these are the songs of my childhood. like proust’s famous madeleine, these songs unleash such a vivid pastiche of memories that i’m transported to the heart of europe, early seventies, my mother in bell bottoms and giant sunglasses, my dad with long sideburns in a three-piece suit, my sisters hardly old enough to be in pre-school, my brother just a baby. i am overcome by nostalgia. this feeling of sadness washes over me - i feel like we have all lost something.

my favorite by far is gérard lenorman’s “michèle” which interestingly enough is about lost love, about how things seem simpler when we are young. it’s also very french - i too miss “les cafés joyeux, mêmes les trains de banlieue”. here it is (could only find it in this unfortunate karaoke video):

then there is “angie” by the stones:

and of course there’s elton john’s “goodbye yellow brick road”:

more in my next post!