So you like music, kid?

Your dad sits on his reclined Lazyboy next to the fireplace. He looks up from his phone with an almost ridiculously happy smile. "How's it hanging, Sport? Enjoying the long weekend?" You mumble a reply about how it has just been "okay." "Buddy, listen, my boss just emailed me some great news. He told me his wife went into labor today so he can't make it to the REO Speedwagon concert tomorrow! He sent me two front row tickets to see one of the best bands in the world! What do you say? Will you come with me?" Oh man, your first concert. You're not sure if you're ready. Music has never really piqued your interest before. You find some of One Direction's music kind of catchy. And whenever your Mom turns on ABBA's Greatest Hits you can't help but hum along... [[What's REO Speedwagon anyway?]]

"Huh? Reo Speedwagon? The masters of Arena Rock? Come on, you've heard these guys before. What do you think we listened to on that 18 hour drive to Florida [[last summer?]]" "Uhhh, I'm really not sure. This band is good?" "Try (text-style:"italic")[legendary], sport. This will be perfect. You and me, me and you, just a father and son going to see the number one band in the world. Good thing my boss didn't offer me tickets to those posers Styx and Journey. REO are the kings, son." (text-style:"italic")["♪So if you're tired of the same old story, ooooooooooh turn some pages♪..."] He wanders upstairs as you hear his singing fade. What has gotten into him? You don't have the best feeling about this, but your Dad sure seems excited about it. [[Go to bed]]

You crawl into bed thinking about the concert tomorrow. You actually feel a bit nervous. There are going to be thousands of people there. You've been to baseball games before, but those have always been pretty tame. All the adults were drunk and you went into a sugar coma from the seemingly never-ending supply of cotton candy. This will be different. You don't know what to expect. [[Dream]] [[Do some REO speedwagon research]]

You enter a dream. You are placed in the middle of the mob of people. REO Speedwagon is belting out their greatest hits while you nod your head awkwardly. Suddenly, you notice you are alone in this crowd of people. Your Dad is no where to be found. You break down crying. You knew this was a terrible idea to come here. In the middle of your breakdown, a stranger taps you on the shoulder and points to the top of the crowd. You see your dad crowdsurfing shirtless while the crowd pours beer all over him. He notices you and yells "What's up, Sport? Are you enjoying the show?" You are frozen in space. You want to leave immediately. As you try to find the nearest exit, everyone turns in your direction. The lead singer of the band shines a spotlight in your direction as he sings "(text-style:"italic")[♪"I'll be here when you are ready, to roll with the changes♪..."] [[Awaken]]

If you are going to go see this concert, you better do some research beforehand. You lumber out of bed to the computer downstairs and type in "REO Speedwagon" into your web browser... [[REO Speedwagon]]

You wake up in a cold sweat. Your dad bursts into your room, dressed head to toe in vintage 80's clothing. He's sporting an REO Speedwagon tee under his jean jacket. He's got on those slightly tighter than usual jeans that go up a little too high on his waist. He also has this tinkle in his eye that only a man in his late 40's gets after listening to REO Speedwagon's entire catalog of music. Your mother walks past your door as she mutters "He has been doing this since 7am..." Your dad walks out of your room as he sings out (text-style:"italic")["♪My cup is on the table, Our love is spilling♪..."] He walks back downstairs as you put on some clothes and head to the kitchen to talk to your dad. [[Head to the kitchen]]

<img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2246/2253314417_fc5fdbe1cf_b.jpg height="600" width="600""> What the-this can't be right... [[...]]

<img src="http://kevinhartley.neocities.org/Neal_Doughty_photograph_-_September_2013.jpg" height="500" width="500"> Who the hell is this guy? Next... [[....]]

<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/REO.jpg" height="500" width="500"> Alright, this kind of looks like a band. They look like 70. Aren't these guys supposed to be cool? You start to wonder what you're Dad is dragging you into. You wander upstairs disappointed. If you were't excited before you did this research, you're even less excited now. [[Go to bed|Dream]]

"Well kiddo, it's the big day! What do you say we leave in about an hour? Get there nice and early so we can scope out our seats, yeah?" [["Dad, I'm worried that you might have a little TOO much fun at this concert."]] [["Dad, I don't want to go. I'm too nervous."]]

"See Dad, I had this dream with you crowdsurfing shirtless and-and-and the crowd was pouring-" "Stop right there, son. No need to get worked up. You don't have to worry about a thing, little man. I'll be with you the entire time. All we are going to do is listen to some good tunes, Dad might have a beer or two, and then we'll get some Applebee's after the concert. How does that sound?" He's convinced you. You've gotta hand it to the man, he knows you've got a weakness for Applebees. "Alright now cheer up! I'll see you in a few hours because... (text-style:"italic")[♪I CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING ANYMORE, I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT I STARTED FIGHTING FOR♪"] He walks into the living room as his singing fades. Why does he keep doing that? [[Kill time before the concert.]]

You run through a few levels of Lego Star Wars until your dad slides into your room. "It's time. Let's hit it. The Wagon awaits..." [[Drive to the concert]]

(text-style:"bold")[SON! OH SONNY BOY! Haha! You're going to want to come down here immediately!] You gaze away from your T.V. towards your bedroom door. What could he want? 6th grade has been hitting you hard this past week, and all you want to do is playvideos. But you gotta answer dad when he calls you... You shut off your Playstation. It's warm after hours of use. You guess it's probably time for a break. [[Go downstairs]]

Memories of you on your Nitendo DS come to mind. Roughly 10 hours of that drive was spent playing Super Mario while the other 8 were spent sleeping. So no, you are still not familar with REO Speedwagon. [[Back|What's REO Speedwagon anyway?]]

Your Dad plays what you assume to be REO Speedwagon the entire ride to the concert. But you're not thinking about the music. No, you're too worried about the atomosphere of the concert. Your dad begins to take notice... "Hey...just stick with me the whole time. It'll be fine. I wouldn't lie to you. You're going to enjoy this." His warm reassurance puts your mind at ease for a little while. Aside from his quirks, your father can have quite an emboldening personality. He tends to bring out the best in you. [[Roll up to the concert.]]

That song about "Rolling with the changes" begins to fade out right as you and your dad cruise into a parking spot near the arena. You look around at the mob of people and are surprised at how many people look to be your age. In fact, there are a lot of fathers with their sons here. You breeze past the ticket scanners and walk down a flight of stairs as the enormous stage reveals itself. "There it is, son. Legends will be stepping onto that stage tonight." You and your dad make your way to the front row. Numerous concert goers look at you in envy as you continue to the most intimate spot in the whole arena. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS! Now tell me, does it get much better than this?" You nod shyly as your anxiety slowly grows into excitement. You can't believe how lucky you got to come along. The atomosphere of a concert slowly begins to sink in. [[Wait until the concert begins]]

As you take in your surroudings, a guitar in the distance buzzes throughout the whole arena. The crowd starts to go wild. Your Dad yells out "HERE IT COMES BABY!" REO Speedwagon takes the stage. Everyone rises from their seats, so you figure you should too. It stays like this the whole concert. You thought eventually people would start to sit again, but everyone was too busy dancing to even care. You clap along to the songs as you watch the music just take control of your dad. You're not sure you have seen him this happy before. The concert had it's highs and lows. The beginning was amazing. By the halfway mark (or what you percieved as the halfway mark) you started to feel tired. At the end, they started to play the songs that your Dad kept singing around the house. That's when it clicked. You liked this. You (text-style:"italic")[really] liked this. On the way out of the concert, your dad purchases you an oversized REO Speedwagon T-shirt. You feel like never taking it off. [[Head home]]

You waltz into your house all smiles around 11pm. Your mom is sititng in the living as she looks over her book to mention that it looks like you had a good time. "Mom, the music was SO LOUD! It was amazing. You should have been there. Dad was drunk and-" "Whoa whoa whoa, hold it right there mister. Sounds like you two had a little too much fun." "But Mom it was like the best night of my life." "Well the best night of your life is about to come to an end. Did you forget that it's a school night?" You lumber into bed with imagery of the concert on playback in your head. You can still feel the vibrations. You drift off to sleep in your REO Speedwagon T-shirt. [[Sleep]]

You spring out of bed and dress for school. Wearing your new T-shirt to school is a given. You can't wait to tell your friends all about the concert. [[Head to school]]

Lo and behold, your first class of the day is Music. You arrive to school a little late today. You enter just as the your teacher is talking to the class. "Hello Class!" Your class responds back with an "Hello Ms. Wheeler!" "Today is a very special day. We are going to be talking about the music we (text-style:"italic")[personally] like. We'll step aside from talking about Mozart and Haydn just for today to explore the music that we listen to in our daily lives! So, do we have any volunteers to start us off with a youtube clip of an artist they like?" You immediately raise your hand with the thought of showing the class REO Speedwagon. The teacher points at you and gestures for you to come towards her. "Ah, yes! Come up to the computer and show us what you like to listen to!" As you approach the computer, you begin to have second thoughts. All anyone ever talks about in here is Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber. You worry that they might make fun of you for starting off the class with such an unfamilar song. [[Show the class REO Speedwagon]] [[Show the class a popular artist]]

You take a chance and bring up the music video for REO Speedwagon's (text-style:"italic")[Can't Fight This Feeling.] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpOULjyy-n8">REO Speedwagon-Can't Fight This Feeling</a> After 5 minutes of your favorite music, your class bursts into laughter. One of your classmates blurts out "What even WAS that??? Haha was he like, singing to that baby or something? Haha that was the weirdest thing I've ever seen!" One after another, your classmates comment on how weird your music taste is. After a few seconds of backlash from your 6th grade class, your teacher finally intervenes: "Alright, that's enough. Thank you for sharing. That was, um, a very beautiful song to choose. Okay class, who's next?" You feel yourself tear up. You love that song. It meant something to you. You wipe your tears on your baggy REO Speedwagon tee and walk out of the classroom. You knew it was terrible idea to show them. [[Go to the nurses office.]] [[Wait out the class. You can tough this out.]]

You play it safe and throw on that Uptown Funk song. Everyone in the class jams along, but you can't help but feel a bit empty inside. Part of you wishes you would have taken that chance and saw how your classmates would react to REO Speedwagon. [[Next|Next 11]]

You let the nurse know you don't feel good so that she allows you to call home. After about 30 minutes, your Mom comes to pick you up. It's a quiet car ride home. You have never felt so small before in your life. You arrive home and go immediately to your room. [[Look around your room]] [[Search the web]]

You look on Instagram and see this picture dominating your feed with captions like "So...this happened today 😂 " or "Anybody want to explain to me what is up with this guy lol?": <img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zpOULjyy-n8/maxresdefault.jpg" height="400" width="400"> "They're...they're making fun of me..." You start to cry again. What should you do? [[Look around your room]] [[Talk to your Dad]]

Your embarrassment turns into a strong sense of motivation. You don't need their approval. They will say what they will say. They can never take away from the fact that you genuinely like something that is unique to yourself. You notice your piggy bank on top of your dresser. You must have like 100 bucks collected from birthdays over the years. You've been saving it for a moment like this. You know what you want to spend your money on. You want to buy a record player. Your dad has a huge collection of records at the house, except he rarely plays anything but REO Speedwagon. You figure it's time to buy your own. [[Head to the Record Store]]

You walk to a local record store just a few blocks away from your house. You've walked down here a few times to get grocies in the past, so this area isn't too unfamiliar. But you have never stepped foot in a record store. You enter "The Complicated Cat Music Company: Records, CD's, and Sweet Tees" An old man stands in the corner of the store unloading a box fresh vinyls. He has a label maker peaking out of his pocket as he tries to sort out the records. [[Approach the man]]

"Uh hi, I'm looking for a uh, record player. I want to start a record collection. I like music." The man gives you a puzzling look at first. After a few moments, his face lights up as his gravelly voice says "So you like music, kid? Well you came to the right place, Jack! My name is Louis." This guy is like a man out of time. You can't place your finger on why, but you begin to admire him right away. "Hi Louis. But my name isn't Jack, it's actually-" "No, no, no! It's a figure of speech little man. Come on. Let me show you the record players." [[Follow Louis]]

"Now check this out: We just got this brand new record player in yesterday. You can take it home today for a cool $90." You feast your eyes upon a beautiful, sky blue record player. Every tiny feature, from the white knobs to the clear glass encasing, pops out at you. You need to have it. "I'll take it!" Lous is ecstatic to see such a young man take an interest in records. Since your Dad already has all of the REO Speedwagon records on vinyl, maybe you should get something else to start off your record collection. "Excuse me sir, I would like to also buy a record. I only have $10 left. Do you have any records similar to REO Speedwagon?" Louis looks confused: "REO who? Haha, kid, let me run you through some genres. You can tell what you the most interesting, and you can take that record home for free, how does that sound?" [[That sounds fantastic!]]

"Alright let's start with Jazz." "This record right here is the essential Jazz record. Miles Davis-(text-style:"italic")[Kind of Blue]. Man, this album had some of the legends on there. Coltrane, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. And of course, the man himself, Miles Davis. Man, these cats knew rhythmn. And that rhythmn was free. They did whatever they wanted. It was pure artisitc expression. Once they went off in the club, everyone in there would be yelling "Blow man, blow!" It was a time, kid. I better stop myself before I start rambling. I'll do that from time to time. The point is, this album is something else." <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4092/4835881864_56e53550c9_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> [[Next]]

"Of course, you got your Folk" "You wanna talk about some fine songwriting, you GOTTA include Simon and Garfunkel. What better place to start with their album, (text-style:"italic")[Bride Over Troubled Water]? I swear, you put on their song (text-style:"Italic")[The Boxer], you'll be out of your seat, feeling after single hit that this song brings. It's a got a pulsating beat that you feel in your (text-style:"italic")[bones], kid." <img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3662/3604975342_3a75aef03d_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> [[Next|Next 2]]

"You know, I gotta take you to the Rock section." "So when you think about Rock, what do you think about?" You're taken off guard. "Ummmmmm...?" "You think about your Beatles. You think about your Stones. Your Led Zeppelin, am I right?" You nod, even though you're not quite sure what he's talkin about or where he's going with this. "Well, those are all well and good. But when it comes to something that is going to make you feel like you're on another planet entirely, you gotta turn your attention look David Bowie's (text-style:"italic")[Heroes], kid. This is the type of music that makes your heart soar, little man." <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/David_Bowie_-_Heroes.png" height="400" width="400"> [[Next|Next 3]]

"So, we've seen Jazz, Folk, and Rock. I'm going to show you one more genre that you might be ready for. You seem like a good kid, so maybe you can handle this." Whatever he is about to show you, you're probably not ready. "Welcome to the 36 Chambers, kid. Best protect your neck, cause this-this right here! It's shooting to kill, little man. If you're looking for the most hyped music imaginable with some of Rap music's most talented lyricists, you want in on this. This album is a battle between it's own members, kid. Unless your not considering Jazz a battle to outdo your band mates, then you won't find this type of visceral cause and effect music in any other genre." <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Wu-TangClanEntertheWu-Tangalbumcover.jpg" height="400" width="400"> [[Next|Next 4]]

"Well alright then! You've seen the records. Which one do you want, kid?" Miles Davis-(text-style:"italic")[Kind of Blue] [[Select|Miles]] <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4092/4835881864_56e53550c9_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> Simon and Garfunkel-(text-style:"italic")[Bridge Over Troubled Water] [[Select|Simon]] <img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3662/3604975342_3a75aef03d_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> David Bowie-(text-style:"italic")[Heroes] [[Select|Bowie]] <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/David_Bowie_-_Heroes.png" height="400" width="400"> Wu-Tang Clan-(text-style:"italic")[Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] [[Select|Wu]] <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Wu-TangClanEntertheWu-Tangalbumcover.jpg" height="400" width="400"> "OR...do you want a taste of my special collection? I can handpick you an album that will knock your socks off, little man. Just say the word." [[Select album from special collection]]

"Miles Davis! The Prince of Darkness! Great choice kid. You are now the proud owner of one of the greatest Jazz albums of all time. Remember, it's on the house. Now get out of here, little man. Drink up some tasty Jazz." [[Go home with your new music]]

"We got a Simon and Garfunkel man overhere, ladies and gentlemen! Wise choice, my man, wise choice..." He hands you over the record with a smile. [[Go home with you new music|Go home with your new music 2]]

"So you want some of that Starman, huh kid? I like your style. Here you go, little man." [[Next|Next 7]]

"You sure you want this album, kid? This goes hard. Come to think of it, you're pretty young for this stuff. It's been a while since I've listened to it. The details are a little fuzzy." Do you still want it? [[Yes]] [[No. Choose another.|Next 4]]

"Dad, please don't make me go to this. I don't know what to expect." "Son, you're coming with!" "But-" "No 'buts'! We are going to this concert and that is final." You feel defeated. [["Fine..."|Kill time before the concert.]] [["I'm not going Dad! You're gonna have to drag me to this concert, and I'm sure you don't want to go through that."]]

Sure enough, your Dad drags you to the concert. Despite your attempts at causing a ruckus before the concert, your Dad manages to get you in the car. [[Go to the concert|Drive to the concert]]

You sit in class feeling smaller than ever, but you decide to wait it out. You always get self-conscious about leaving class early anyway. "Steve? Was that a raised hand? Would you like to go next to show the class a song?" Your classmate Steve shoots up from his desk and walks over to the computer. "Alright guys, I think we all know this one. I've listened to it like 15 times today already." The whole class laughs with Steve. You know what's coming. He types in "The Chainsmokers-(text-style:"Italic")[Closer] into the Youtube's search bar." A collective "Yessssss" is said throughtout the entire class as everyone looks at each other. Everyone is so acustomed to hearing classical music in school that contemporary music is considered a treat. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2_F-1esPk">The Chainsmokers-Closer</a> The boys ogle in amazement over seeing a woman in a bikini during school hours and the girls make amourous comments about the guy during the video. All the while, everyone is rocking back and forth while singing "♪We ain't ever getting olde.r♪" You think to yourself how can people listen to this? You can't exactly put your finger on it, but something changed in you after that concert. [[Wait until the class ends.]]

After several more videos of popular artists, Music class finally ends. You finally decide you can't take being at school anymore today. [[Go to your locker first to grab your things.]] [[Go to the nurses office.]]

This game has links. It may be beneficial to open those links in another tab. All of them are optional listening. None of them directly effect the story. Their main prupose is to give the story a little more context. Here's a list of the references, if you are interested in that sort of thing: [[References]] Enjoy ♪ [[Continue to Story|Beginning]]

You run home with your new music. You feel so excited to dive into your new passion. That man really sold you on the idea of free expression. You race up to your room to plug in your new record player. You get it all set up and place (text-style:"italic")[Kind of Blue] onto the record player. At this point, you're not even sure how to work this correctly. After a few minutes of fumbling with the knobs, you drop the needle on the album and hear the album's first track. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXk1LBvIqU">Miles Davis-So What</a> The sound of a gentle piano fills your room. After about a minute, a bass line comes in tandem with the piano. You hear the horns come in around 2 minutes in. You try to make sense as to what you are hearing. After about 5 minutes in, you yell: "WHAT IS THIS? I thought that guy said this was cool. This just sounds like noise." You begin to feel cheated. You lift the needle off the record and fire up your Playstation, trying not to think of the mistake you think you made by buying this record player. [[Next|Next 5]]

You go about your days trying to not think about music. Your class still makes fun of you over REO Speedwagon, but the joke has been slowly running it's course. After school one day, you go grocery shopping with your Mom. As you both examine the produce, who else but Louis shows up on the other side of the produce basket. "Well kid, funny seeing you here. How's that Miles album treating you?" "Louis, I gotta tell you, I hated it. I listened to 5 minutes of it and turned it off. I just don't get it." Louis gives you a troubled luck which quickly turns into elatation as he begins to laugh. "Kid, kid, come on now. You gotta listen to the full album, Jack! How else are you supposed to know what the artist is trying to tell you? Trust me, kid. Give it another chance." [[Head home|Head home 2]]

After thinking about what Louis said to you in the store, you decide to listen to the album again; this time, all the way through. You drop the needle on the record... The gentle piano comes in again... Then the bass... Now the horns... You've been through this, but you want to stick it out this time, for Louis. [[Listen]]

You listen to the whole album as you rummage through your room. It take around 40 minutes to get through it all. By the end of it, you're blown away. You love the world of sounds. All it took for you was a moment to let it sink it. It brought visions of rooms full of smoke from finely dressed people in a tightly compact room. It kind of reminded you of that time your Dad let you watch a little bit of (text-style:"italic")[The Godfather]. You imagine the people in that movie listening to music like this. [[Go tell your Dad about Miles Davis]]

You run downstairs as you yell to your Dad: "Dad, Dad, Dad! Miles Davis! Jazz! I love it! It's not like REO Speedwagon, but it's good! Like (text-style:"italic")[really] good." Your Dad scoffs at you. "Jazz? Since when did you start listening to that garbage. Come on, son. Let me show you all of my REO albums. I'll talk about The Wagon with you all day but Miles Davis is for high-browed yuppies." Stricken down once again for your music taste. This time, it's by your father. What should you do? [[Stick to your guns. You like what you like. No one can take that away from you.]] [[You are not becoming isolated again for your music taste. Not after what happened in class...]]

"No, Dad. Jazz is great. Maybe if you looked outside your world of REO Speedwagon sometime, you'd see that there is tons of great music out there." You storm out of the house and head to the record store. [[Record store]]

You drop the Jazz scene. It's too out of left field, anyway. You're young. Listen to your Dad. He knows what is best for you. [[Epiloge|Epilogue 2]]

You barge through the doors in search of Louis. "Louis? Where's Louis?" You see his head peak out behind a wall. It looks like he is sorting through more records. "Whoa, whoa! Calm down, kid. What's all the commotion for?" "Louis, I like Jazz. I like it a lot. What can you teach me about it?" Once again, Louis looks at you in utter shock, which slowly turns into a welcoming smile. "So you like Jazz, kid? Come back here, I've got a lot to show you." [[Epilogue|Epilogue 1]]

This turns into a daily activity for you. You come to the record store to talk to Louis about Jazz records. Eventually, you take up trumpet lessons. You actually get lessons on the house for free from Louis. To him, all he wants to see is you follow your passion. Over the years, you start to drift away from your father as you and Louis become closer. You tell Louis of you and your Dad's once close bond turned into a cold relationship by telling him the story of how your Dad didn't listen to your interests and couldn't understand Jazz. Louis gives you words of wisdom which you credit towards changing your life and truly pushing you to the next level of being a Jazz musician: (text-style:"italic")["If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."] The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

You run home with your new music. You feel so excited to dive into your new passion. This album was almost calling for you. You want to see what it has to offer. You race up to your room to plug in your new record player. You get it all set up and place (text-style:"italic")[Bride Over Trouble Water] onto the record player. At this point, you're not even sure how to work this correctly. After a few minutes of fumbling with the knobs, you drop the needle on the album and hear the album's first track. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA">Simon and Garfunkel-Bridge Over Troubled Water</a> You hear a sweet little piano melody open the song. Okay, you can get into this. Then the man's voice comes through... "(text-style:"italic")[♪When you're weary, feeling small, When tears are in your eyes♪"] As soon as that voice hits you, you immediately start to cry. All of the embarassment from in class, all the feeling of defeat, it comes right back to you. This song opens the floodgates. [[Next|Next 6]]

You and your Dad bond over classic rock bands (mostly REO Speedwagon) as the years go by. The kids still make fun of you from time to time for going against the grain, but you can't help but be grateful for the strong bond you have with your Dad. Every time REO Speedwagon comes to town, you make sure to go see them with him. It gets less and less exciting each time, but you know in your heart you will always be able to sing (text-style:"italic")[Can't Fight This Feeling] with you Dad and it will still be special. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

Your Dad rushes into your room after hearing the cries. "Oh no...What's going on, son?" "I was at school today, and they made fun of me for showing them REO Speedwagon. I just didn't understand why they didn't like it. So, I went to the record store and got this album beause I like music now...but this song just made me think about all of the sadness." "Oh son...it'll be okay. Hey, I actually like this band too. Listen to the lyrics, they're trying to comfort you. It's meant to make you feel good, not sad. But if you need to feel sad, I'll be with you to feel sad too." You both sit there as you listen to the entirety of the album. You tap your feet to songs like (text-style:"italic")[The Boxer] and (text-style:"italic")[Cecilia], and you two just have a great time. [[Epilogue|Epilogue 3]]

Over the years, you return back to the record store and Louis every now and then. You start to take guitar lessons with your school as you aspire to become as good as Paul Simon. Louis is always telling you once your ready, he'd like to collaborate on some music with you. Although you feel like you are years away from playing music with someone else, you feel excited at the prospect one day making music. Although your Dad doesn't quite understand the appeal with some of the music you listen to, he still proud of you for picking up the guitar. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

You run home with your new music. You feel so excited to dive into your new passion. The album cover looked really strange, so part of you was drawn to that. You are ready to listen. You race up to your room to plug in your new record player. You get it all set up and place (text-style:"italic")[Heroes] onto the record player. At this point, you're not even sure how to work this correctly. After a few minutes of fumbling with the knobs, you drop the needle on the album and hear the album's first track. You listen to a couple songs. Hmmmm... Nothing really has stood out to you. You let the record while you go grab a bite to eat from the kitchen. By the time you get back, a song is playing on the record that catches your attention. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3SjCzA71eM">David Bowie-Heroes</a> Sonically, your senses start going wild. You get drawn into the record. (text-style:"italic")["♪Though nothing, will keep us together We could steal time, just for one day We can be heroes, for ever and ever What'd'you say?♪"] You fall in love. [[Next|Next 8]]

With your birthday coming up in just a few weeks, you ask your parents for an electric guitar. To your surprise, they're exhilarated. They immediately sign you up for lessons. The years pass by as you start to become pretty adept at guitar playing. Your goal is to play a song for the 8th grade talent show. You have continued to listen to David Bowie. In fact, he has been your main inspiration music-wise. However, you decide you are going to play them a song they all know. A song that will redeem past humiliation. [[Talent Show]]

The day of the talent show arrives. After practicing your set to perfection, you take the stage. You step up to the mic... "♪I can't fight this feeling any longer And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow...♪" People start looking around in the crowd as if to say "Is he really doing what I think he's doing?" You perform a cover of REO Speedwagon's (text-style:"italic")[Can't Fight This Feeling] for the entire student body. You shape the orignal verison into an electric guitar heavy, rock balland. The crowd goes wild. They absolutely love it. Your peers come up to you after the show and ask if that was the same song you showed them a few years ago. You answer with a resounding yes as the compliments pour in. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

"If you say so. Here you go, kid. Enjoy the album." [[Go home with you new music|Go home with your new music 4]]

You run home with your new music. You feel so excited to dive into your new passion. You almost feel more excited because, from what Louis told you, this album sounds dangerous. You race up to your room to plug in your new record player. You get it all set up and place (text-style:"italic")[Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] onto the record player. At this point, you're not even sure how to work this correctly After a few minutes of fumbling with the knobs, you drop the needle on the album and hear the album's first track. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR9F8t39Az4">Wu-Tang Clan-Bring da Ruckus</a> A strong voice talks about Shaolin Shadowboxing as the album begins, then the rapping begins... You stand frozen in place as you can't get over the curse words coming out of your record player. You kind of like this. You know you shouldn't be listening to it, but it feels (text-style:"italic")[cool.] You don't notice how loud the music is until your Dad walks into your room. [[Next|Next 9]]

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" "OH! Dad...uhhhh, it's just a record I got from the record store." "I want to know immediately who sold you that record." [[Tell him about Louis]] [[Tell him nothing]]

"There was this guy...his name was Louis. He works at The Complicated Cat Music Company record store down the street. He sold me this. Dad, I promise it's not my fault." "Don't worry son. We'll get this taken care of." You feel bad for bailing out Louis, but it does get you out of trouble with your Dad. [[Next|Next 10]]

You decide to tell your Dad nothing else about where you got this album. It would be wrong to throw Louis under the bus. Your Dad ends up taking the album away. But the next day, You go visit Louis and he gives you another copy. You listen to the album in private as it glosses over topics like violence, toruture, and misogyny. You become confused over these themes. You really like this music, but these themes are just strange. You visit Louis daily and he clarifies some things. [[Talk to Louis]]

A few days go by. One day, your dad picks you up from school in his car. "What's up, Sport? I got great news." "What is it, Dad?" "Remember that bonehead Louis you were telling me about? Well I told the authorities about him selling you a record with obscenities to a minor, and they are going to close down his shop! He might even face some prison time. Haha! Good riddance, am i right? We can't have those types of idiots running our stores." You feel the world crash down upon you. You didn't know Louis would get in trouble over this, let alone get his store shut down! You cry all the way home. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

"Boy, just because they are rapping about this scene doesn't mean they're about it. Recognize the difference between glorification and storytelling and you can appreiciate all sorts of music." Over the years, you continue to listen to Rap music. Your Dad barely talks to you anymore. You both rebel against each other. You don't understand his ignorance towards an artform and he doens't understand your appreiciation for something so harsh and vile. You don't plan on changing any time soon. For the time being, rap music dominates your life, and you have no problems with it because you just (text-style:"italic")[get it.] The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

You go downstairs as you wipe away your tears in search of your Dad. "Oh son...what's wrong?" "It's my class...they're making fun of me for showing them REO Speedwago." "Well son, that just doesn't make any sense. Maybe they just don't understand music like you and I do. I wouldn't worry about them. Come on, let me show you my record collection." Once again, your Dad leaves you feeling like you belong. He has always done that for you. The two of you spend hours looking through his old records and playing them on his record player. He begins to introduce you to a variety of Classic Rock bands and you couldn't be happier to be bonding with him. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

Later that night as you are cylcing through REO Speedwagon videos, you decide to post (text-style:"italic")[Can't Fight This Feeling] on your Facebook page with the caption: "Hey guys! This is a really cool song. It's kind of like Uptown Funk in the way that it's really catchy lol." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpOULjyy-n8">REO Speedwagon-Can't Fight This Feeling</a> After about 5 minutes, you recieve backlash from your friends over the video. Maybe you shouldn't have compared it to Uptown Funk. You feel discouraged. You really thought they would like that song. You need something else to fill that musical void in your life that your friends obviously just don't understand. [[Look around your room]]

You head to your locker and grab your backpack. As you make your way to the nurse's office, someone taps on your shoulder. It's your crush, Suzy. She's smiling at you. "Hey, I just wanted to say I thought it was really cool that you showed the class that song. Everyone is always talking about the same type of music, so it was nice to listen to something else for a change. I like that." You blush as you try to think of what to say. [["Thanks, I like it too."]] [["Thanks, I'm not sure why people don't like that stuff. Is REO Speedwagon your favorite band too?"]]

"Thanks, I like (text-style:"italic")[you] too." No! You meant "it" like as in "it" the song! "You" just slipped out... You feel so embarassed. She looks at you in shock. [[Say bye and head to the nurse's office.]] [[Explain yourself]]

"WELL ALRIGHT THEN SEE YOU LATER." Oh my god, could this day get any worse. You embaraass yourself in front of your class, then you embarass yourself in front of your crush. You're hopeless. You speedwalk over to the nurse's office. [[Go to the nurses office.]]

"No, no, see what I meant was-" She grabs your hand, "I know exactly what you meant...hey, if you ever want to come over to my place sometime, I've actually got a record collection. My parents helped me start it. They say everything sounds so much better on vinyl." [[Tell her you'd love to listen to them.]]

She snaps at you. "What? Alright, whatever. You know, it's just music. No need to tell people what is good music and what isn't." You blew it. Not only have you humiliated yourself in front of your class today, but now Suzy hates you. [[Go to the nurses office.]]

The two of you decide to skip school and head to her house to search through old records. She tells you about The Beatles, Prince, and all of the other old artists her parents introduced her to. You love every minute of it. [[Next|Next 12]]

She appears excited that you asked. "Well, from that time period, I've gotta say that either Journey or Styx are my favorite. My parents have introduced me to a lot of music." You immediately have a flashback as to what your Dad said about Styx and Journey. "Posers" rings back in your memory. "If you'd like, I could send you some of their music. Or if you have a record player, I could let you borrow some of their records...Or we could listen to them together. My parents have always said everything sounds better on vinyl." [[Tell her you that you heard Styx and Journey weren't any good.]] [[Tell her you'd love to listen to them.]]

As the years go by, the two of you take up music lessons together. You continuously bond over new music and even start playing shows at local restaurants. You feel grateful for your dad for introducing you to music, and for your courage for going against the grain that one day in music class. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2246/2253314417_fc5fdbe1cf_b.jpg http://kevinhartley.neocities.org/Neal_Doughty_photograph_-_September_2013.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/REO.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpOULjyy-n8 https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zpOULjyy-n8/maxresdefault.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2_F-1esPk https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4092/4835881864_56e53550c9_b.jpg https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3662/3604975342_3a75aef03d_b.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/David_Bowie_-_Heroes.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Wu-TangClanEntertheWu-Tangalbumcover.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3SjCzA71eM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR9F8t39Az4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXk1LBvIqU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jWHffIx5E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0DU4DoPP4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J16lInLZRms Pretty neat, huh? Alright, onto the story... [[Continue to story|Beginning]]

Louis hands you a black cover art. "Don't mind the cover art; that must have been a misprint. Just let the music take you away..." He hands you over the album with a smile. [[Go home]]

You run home with your new music. You feel so excited to dive into your new passion. You stare at the black cover... You think to yourself... "So this is Louis's favorite music...I wonder what the real cover art looks like. Whatever it was, I bet this is going to be really good." After a few minutes of fumbling with the knobs, you drop the needle on the album and hear the album's first track. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ">Louis's favorite artist</a> Hmmmm...it's not what you were expecting, but it's actually kind of catchy. [[Keep it]] [[Return it to Louis in exchange for another album]]

You play the album over and over again for hours. It turns out that some albums can just be one song and still considered an album After listening to (text-style:"italic")[Never Gonna Give You Up] a total of 59 times in one day, you decide to share your musical discovery with the world. You take to facebook. [[Share]]

The next day, you return to the Complicated Cat in exchange for another album. "Haha! Back already, kid? I thought you said you liked music? Whatever. You can pick one of these lesser artists instead:" Miles Davis-(text-style:"italic")[Kind of Blue] [[Select|Miles]] <img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4092/4835881864_56e53550c9_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> Simon and Garfunkel-(text-style:"italic")[Bridge Over Troubled Water] [[Select|Simon]] <img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3662/3604975342_3a75aef03d_b.jpg" height="400" width="400"> David Bowie-(text-style:"italic")[Heroes] [[Select|Bowie]] <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/David_Bowie_-_Heroes.png" height="400" width="400"> Wu-Tang Clan-(text-style:"italic")[Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)] [[Select|Wu]] <img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Wu-TangClanEntertheWu-Tangalbumcover.jpg" height="400" width="400">

"hey guys! :D just found this really cool song. super catchy. makes me wanna dance lol party at my place ;) jk jk lol but seriously good song right here lol." Within minutes, your friends start to reply with unusually postive messages: "Haha oh yeah! Totally dude! This song is one of the greatest. You know what's even better? This song right here:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_jWHffIx5E">Smash Mouth-All Star</a>" An older brother of a friend of yours also comments: "Wow, looks like we have someone listening to (text-style:"italic")[good music]. Now this is the greatest band of all time: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB0DU4DoPP4">Nickelback-Photograph</a>" One of your friend's dad (who you forgot you added on facebook) even chimes in: "Ha...if you guys aren't talking about (text-style:"italic")[this] band, then you haven't listened to (text-style:"italic")[good music]: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J16lInLZRms">Creed-Higher</a>" Huh, what odd responses these people are giving... [["Are they making fun of me?"]] [["These bands are all fantastic!"|No, you like what you like. No one can take that away from you]]

Why does this feel so saracastic to you... What's the word... Ironic? Yeah, it feels ironic what they are doing. Maybe I should return it to Louis in exchange for another record... [[No, you like what you like. No one can take that away from you]] [[Return it to Louis in exchange for another album]]

You spend your days listening to music your "friends" on facebook show you. You really enjoy it! As the years go by, not much has changed. You continually take pride in the bands you listen to, buying Smash Mouth merch and even attending a few Creed shows. You are content with your music, until you discover the internet backlash towards these bands. You spend your days on the internet unabashedly defending these bands. It's a tough path for you, but it's always worth defending something you love. The End [[Restart|Beginning]]