My parents are music people. My dad had a pretty awesome and extensive collection of vinyl albums. I grew up listening to some of the truly great classics, everything from Pink Floyd to Peter, Paul and Mary. Actually, when I was a small kid, Peter, Paul and Mary was probably my favorite group ever.

Now, reading that, you would probably assume that “Puff the Magic Dragon” is the song that I remember most from being a kid, and it is definitely in the old memory banks, but it wasn’t my favorite. In fact, my favorite song probably influenced me quite a bit later in life when I started writing. It taught me about the importance of dancing around the censors, and when I was in a position to do so, smash them with a hammer.

I can remember when I was a kid, I would listen to this song, and really the whole album, over and over again on my knock-off walk-man. The message really struck home for me in a way that I didn’t really get from all of the other songs in their collection. I mean, I understood there were lessons there, but this is the one that stuck with me the most.

Damn the man, save the Empire.

Tags: I dig Rock and Roll Music, Peter Paul and Mary, song challenge