days with the music of, of all people, The Lovin' Spoonful. It is a little embarassing, but I didn't realize that a bunch of songs that I sang to when they came on the radio -- Summer in the City, You Didn't Have To Be So Nice, Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind -- were all the same group. (Including a song I actually really dislike, "Do You Believe in Magic.")

I wouldn't really call it nostalgia, because I don't have any particular childhood memories related to these songs. Most of their music is brand new to me. There is just something about lead singer John Sebastian's voice that is so appealing --- I haven't heard that many voices that are as pure, relaxed and unaffected as his. (Maybe Glenn Tilbrook? Who come to think of it, is having a similar career.) So I've been devouring everything on the net about this band, including some YouTube videos of John Sebastian at Woodstock, which is definitive proof (as if you needed it) that he was definitely a hippy.

I hope this doesn't make me a hippy, but it's making me run out and buy some CDs before the hipsters rediscover them.



One thing I am hoping, since their songs are freakin' everywhere is that I hope that John Sebastian has become fabulously rich off of them. Some rock journalist somewhere claimed that he made zillions off of the theme song of "Welcome Back, Kotter." I hope so.