Remember good music? Every Boomer has their idea of what they consider to be good music. For many it is simply music that makes you feel good. It doesn’t matter if it is pop, rock, R&B or some other soul-stirring sounds, if the melody is pleasant and the lyrics understandable, we considered that good music. In our heyday, there may have been a few oldies that contained some suggestive lyrics, but overall the songs were decent and inoffensive. But fast-forward thourgh the 70’s on and the music started to change. Some folks apparently didn’t keep up or they listened to more refined music.
Several years ago, while I was browsing in a trendy dress shop, a popular oldies tune was playing on the store’s speaker system and a sophisticated looking lady, who appeared to be in her 70’s came into the store. The music was still bumping as the lady began looking at the suits on the sales rack near where I was standing. Suddenly, she looked directly at me. Instinctively I smiled at her, and then noticed the look of anxiety on her face.
“Young lady,” she said, “What are they saying on that song?” She asked the question like she was afraid to hear the answer and before I could reply she repeated the question with a bit more urgency, “What are they saying?”
Though the tune had never been one of my favorites, I was familiar with the Brothers Johnson song and immediately understood her concern. Enunciating as clearly as I could so that there would be no misunderstanding, I said to her, “They are singing, ‘get the funk outta my face.’” “Oh,” she replied, and then she turned and walked out of the store, all the while slowly shaking her head from side-to-side as if in a state of disbelief. I stood there wondering whether she had misunderstood me or if she was just upset by what she thought they guys were singing. Anyone who is unfamiliar with the song can certainly understand how funk could be mistaken for a more explicit word. Life used to be so simple, but times they are a-changin’.