Old Skool Sounds

-by Male guest blogger


OK, so I was teaching my kids how to download songs and do the digital music things using Napster. For grins, I started searching for songs I enjoyed when I was a teen.....yeah, I went WAY back to the birth of commecial hip-hop. I pulled down music like Planet Rock, White Lines, Cool (by The Time), Gas Face, Roxanne/Roxanne, and several others. I reminisced with artists like Kool Mo Dee, Dana Dane, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, BDP, Eric B. & Rakim, etc. Now as I did this, I shared memories about being a DJ when I was in high school when rap was this cool new thing, and cuttin' and scratchin' was "the thing". Now my boys were all born after 1990, so I know the only record player they have seen was in a museum and they honestly thought that Patrice Rushen was singing the Will Smith song rather than Will Smith sampling the original "Send Me Forget Me Nots". They think about Motown music historically because of stuff they have been taught in school and programs they have seen on TV on PBS. BUT, when I played a song that was from "my time" that has been sampled by one of today's artist, I felt another gray hair emerge; my back began to stiffen; and I started to begin to care whether or not Social Security will be there for me.... How did I get old?
In my defense, my old school stuff was, "pretty cool Dad." Imagine that, music that was humorous, had a nice beat, used somewhat original beats was compelling to today's teens. There were no curse-words, no N-word, women were wanted and desired yet not called bitch/ho or something else. They laughed at the content of the songs, and laughed at me dancing to the songs, and they also laughed at the dated-ness of the songs much like I laughed when my parents played (and sincerely grooved) to thier old music....[they loved this old song "....I'm your puppet. I'll do anything, that you want me to, I'm your puppet..." and I think I rolled on the ground while they "jammed".] Guess what goes around, comes around. Oh well, I'm going through my Purple Rain period on the music, and listening to 777-9311 and Cool from The Time. My kids are pointing and lauging at me, and like my parents, I'm living in the good parts of the past like I'm sure my kids will do 21 years from now when thier kids are asking them "Who is Mike Jones" and why doesn't anyone know him in the song.
Anyway, just sharing....back to Eric B and Rakim -- I Ain't No Joke.

Comments

Anonymous said…
And didn't you love it when you parents and them started doing "The Bump" because they couldn't do the latest dances?

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