Music of the Day, 22 June 2025
so involved with life
It’s no secret I’ve been under increasing stress over the last year or so. And I know I’m not alone. Not wanting to fall into a spiral of increasing my stress by stressing about my stress levels, my approach has been mostly to acknowledge it and move on cognitively, emotionally, and physically. Failing to keep to that strategy this morning provided a surprising and very welcome bit of levity courtesy of the radio station in my mind.
Many people likely know that stress can contribute to hair loss. I’m not as vain about my hair as many people are, judging by the varied hair-care products I see while shopping, but I have noticed over the past week or so an increase in hair falling out.1 A quick search led to the most likely explanation, if it is truly increased loss: telogen effluvium.
And at that point, the radio station in my mind took over, prompting a genuine LOL. I never thought I’d be featuring this Rush song here!
“I Think I’m Going Bald” is from Rush’s weirdest album, the 1975 release Caress of Steel. I don’t remember when I purchased the cassette/CD while catching up with their library after becoming a fan, but I’m sure it’s the only album that didn’t get my usual close and repeated scrutiny. I liked “Bastille Day” and “Lakeside Park,” but the rest of it seemed beyond my ken. At some point I’d read that “I Think I’m Going Bald” was a reference to KISS, the band Rush opened for frequently as they were finding their way in the rock world. A quick search revealed that to be partly correct.
Listening to the track for the first time in decades,2 the first thing that struck me is how similar much of its music is to Rush’s song “In the Mood.” And honestly, the music is still what I like best about “I Think I’m Going Bald,” especially Alex’s solo and outro … and that last line: “I’ll still be grey my way.”
This has all been in good fun, and is a welcome distraction. I mean, I like my hair well enough, but I think of it mostly as a mild annoyance that requires too much maintenance for me to be too fussed if it all fell out. There are so many worse things that could befall me.
although in fairness, it could be just my regular pattern of hair falling out as part of its normal life cycle, and I’m just more aware of it because I’m wearing sleeveless tops now that the heat has gotten oppressive
and only twice! That’s a record low for MotD preps
Been there, done that. 👨🦲