The images here are dated but the content is not. I had not thought of Donovan in a long time, but I was reminded recently of how ethereal his voice still is, and how prevalent it was on long ago radios as we rode to beaches, where sometimes sun would break through and other times, fog would twine about the pine trees as in a Chinese painting. The best Donovan videos have been uploaded by the Psychedelic Yogi and cannot be embedded, but I want to invoke Colors and the Hurdy Gurdy Man and add them to my diaphanous screen.
These are some of the earliest songs I remember and they caused me to think the world really was filled with heavenly pavilions and everyone could sing. I still believe it, although Reeducation never saw the ocean. Do you think the point could be that sixties pop culture was created precisely to contest the world Reeducation expects, inhabits, inculcates? In any case I am from the hilly coast, and this semester I plan to remember it. And speaking of beaches, there are other, more ephemeral but still evocative songs from that era – Ventura Highway, Summer Breeze.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Thanks for the nice song memories–a little piece of summer amid the icy winds of January.
De nada. And I need to hold onto these – we had our first departmental meeting and I definitely need my diaphanous screen. I *must* focus on *my* agenda and ignore all external noise. Music is going to help with this: you have said as much in your blog, and now the Chronicle says as much!
I heard “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” on an AM station one day in 2006. After finding out the singer, I asked for and received Donovan’s Greatest Hits on CD for Christmas. (And I’m of the generation after the Baby Boom. Perhaps it’s proof Donovan’s appeal will last.)
Go Brandon! 🙂