Traffic Jams: The Mamas & The Papas - 'Somebody Groovy'
Traffic sucks, so why not start your morning off with some music? You provide the toast and we’ll provide the jams.
I've been in one of those weird musical slumps where I've just been listening to the same things over and over because 1) I can't remember what other music I like and 2) I am just really vibing with Van Halen (as always). So, when I was cruising around in a Chevy Silverado the other day, I put on an old driving playlist I made when I was fresh out of high school — y'know, for a taste of something familiar but that feels fresh because I haven't listened to it for ages. And there it was: The Mamas & The Papas.
I don't really know why, but I got into a big 1960s music phase when I was readying to graduate high school. Something about the burgeoning freedom of adulthood seemed particularly enticing, and for once, I wasn't so miserable that all I wanted to listen to was angsty goth music. In that time, I transitioned from angry metal to classic rock to the sweet, groovy tunes of a bygone era.
My first introduction to The Mamas & The Papas came from a fairly strange place: gymnastics. I was under a brief delusion that I would grow up to become a rhythmic gymnast, so I joined a gymnastics class, and my instructor decided that "California Dreaming" would be our recital song. It was a strange choice, but listening to that song on repeat every Wednesday was the highlight of my gymnastics classes, since it turned out that I was not flexible in the slightest.
As a grown human, "Somebody Groovy" has become one of my favorite jams, and I generally listen to it about five times in a row any time I remember that it exists. Today is one of those days. Enjoy.