Chapter 24 - Rock and Roll, Summer, 1970

Once Annie and I move into Appleby Street I get ready to settle down and stop all the moving. I still have the job at the plumbing supply. Annie still has her retail job. I have to give the Austin Healey Sprite back to the dealership. They repossess it. I am in bankruptcy. Everyday I catch a bus to work. We furnish our apartment with next to nothing - two twin beds and a mattress, a beanbag chair and a stereo. Some album posters on the wall.
Everyday when I arrive home on the bus “the guys” are standing on our front porch waving to me. Luke and Alex, their tall skinny friend, Eddie, and their short, stocky friend, Ralph. Once inside we pipe up the music. Music is of prime importance on Appleby Street. These are the albums we have:

• The Young Rascals, 1966
• Cream, Disreali Gears, 1967
• Rolling Stone albums: Beggar’s Banquet, 1968, Their Satanic Majesties Request, 1968, Let It Bleed, 1969
• The Beatles: Rubber Soul, 1965, Revolver, 1966, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967, White Album, 1968, Magical Mystery Tour, 1968, Abbey Road, 1969, Let It Be, 1970.
• Steve Miller Band, Sailor, 1968, #5, 1970
• Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow, 1967, Volunteers, 1969
• The Doors: The Doors, 1967, Waiting for the Sun, 1968, Strange Days, 1968, Soft Parade, 1969
• Jimi Hendrix: Axis, Bold as Love, 1967, Are You Experienced, 1968
• Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, 1963 Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits, 1967, John Wesley Harding, 1967, Nashville Skyline, 1969
• Janis Joplin, Big Brother and the Holding Company, 1968
• Creadance Clearwater Rival: Bayou Country, 1968, Green River, 1969
• King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King, 1969
• Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Blood, Sweat and Tears, 1969
• Led Zeppelin: Debut Album, 1968, Led Zeppelin II, 1969
• Grand Funk Railroad, Closer to Home, 1970
• Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority, 1969
• Crosby, Stills and Nash, Crosby, Stills and Nash, 1969
• Neil Young: Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, 1969, After the Gold Rush, 1970
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Déjà Vu, 1970
• Joe Cocker: I Get By with a Little Help From My Friends, 1969
• Pink Floyd, Ummagumma, 1968
• Blind Faith, Blind Faith, 1969
• Santana, Santana, 1969
• Neil Diamond: Touching Me, Touching You, 1969, Taproot Manuscript, 1970
• Simon and Garfunkel: Bookends, 1968, Sounds of Silence, 1968, Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1970
• Steppenwolf, Steppenwolf, 1968
• Van Morrison, Moondance, 1970
• Judy Collins, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, 1968
• James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, 1970
• John Denver, Rhymes and Reasons, 1969
• Mother Earth, Living with the Animals, 1968
• Roberta Flack, First Take, 1969, Chapter Two, 1970
• Laura Nyro, New York Tendaberry, 1969
• Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed, 1968, Threshold of a Dream, 1969

When the boys are there we crank up things like the Rolling Stones, or King Crimson or Steppenwolf or Jimi Hendrix, loud outrageous music with long psychedelic solos in the middle – Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk. We get stoned and enjoy the tunes, so complex, engaging our senses, and filled with excitement.
When I am by myself I opt for songs with great lyrics: Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond. Or I go for straight out romance like James Taylor or Roberta Flack. I like to sing along. The Beatles can go in either group. Janis Joplin is my music too, because the guys are not into her.
On weekends Annie and I go to a small club at the university. They have name bands, although not any of the big time groups from our albums. We go late since Annie has to work weekends. She’s still looking for the perfect college educated man. The club is smoky and dark; I can smoke cigarettes there all night long if I want. Annie doesn’t meet anyone special, but she does decide that she wants to go to college in the fall. I think it’s a great idea for her, but not necessarily for me.
I don’t know how our neighbors put up with our music. They never complain though, at least not to us. Annie doesn’t care about most of this music, however she is rarely home in the evening and she has the apartment to herself on her days off. When she is off and I am home she spends her hours with the boys and me.