It’s December now. Shouldn’t I have a Christmas, Solstice, Festivus, whatever, theme in the Header space and not what appears to be the Eagles’ Hotel California album cover? Well, I did piece together a GIF-based header because my host and great friend Jeremy raised the upload limit. Then I decided to launch my return to consistent posting after the virtual dust settled on December 1 (today). The well-made, creative GIF just didn’t seem appropriate given the somber, reflective mood I remain in.
So why Hotel California? Certainly not for the title track. I chose it for the final track on Side One, “Wasted Time.” It wasn’t a mainstream hit, probably got played on AOR stations when they were allowed to use “deeper tracks.” However, to me it remains one of the perfect breakup songs and captures the zeitgeist of the Seventies when divorces were happening like a pandemic; it’s what I felt like when I was kid.
Obviously, I have been playing “Wasted Time” in my car from time to time to reflect my overall mood. After 43 years (when it debuted, so it has been 34 years for me), the closing lyric continues to make me well up…
So you can get on with your search baby
And I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find
That it wasn’t really wasted time
Such painful and true words from Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Jim Ed Norman while sung by Don when he had the vocal range he lacks today. Even if you hate the Eagles, regardless of the overrated Coen Brothers movie, give this song a try, you may hear my point.