Ballad of Easy Rider

I listen to music all the time, but I have to admit it's been a long time since an album has really grabbed me to the point that I want to listen to it every day for consecutive days. Last Sunday as I was heading out to visit my parents I grabbed a cassette tape for the car ride (yes, I said "cassette"--it sounds just as good as a cd and you can get more music on it!). Anyway, since it was a Sunday morning, I wasn't looking for anything loud or fast (this has been a habit of mine for many years--my brother even remarked on it once by calling it my "Sunday music"). I hadn't listened to The Byrds in a while, so when I saw the tape labeled simply "The Byrds," I grabbed it on my way out. Another habit of mine is not to go into too much detail on the cassette label, so I wasn't even sure what was on the tape. While driving across the Casciano Bridge, the title song came on and hit me just right. Jesus, this is great, I thought, what album is this? I didn't know. I vaguely remembered borrowing some Byrds cds from a guy I used to work with and taping a bunch of them (some I had on vinyl, but others I had never owned). Now, at least six years later, I was finally getting around to listening to it and enjoying it immensely (thanks, KJ!). Is there anything better than listening to great music while driving alone in a car? It's almost like a religious experience with me. Maybe it was just the right album at the right time for me, I don't know. Who understands the mysteries of music and our connections to it? I just loved the flow of the whole album, but the title song in particular has become a personal obsession. I've listened to it every day since Sunday.