Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be
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Well, the Best-of-2007 lists continue to roll in. Me? I’d rather not join in. Not a list-maker. You all know what I like by now if you pay a little attention to my MOG page – although I certainly don’t expect anyone to give a rat’s ass. I will go on record as saying that there were myriad thrills in the digital “grooves” for me this past year. But I continue to wait (seemingly in vain) for something totally new to come along – a previously unheard melody, if you will.In all honesty, I’ve gotta say that the last truly fresh, unique sounds I encountered were probably from the new-wave/proto-rap era, when groups were first exploring what could be done with synthesizers/sequencers/beat boxes. I no longer listen to tracks, mouth agape, stunned at hearing a combo of style, vocals, instrumentation and lyrics that neither I nor anyone else had ever imagined before. The first chords of “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis, “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard, “I Can’t Explain” by The Who, “Bluebird” by Buffalo Springfield, “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads, “Street Life” by Roxy Music, “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow, “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode, and “Flashlight’ by Parliament were all revelations to me. Those are just a few tracks off the top of my head that sent my mind swimming upon first impact.These amazing leaps into sonic wonder generated a feeling of epiphany – the sense that a mystical portal had opened up and an inter-dimensional radio was turned up loud. The advent of electrified instruments created a new aural palette, and that certainly figured into what was produced. Still, we experienced four decades of unique musical creations and the inspiration behind them went beyond the challenges of novel instrumentation. There are worse explanations than rocker Nick Lowe’s suggestion (which I saw quoted in a MOG post by the redoubtable Misstee) that all of this previously unknown music was beamed to us from another planet – perhaps straight into the brains of the musicians themselves.Ever see the hilariously cheesy ‘50s scifi film “Queen of Outer Space,” about a world in our very solar system ruled by Amazonian women? There’s a scene with Zsa Zsa Gabor, all done up like a Keno girl at Caesar’s Palace, greeting the astronauts who had traveled to her planet with a delighted “Welcome to Venus, Earthmen!” Maybe Zsa Zsa sent us some music from beyond – and they called it rock and roll. Hell, Elvis was known for wearing a gold lamé suit early in his career. Maybe his stylist was a Venusian.If this rant sounds a little familiar, I have to admit that I addressed the same issue a year ago in a post entitled “Shock of the New.” As I said then, my fellow citizens of the MOGiverse have turned me on to a variety of amazing artists in many musical genres from many different eras. Now, what’s next? I'd like to be so startled and entranced that I actually listen to pop music in a whole different way. I want music that will expand my mind and, like I vaguely recall from a long-ago era, effect social change.I remain at the ready.(While I'm waiting, I might as well reprise the video for one of my favorite songs from the past year. It's a number that gave me the sort of "WTF!" vibe I crave, while using animation to brilliantly depict a retro-future that may never come to pass: Charlotte Hatherley's jagged, exquisite "Behave.")
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