Soundtrack

I am a musical have-not. I'm musically talented, having played guitar for over 30 years, but I pretty much stopped listening to popular music in the 90's. I'm sure there are tons of great artists out there I'm missing, but it's just never been a priority. I know this puts me in the minority in this illustrious group of pokerati, but so be it.

So, it should come as no surprise that my MP3 player, newly purchased just prior to leaving for Iraq, is filled with music from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Two songs I heard in the gym today stand out:

Helplessly Hoping, by Crosby, Stills and Nash – boy, could this be more appropriate? I sure am helplessly hoping for this deployment to end safely. Aside from the obvious poignancy of the song, it's just great music. I love good harmony and these guys were among the best.

Back in Black, by AC/DC – This song brings back tons of memories from childhood. One of my best friends, Frank Sweeney, got this album and we listened to it in his room. He had the coolest set up in his basement. His father built a whole separate room and let him keep it dark and he even had a blacklight in there. I remember Star Wars fighter jets hanging from the ceiling. Listening to AC/DC felt almost scary – like it was something our parents, certain MY parents, would disapprove of. A few years later, when I heard Frank had experimented with drugs, I just knew his turn to the dark side started with that album. It wasn't until many years later that I got over my childhood hang-up and really stared to enjoy this music. It was especially helpful today. While cranking Back in Black, I benched 200 pounds for the first time ever.