Bonnie Raitt Ruined My Playlist

A couple of weekends ago, I went on a road trip from North Carolina to the Hallow Summit at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio with my Boomer friend, Mary, and I'm still paying the price in terms of my Amazon playlist.

Before I complain about Bonnie Raitt and Boomers—whom I love and respect—let me share that I enjoy a wide variety of music. Today, alone, I've listened to Everlast, the entire Lena Horne: Live from the Waldorf Astoria album, Uncle Kracker, Mana, Frank Sinatra, U2, Toto IV, the Tallis Scholars, and more.

For some context on differences in sonic taste between Mary and me, she invited me to a Buddy Guy concert, and I took her to a praise concert with Matt Maher. On the drive back from the Hallow Summit, she asked if I wanted to go see Bonnie Raitt in Durham in November. I scrunched up my face, and said I'd rather not. But I endeavor to be a gracious host in my vehicle, so I threw her a bone and threw on some Bonnie Raitt in my Amazon Music app.

In spite of myself, I found my self singing along to Angel from Montgomery. One of the greatest lines in the song is, "How the hell can a person go to work in the morning and come home in the evening and have nothing to say?"

What happens when you allow some Bonnie Raitt to slip in to the music algorithm? She brings her friends, like John Prine and Joe Cocker, Melissa Etheridge and Carly Simon. God bless 'em all, but I don't want to listen to them. The thumbs-down function was made for playlist interlopers such as these.

As I'm enjoying My Soundtrack on Amazon Music, and marveling how well it knows my taste, every once in a while Angel from Montgomery slips in. Sometimes I let it go, and I give in to it. "I am an old woman, named after my mother. My old man is another child that's grown old." Maybe it's not so bad.