Mad and sad

Mad Men is over, ending on a beautiful if ambiguous note. I was beyond sad for a couple of days afterwards, but I'm now attempting to stay in my Mad Men cocoon by revisiting series 1 and 2 (which I have never seen in full and thus was always at something of a loss in later seasons) and listening to music of the era.

Here's one of my favorites, which I remember from 1960s AM radio: Brian Hyland's "Sealed with a Kiss." A lovely melody, spare instrumentation, accompanied by Hyland's plaintive voice rising above it all--this is my idea of a pop classic, a song and performance that have stood the test of time. I honestly can't think of many if any recent (last 10 to 20 years) pop songs managing to achieve this level of enduring perfection. Too often it's technology over tune, publicity over performance, and vocal pyrotechnics over the pure and simple voice. What a world.

I wish I could sing like this, express myself musically, create a piece of art so beautiful and long-lasting, and touch the hearts and minds of many or even just a few.

But I'm not greedy. At this point in my life, I'd be satisfied to refocus my career energies on becoming one of the backup dancers in this video. Lithesome moves in tandem and always in sync with the beat. Suddenly I'm transported to 1962, pre-Internet, pre-AIDS, pre-Vietnam War, and am full of possibility and promise.

Hullabaloo. Shindig. Come on baby, take me where the action is. I am there.