During the years I was bullied in school, I’d come Home in the afternoon, and take refuge in my bedroom. I would then turn on my stereo or play one of my cassette tapes (they were the thing back then) and get lost in the music.
I was a Prince fan and hairband girl. I’d put in one of my Prince, Dokken, Motley Crue, Ratt, Judas Priest, or Skid Row tapes and rock out in the privacy of my bedroom. I would turn the music up full blast and have it blaring so loud the entire house shook.
Other days, I’d come home and boogie down to some Janet Jackson, Al B. Sure, Salt N Pepa, or Paula Abdul. I was into New Jack Swing hip-hop as well. And sometimes I listened to softer rock on the stereo, “Money for Nothing,” by Dire Straits, “Tell Me Lies” by Fleetwood Mac, or Springsteen’s “Tunnel of Love.”
For me, listening to music always helped me recover from a bad day and made me feel great. There was nothing like bebopping all over the floor in my bedroom to the beat of a great song. It seemed to make all my troubles and worries disappear. It was what made me feel alive!
Today, I still listen to those songs either through my music downloads, on YouTube, or I play one of my numerous Prince CDs.
The music of today just doesn’t have it- doesn’t have the heart and soul it used to. The music of today is all about “me me me- all eyes on me” and is doused with blatant, in-your-face sexual profanity, or it’s pity-party music, as I like to call it. Yuck! Who wants to hear that?
The music of my day was music that you could let your kids listen to without fear. Here are a few more reasons I prefer old rock over this new crap.
1.Rock music from my era was about having a good time. It made you want to jump up and shout! New rock is too emo- it’s about “my partner left, and now I want to die,” or “Mommy and Daddy didn’t love me enough, and now I’m one messed up individual.” No thanks.
2. Old rock didn’t have the blunt vulgarity that today’s rock has. What profanity we had in my day was more innuendo that went over the heads of most small children. Sadly, some of the lyrics in today’s songs are downright cringeworthy.
3. I like old stuff. Old songs take me back to a time when life was much simpler.
4. Surprisingly, I’ve noticed that many of today’s young people listen to music from my generation, which is refreshing! Because you know the music’s good if your kids like it too. My oldest son loves AC/DC and Ozzy Osborne, and just the other day, I had the pleasure of seeing a car full of teens riding around with Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” blaring from their car stereo. Now that put a smile on my face!
‘You see? Back when I was young, if we were caught listening to music from our parents’ generation, we’d be ridiculed so hard by our friends and peers we’d never want to show our faces in public again. So, knowing that kids still dig music from our day is truly amazing!
Music is great medicine and has always picked me up. I can say without a doubt that I’ll be a devout music lover until the day I close my eyes!
Are there any music lovers out there among my community of blogger friends and readers? Feel free to comment.
