On Thursday, I'll be celebrating my 40th birthday. Whee. Some random pondering of that fact led me to some unnerving realizations. They are, in no particular order: 1. The number one song in America the day I was born, June 19th, 1968, was Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson." (If I had held out another 3 days, I would have got a Herb Alpert jam. Shame, that.) 2. The first new album I purchased was Joe Jackson's "Look Sharp." That's a fond recollection; it could have been way, way worse considering the time period in question. I believe that was 1980; the album came out in '79, according to Wikipedia, but I'm fairly certain I was 12, not 11. This is still one of my all-time favorite albums, and I think I'm on what could quite possibly be my 10th copy. Interestingly, this 10th copy is the first album I purchased on iTunes. Go figure. At least I can't wear it out now. 3. The first stadium concert I attended was the Cars "Heartbeat City" tour in 1984 at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. Wang Chung opened. That's hard to swallow, but I think I still get karma points from the Joe Jackson purchase to cover for that. 4. The number one song the day I graduated high school (June 3rd, 1986) was "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald. In all honesty, by that time, I wasn't that interested in pop music (read: at all), so it's not a real surprise that I have no recollection of that particular gem. 5. When I was born, putting an 8-track deck and/or FM radio in a car was a pretty new idea. By the time I could drive, putting a cassette deck in a car was a pretty new idea. Now that I can go and buy a relatively expensive vehicle with many options, putting satellite radio and a hard drive music player in a car is a fairly new idea. But that car still can't fucking fly. What the hell? 6. A high-end recording console that left the factory on June 19th, 1968 that still exists today has somehow gained the ability to make songs better in the intervening four decades. I guess consoles are like wine. Anyhow, happy birthday to me. In lieu of buying me something, you're more than welcome to just Paypal me cash.

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