The Grammy's were last night. WOO HOO! or should I say, woo hoo? I am kind of ambivalent towards them these days. There was a time when I watched and was really excited about them, but these days I spend more time listening to oldies music than I do the new junk.
As I write this, Bob Seger and "Old Time Rock and Roll" is blaring out on Itunes. My wife had to tell me to turn it down!
I just don't get the move towards Rap and the other genres that are out there. I enjoyed Beyonce's song, and the Michael Jackson tribute... Heck, I even liked Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks. But the rest was kind of lost on me, especially Jaimie Foxx's number. When the music is blasted so loud, there are no lyrics, what's the use of listening? The thump da thump da thump thump is over and over and tends to get me to the brink of a stroke. Maybe if I could understand it, I could tolerate it.
The Michael Jackson tribute was excellent. I loved Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood and Jennfer Hudson. I wish, though, I could have seen it in 3D. I guess I need to get a pair of glasses and keep them here at home for the purpose of watching 3D TV. At home, the picture looked fuzzy without them.
I suppose my parents felt the same way about my music. But, they could at least understand the lyrics of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. When I sang along with the Fifth Dimension or Bob Dylan or Barry Manilow (Yes, I did own several albums of his), I learned to carry a tune. Now, all kids have to do is talk in rhythm and not worry about notation or even being on key.
I am glad they put up the time that upcoming acts were going to appear, though. It helped me tune in and out. I could go watch the news, come back for an act I wanted to see, and then go back to the news or the Pro Bowl. (Did anyone watch that?) Steve Colbert was great, also. His comedy may have been too cerebral for most of the artists in the audience, though.
The bottom line on all this is that I think I must be old. Half of the groups were unknown to me. Remember, there is no music after 1968!
Doughnut
Showing posts with label Rolling Stones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rolling Stones. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sock hops and Be Bops
As promised, here is the excerpt from my upcoming book, "Growing up Doughnut" This part of Chapter 15 deals with lunch time at John Greer Junior High School. Sock hops were a time when we relaxed. Things like that don't happen anymore as education has changed for the worse. Test scores are down? Because teachers are boxed in, kids are stressed to the point where they turn education off. But, in this era, kids were allowed to have some fun during the day.... I hope you like this... let me know what you think.
________________________________________________________________________________
Sock hops were essential for social structure and engineering. There were barely any students in the school who did not attend and either dance or sit in the bleachers and talk while listening to the evils of Rock and Roll. When we entered the gym, we had to go to the bleachers with our shoes on, or remove them and gain access to the gym floor for dancing. It was during this time that new alliances were formed, new loves found and lost. The lights were left on, so any dancing was done in full view of others, and could be a somewhat enlightening or embarrassing experience depending on the level of co-ordination and rhythmic ability one possessed. Girls peeled sweaters and revealed body parts that I never knew they had; and shook in places, which to this time in my life, were a mystery to me. I am certain that these sock hops contributed to my academic demise, causing me a great deal of consternation for the next few years as I discovered more of the opposite sex. The sounds of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Monkees emanated through the air; I held girls in my arms for a fleeting moment and dreamed of things that I had no business thinking about as Johnny Rivers sang “Poor Side of Town,” and Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” became my theme song as I strived to find that certain someone. Every girl was “the one” and I became good friends with many and “like a brother” to all. Mrs. Mitchell and her Bell Club opened up new avenues to me that had been barricaded, and as junior high progressed, and I grew comfortable in that adolescent form, it was this organization that helped me have confidence to try other organizations and discover new interests.
Doughnut
________________________________________________________________________________
Sock hops were essential for social structure and engineering. There were barely any students in the school who did not attend and either dance or sit in the bleachers and talk while listening to the evils of Rock and Roll. When we entered the gym, we had to go to the bleachers with our shoes on, or remove them and gain access to the gym floor for dancing. It was during this time that new alliances were formed, new loves found and lost. The lights were left on, so any dancing was done in full view of others, and could be a somewhat enlightening or embarrassing experience depending on the level of co-ordination and rhythmic ability one possessed. Girls peeled sweaters and revealed body parts that I never knew they had; and shook in places, which to this time in my life, were a mystery to me. I am certain that these sock hops contributed to my academic demise, causing me a great deal of consternation for the next few years as I discovered more of the opposite sex. The sounds of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Monkees emanated through the air; I held girls in my arms for a fleeting moment and dreamed of things that I had no business thinking about as Johnny Rivers sang “Poor Side of Town,” and Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” became my theme song as I strived to find that certain someone. Every girl was “the one” and I became good friends with many and “like a brother” to all. Mrs. Mitchell and her Bell Club opened up new avenues to me that had been barricaded, and as junior high progressed, and I grew comfortable in that adolescent form, it was this organization that helped me have confidence to try other organizations and discover new interests.
Doughnut
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)