Society: Walking down memory lane

Monday this week I left work in a lousy mood after a long tough day’s work. Tired and tense wondering what to do to loosen up, I hopped in an old taxi dreading the ride home, but before I settled in my seat, my ear twitched to some familiar lyrics of an old school jam, You’re the whisper of a summer breeze, You’re the kiss that puts my soul at ease, What I’m sayin’ is I’m into you. It was Paula Abdul’s 80’s song Rush Rush! Automatically a flick of a smiled engulfed my face smothering the terraces that decorated my forehead. I consumed the lyrics and the melody hungrily like a kid devouring a cake. The song was followed by the captivating velvety voice of Whitney Huston’s; I will always love you, the Bodyguard soundtrack. As they say, the oldies are the goodies, for many of us that grew up listening to the music of the 80’s and 90’s, the Oldies still bring back fond memories of our carefree youth and those endless naughty nights. Music back in the days was smooth; the Jams were light-hearted at best, about having a good time, bringing a good laugh, sharing a moral story, making a social commentary, or, just something to chill too. Today listening to Cool and the Gang’s ‘Cherish’ or Madonna’s ‘Holiday’ or Brian Adams said I loved you but I lied would no doubt caress your heart and light your face. That evening I reached home in good spirits, humming Paula’s lyrics and all I want from you is what you are And even if you’re right next to me, It’s still too far away, If I’m not inside your arms, I get traumatic. Going way back, there is nothing more charming than listening to someone’s urgent plea for love, one would feel the pain in the artist’s voice as he pours out his heart. Even for Hip hop lovers, this is when they could actually understand what rappers said when they spit on the mic. Not the crap you hear now. If you’re lucky, you’ll hear some guy named Lil Wayne call himself the ‘rain man’ promising his girl to make money-rain and drown her in cash. Or telling his rivals how he’ll smash their knee-caps and feed them to their dogs. The only rappers out there now who actually say anything of value when they spit are Lupe Fiasco and maybe Nas. Chaps like P.Diddy are influenced by old school jams and if you know where to look you’ll see him as a teen dancing in some of the old school jams. DJ Adams of City Radio every Thursday of the week from mid-day to 2am dusts off some old records and takes his listeners on a stroll down memory lane. Most of those songs sure do bring back some memories! Amazing how they’re fun to hear. Oldies Music is dedicated to those who can appreciate the upbeat tunes that will move your feet, harmonies that will lift your spirit and sweet lyrics to remind you of the simple, carefree life, the love and memories of the past and present days, romantic moonlight nights and dancing the night away. Take a walk down memory lane, dream on and have fun, truly Oldies are Goodies!!martin.bishop18@yahoo.com