So Long, Farewell

Saying goodbye is often hard, especially when it is a television series that you have been binge watching for weeks or months.  Fans usually rave about the writing or actors in their favorite shows, but I am sure it’s no surprise that I focus on the music.  Here is a list of my 10 favorite songs in series finales:

1.  Breaking Bad     Baby Blue by Badfinger

I started watching this show specifically because I wanted to see the series finale  (entitled “Felina”) and the final song, Baby Blue. My musician friend John started to work it out on his guitar, so of course I wanted to learn all about the song.  I was hooked by the show almost immediately and was mesmerized by the fantastic writing, binging on multiple episodes every day for two weeks.  I may have been a little dark and morally ambiguous by the last couple of days.  Incidentally, this song led me to my new favorite Pandora radio station, the Badfinger station.

2.  Freaks and Geeks       Ripple by The Grateful Dead

I found Freaks and Geeks on Netflix and savored every episode of their one season.  I thought the finale told such a compelling story of how these characters had grown and expanded their horizons throughout the series.  “Discos and Dragons”  had the cool kid role playing with the geeks, the frustrated rock drummer branching out into disco dancing, and the good girl taking a walk on the wild side.  The Grateful Dead seemed so appropriate for Lindsey’s next chapter.  I found a great version of this song that is part of the Playing For Change movement, which takes musicians from all over the world and puts them together playing popular songs,

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Shazam!

The great thing about life is that you are always learning something new.  Especially when I spend time with the cool kids.  I was out to dinner with a couple of my nephews tonight and, wanting to impress them, I was trying to name songs and artists playing on the sound system there.

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A song came up that the adults just couldn’t place, and these kids whipped their cell phones out and held them up in the air like they were holding bic lighters at a concert. Then they looked at their respective screens and told me that “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo” was sung by Rick Derringer (I never would have guessed that – I had absolutely no idea).  That’s right folks, there’s an app for that!!  Actually, there are probably more than I can count, but one is all I need.  I was really impressed.

A few weeks ago I started watching ‘Freaks and Geeks’ on Netflix.  The underrated TV series from Judd Apatow takes place around the time I was in high school and I am finding it strangely comforting, like an old pair of Chuck Taylors. Imagine my pride when the song in a party scene was ‘Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo!’

Now kids today can learn even more classic songs than the ones they have mastered on Guitar Hero or seen performed in mashups on Glee.  And hey – maybe I can learn enough new old stuff to beat my sister in Trivia Crack!!