The radio crackles on, rousing me from an uncomfortable sleep. I smell the cool summer breeze rolling in through the open windows of the van as an early morning light glows on the horizon. Stretching and rubbing the tired out of my eyes, I lift my head to see farmland zoom by. I feel an overwhelming excitement as I realize my summer vacation is merely a few hours old.
The tunes sound soothingly familiar. Whether I've heard them before or not is irrelevant. It's a soundtrack to a childhood memory from one of many long road trips between Chicago and Atlanta in the late 70s and early 80s. I don't know the names of the songs or the artists, or whether the songs are 10 years old or brand new. I just know that they complete these moments of my youth that will unknowingly shape my music tastes for decades to come.
Looking back, I know that it wasn't
Dave Dill on the radio. He's probably my age, if not younger. But listening to his fifth solo album Follow the Summer brought this unexpected rush of nostalgia and a peaceful reminder of these seemingly innocent and unimportant pieces of life that have a much more significant impact than we realize at the time. I'm mostly a product of a digital age, but if there was ever an album that must sound better on vinyl or AM radio, Follow the Summer would be it.
Summer is here. Do yourself a favor and soundtrack it.
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