November 19 – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

You all know that Tom Petty has a new album out, right? Well, as soon as it hits the discount racks, it’s mine.

I’m ashamed to say I have no Petty music in my collection and don’t quite know why, so I went to Barnes & Noble specifically to look for a Tom Petty CD that’s in my budget. The weird thing is, there it was, this first album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sitting upon the display rack above the $4.99 selections, waiting for me. Kismet? What else could it be.

And what a debut album this was. I only know two songs from it, “Breakdown,” which is one of my Petty favorites (the other being “Listen to Her Heart”), and “American Girl,” but not only do I want to listen again and again to the other songs, I want to add more Tom Petty CDs, in addition to his first, which I now have, and his current, which I will have, to my collection. And perhaps the Traveling Willburys too. His videos have always been classic, and of course you know I love “Into the Great Wide Open” with Johnny Depp and that other classic, Faye Dunaway. Those video days seem to be gone now though.

The whole CD is just half an hour long, good for the aerobic exercise, but I’ll have to determine a good companion to lengthen the workout. Something more fitting than Bobby Rydell or The Association, which are also short, but don’t quite go with the Tom Petty momentum.