No, I haven't quit the song meme...

I just got too busy with novel writing these last few days, and that takes priority over blog entries. As always, I'd not happy with the pace at which the words are coming out, but I'm trying not to feel like a failure because I've been adding details and depth (I think) to the chapter that I'm currently revising. And learning more about my main character's female best friend in the process. Hopefully I can have a couple of binge writing sessions tomorrow afternoon and Sunday, and make up some of the quantity that I've gotten behind on.

But in the meantime it's time to get back to talking music! Here's today's prompt:


Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere


When I hear the following song, I almost always think of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I spent my first semester of college living in that city. Marquette University wasn't my first-choice school, but I chose it because no one else from my high school was going there, because their broadcast journalism program seemed like it might offer some neat opportunities, and because it was far enough from home that I felt I wouldn't be tempted to run back to Cicero every chance I got. Plus, they offered me a pretty hefty scholarship.

Things started off alright, but it wasn't long before I was painfully aware of what a fish out of water I was. It was my first time being around a lot of affluent kids, and I couldn't help but compare myself to them, noting how they came at life in a way so different from what I was used to. I managed to connect with a couple of girls, one who lived on my floor, and another who I met when I started helping out at the MUTV station (and she and I are still in touch to this day).  I also got along famously with all the international students I encountered. But as for the rest? Them, I just couldn't relate to. They were too self-entitled. Too conservative. And though I'm sure this wasn't intentional, they managed to make me feel inferior because they'd seen and done so much more than I had at that point in time.

Maybe if I'd let loose and partied a bit more I wouldn't have felt so alienated. Maybe I would have bonded with more people. But I was afraid of becoming a out-of-control lush and flunking out. More than that, I was terrified that drinking too much on a regular basis might lead me to do something I'd regret, like losing my virginity to some random boy.

And so, while most of my dormmates went out to get trashed, I either stayed alone and miserable in my room, or tried to find people willing to join me for outings with little to no alcohol. The latter only worked sporadically -- more often than not the clean-living kids spent their weekends visiting hometown friends, or hitting the books. I was a good student, but I wasn't so good that I wanted to spend my Saturday nights reading Western Civilization texts. 

Needless to say I was SEVERELY depressed by the end of that semester. I returned from Christmas break determined to make the best of things, but only made it through the first week of the spring semester before a perceived slight from a handful of floormates put me over the edge. In a move that shocked everyone, I put my emotional well-being before my education ambitions. I withdrew from Marquette and returned to Cicero and the video store clerk job that I'd left behind the previous summer. 

Anyway, you're probably wondering what all of this has to do with the Bay City Rollers. 

Well, there were two girls on my floor, we'll call them T and C, who were known almost exclusively for their love of booze. They went out pretty much every night, and were the go-to girls for anyone who needed a lead on a good party. And while they were perfectly content seeking adventures either as a duo or by their lonesome, there was nothing they enjoyed more than assembling a crew of girls for their Saturday night binges. I was never invited to join this crew, but I watched it form on more than one occasion. They'd all gather in the hallway outside the room T and C shared, comparing outfits and chattering excitedly. Right before it was time for them to head out, T would open her door and turn her stereo volume as high as it would go. She played one song, and one song only. The Bay City Rollers' biggest hit, Saturday Night. She and C and whoever else was present sang along at the top of their lungs, and when it was over they rolled out like a pack of football players fresh from a huddle.

I guess that was T's way of getting the evening off to a good start. Personally I wouldn't have picked such an obvious anthem, but it was upbeat and catchy and made the walls of our dorm vibrate and hum.

So yeah, that's why this song makes me think of Milwaukee. Sorry I got so long-winded in my explanation.