34. Breakfast in America by Supertramp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-nrv4iVYFQ&list=PLIqdcWWN8Sl7YO-1CZeK5VBt19kiL9QRd
Three songs from this album are in my top 200 songs list, so yeah, it was destined to be on my Top 60 albums list.
Of all the memories that my brain could dredge up about this album, for some stupid reason, it has chosen to remember that back at the beginning of the 9th grade, Breakfast in America was Piney Votzel's favorite album. I learned this from one of those student newspaper articles filled with factoids learned from a published interview with someone in the student body that warranted special attention. And at that time it simply struck me as odd that Piney would like Supertramp so much because one of my sisters had purchased Breakfast in America shortly after it came out in March of 1979, so I had heard the album plenty over the summer, and it just didn't seem like the type of album that would end up being the absolute favorite album of a girl like Piney Votzel. I guess I expected that she would have been into rock bands that didn't have album covers featuring a big glass of orange juice.
Just to be clear about this, I never had a crush on Piney Votzel. Ever. And I'm pretty sure she never had a crush on me, either. She probably thought I was that annoying jerk that told pickle jokes in middle school and played his trumpet way too loud in pep band. I think I may have had her in some of my classes--probably something supremely forgettable like science or math or English. But I don't ever remember even talking to her at any time in middle school or high school. Piney wasn't in band or drama or track or any other extracurricular activity that I was involved in after school. As far as I know, Piney wasn't friends with any of the girls that I had a crush on, so I wouldn't have associated with her casually in the hallway. I don't remember her ever coming to Lava Hot Springs while I was lifeguarding during the summer. I did not ever dance with Piney at a school dance. I never sat next to Piney at lunch. No group project in any class ever put me and Piney into a forced exchange of ideas. I never unexpectedly ran into Piney at any store or restaurant in Pocatello. I do not recall ever seeing Piney at the truck stop in Downey. I never sat next to Piney on any bus. I did not ever drive to school and park next to Piney's car. No Halloween party or Christmas party or any other kind of party had me and Piney playing some ridiculous game together. Piney and I had zero friends in common. When my friends and I rated girls during our summer high adventure campouts, Piney was never a source of debate among us. I never had a fight with Piney. I never had a mutual laugh over something with Piney. As far as my addled brain can recall, I simply had zero connections with Piney. In fact, I have exactly four memories related to Piney Votzel.
My latest memory is from when she got up at the one and only high school reunion I attended about 15 years ago and made a hilarious public speech in which she apologized for everything she had done in high school and expressed affection for everyone in the room.
Before that, I remember running into her at the grocery store in Downey during those three weeks I was living in Arimo after my mission but before the family moved to Twin Falls. She was the cashier, and while I was paying for root beer and some Fig Newtons, she asked what I'd been up to since high school, and I said that I went to a year of college and then just got back from a two-year mission in Sweden. She gave the usual wow-Sweden response that I always got from people in Marsh Valley when they saw me and asked me why they hadn't seen me in three years.
I think I may have also had some dreams in which Piney Votzel had a guest appearance. But I don't remember the particulars of any of those dreams.
And the fourth memory is, of course, that Breakfast in America by Supertramp was her favorite album in 9th grade.
That's it. That's all the Piney I've got. There ain't no more.
So why in the hell do I think about Piney Votzel every time a Supertramp song from this album starts playing on the radio?! I do have other memories associated with this album. Sometimes I'll remember hearing the songs on the way to and from scout camp at Little Lemhi. And sometimes I remember my sisters playing the album on the stereo. And once in a while, I'll think about drinking a tall glass of orange juice for breakfast. But I ALWAYS remember that this album was Piney Votzel's favorite. I just can't stop the thought.
There are lots of other thoughts I could have about the album. Like how for those of us that like hearing keyboards in a rock song, this album is about as good as it gets. Or how the lyrics to "The Logical Song" and "Take the Long Way Home" only get better and better the older I get--and it's pretty much the same with all the other lyrics on the album. Or how even the non-hit songs on the album are pretty damn good and have a consistently high quality in both music and lyrics. Or how the album art is so clever and fun yet still communicates a rather serious message when you put it in the context of the lyrics of the songs on the album. I think the cover symbolized the way that people from other countries (like Sweden) look at America as some land in which they'll be welcomed with a smile and all of their needs will be taken care of and they'll find all of their fantasies fulfilled, but in the end, it's all an illusion, just like how all of the breakfast items look like the New York skyline when you see them from far away out the window of a jet plane, but up close, they're pretty common and colorless.
But all those possible thoughts about the album take a back seat to the thought that Breakfast in America was Piney Votzel's favorite album in 9th grade. So what does that say about me? Why would my brain prioritize this fact over all the other thoughts i could have about this excellent album? Is there something wrong with me? Is this a sign that I'm losing my mind? And did I start losing my mind clear back in 9th grade? Is Piney a symbol of something deep in my subconscious mind that reveals how genuinely empty my relationships were with all the girls in high school? Or is she representative of the general disconnection I feel with all of humanity? Is Piney the Stranger that, like Billy Joel says, we all have to face at some point in our lives? Is Piney simply the Stranger that I just can't say goodbye to?
The questions run too deep. I know it sounds absurd. But please tell me who I am.
Nardo
#34: Supertramp—Breakfast In America. First off, regarding Piney. I DID see her once (maybe twice) at Flag’s West as I was paying for my snacks and soda. And, I am Facebook friends with Piney. We haven’t had much personal interactions on Facebook, but I do know that she is the person in charge of the Bannock County Fair in Downey every year. (Not the Bannock County South Fair, THE one and only Bannock County Fair!) (Pocatello never knew how to throw a proper fair, anyway.) As such, she brings loads of joy to many current and former residents of Marsh Valley. And, she is responsible for bringing Sawyer Brown to perform a concert in Downey! (Hondo and Nardo watching “Star Search” in 1983 would be very impressed.) She’s brought other country music performers to Downey, too, but not being a country music aficionado, Sawyer Brown is the only one I’ve heard of, and thus the one I'm most impressed by.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I know about Piney is that her son and Lorraine Bellon Wheatley’s daughter got married to each other, so Lorraine and Piney are grandmas to the same kid or two.
Anyway, whether or not she still thinks of Breakfast In America as her favorite, Piney seems pretty okay in my book.
As far as the album goes, my main non-radio memory of it was that Sheldon thought the “take a look at my girlfriend—don’t you look at my girlfriend” lyrics of the title song were hilarious. To me, it’s a toss-up between that, “kippers,” and the “1—2—3—5!” from “The Logical Song” as to my favorite lines/moments in the album. “Goodbye Stranger” and “Take the Long Way Home” are both excellent radio hits, as well. And, listening to the album again, I’m also partial to “Gone Hollywood,” and “Casual Conversations.”
I wonder if Supertramp would ever consider performing in Downey?