Today, I’m continuing my summer series of articles about songs that remind me of my past. In case you missed them, here are the previous articles:

TBT-1: “Epic”
TBT-2: “Baby Got Back”
TBT-3: “Sultans of Swing”
TBT-4: “Barbie Girl”
TBT-5: “Symphony of Destruction”

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Time: Sometime in 1991
Place: My bedroom shared with my brother.
Setting: Listening to the radio while in bed.

There was a time when my brother Ed and I were inseparable. As kids we’d do everything together, as brothers born 15 months apart are prone to do. Fishing, riding bikes, playing with our action figures, building forts — you name it, we did it. We were best friends. Then something curious happened: I went through puberty.

At 13, I suddenly became interested in girls and sports. Action figures and forts didn’t have a place in my life anymore. So, sadly, I left my little brother behind in pursuit of the ladies. I know I shouldn’t, but I still feel bad about that to this day.

But before all of that happened, Ed and I would listen to the radio as we fell asleep. We shared a little 10′ x 12′ bedroom with twin mattresses on the floor. After breaking many box springs doing what boys do, my parents simply stopped replacing them. We’d lay in our beds and listen to 98rock as we fell asleep. I still remember the boombox. It was a ghastly eggplant color. One of the hit songs that year was “Right Here Right Now” by Jesus Jones. It was on every night that year, sometimes the DJ played it several times. We heard it so much that it became sort of a lullaby.

Shortly after that, my relationship with my brother changed. It changed because I changed. It’s the natural way of things I guess, but we haven’t ever been as close as adults as we were as boys. This song reminds me of the waning moments of that era and it makes me smile. And sad. Love you Ed.

For more information about me and the guitar lessons that I give in and around Baltimore, visit www.ewguitar.com.