Recently, a radio talk show host assembled a montage of songs and asked listeners to guess what year they all had in common. Almost immediately, I shouted at the radio, "1971! 1971!! That's 'It's Too Late' by Carole King! Isaac Hayes, 'The Theme From 'Shaft'! James Taylor, 'You've Got A Friend!' 1971! 1971!! 1971!!!"
There was no reason for me to react so maniacally. I didn't win anything by shouting and the radio, and I didn't have to prove anything to my cat, who already knows my music credentials. As I've written previously, however, 1971 was a strong year for music, and I wanted to reinforce that, even though no other humans heard me.
