We’re in the midst of music lessons in the Larson house.
No, we’re not playing scales on the piano; instead, we’re learning about each others’ musical tastes. It’s obvious our boys are creating their own identities.
Gone are the days when they’d sing along to whatever we tuned in on the stereo in the minivan. Greg and I have fond memories of all three boys belting out the choruses of “Longneck Bottle” by Garth Brooks or “There’s a Tear in my Beer” by Hank Williams Sr.
I’m sure it’s the same pride Greg’s folks felt when he sang along with “I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash. And I remember learning every word to Donna Fargo’s “Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” as it played on the eight-track in my dad’s old Ford pickup.
Over the years, the boys have developed their own tastes, but they’ve been limited to stereos or boomboxes in their own rooms — until Alex started driving.
Once that happened, I decided to adopt a friend’s strategy — the driver controls the stereo. So, when she wants the luxury of being chauffered by her daughter, the price is listening to the latest teen music. Alex, however, insists on changing the tuner when I’m driving, too. And it doesn’t help that at least five channels are tuned in that appeal to him. His only concessions are 101.7, a local country station and V-100 out of Topeka, which plays music from my youth.
It also doesn’t help that both Alex and Luke have adopted the TV remote control rules in the van. Yes, it’s true, the men in my life can’t stand commercials. If one comes on the radio or the television, they immediately start punching buttons.. When Alex drives with Greg in the passenger seat, Alex isn’t allowed to change radio stations. It means nothing to Greg that Alex can change the channels in my van by touch, never taking his eyes off the road.
According to Greg, by sharing control of the radio, we’re teaching the boys compromise. During our Thanksgiving eve drive to Salina, we listened to classic country out of Topeka. But Alex had a special request: Could we turn to 97.5 at 8 p.m. for the “Eight at Eight,” a countdown on the top songs of the day?
We did, but arrived at our destination at 8:05 p.m.
Greg’s decided the boys are lucky. His dad controlled the radio and insisted on country everywhere they went. Still, he did manage to rebel. His sister laughed at Thanksgiving when Aaron walked in wearing an AC/DC T-shirt that he’d snatched from a bag of hand-me-downs. Aaron knew nothing about that band, but his Aunt Kim remembered Greg putting his cassette into the family stereo and cranking it up throughout the house.
Because Greg and I did have our own music rebellion — besides AC/DC, Meatloaf and Queen were on our playlists, we find that some of Alex’s preferred music sounds OK to us. So, we adults will listen to the boys’ music until one of two things happen — a rap song comes on or we develop a headache.
Still, we have hope for the future — Luke has turned into a huge Eagles fan, allowing Greg and I to travel back in time when our middle child controls the radio.
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