Monday, October 11, 2004

Oldies but dirties

Okay, so if you've ever listened to "Under the Boardwalk," you'll understand the above title. Every time I crack into my Time/Life oldies collection, I discover anew the reasons why so many felt that rock n' roll was evil. Of course, "to the pure all things are pure," and it really requires someone as devllish as myself to accurately pinpoint all of the innuendo. (However, in some songs it's just blatant---Under the Boardwalk is basically a song lyrically describing hanky-panky where? You guessed it: under the boardwalk, which brings to my obsessive mind concerns about sand in one's swimming trunks, chafing, or at the very least the presence of various aquatic animalia looking on.)
And if that's not just . . . well, weird, I should mention that Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and numerous others weren't talking as much about the social revolution of the rising generation as they were serenading for sex. Scandalous? Oh yeah. So word to the wise, you impressionable youth out there. :)

From the original public menace to you . . .

5 comments:

  1. Ah, duly noted and recognized. Still, my religious roots tell me that it was not all racism that promoted the anti-rock protests. My prudish side shudders, if only because I thought oldies were "bubble gum," and have come to realize they're edible undies.

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  2. Oh, and props to Sabi for crediting rock! Of course, as a self-declared "old soul" I don't think of them as RETRO. The part of me that wears a leather jacket and blue jeans, cruises the main drag of a small town on my hog, and chases girls in poodle skirts nostalgically revisits a past that never was when I listen in . . .

    And as for hypocrisy, I can only say its most pernicious work was to destroy man's faith in religious activisim, a belief in a higher being, etc.

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  3. Oh, and can I just say, as I'm listening, that 1957 was an awesome musical year! You've got Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On by Jerry Lee Lewis, Come Go with Me from the Dell-Vikings, At the Hop, Little Bitty Pretty One, Great Balls of Fire, Little Darlin', and so on . . . So I'm a cheese head, a big cheese, el gran queso . . . I have no shame in my cheese!

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  4. Well, I suppose there really never was an age of innocence, except for select individuals. Thankfully, one can vie for a personal renaissance of one's own. Here's to another pair of virgin lips!!!

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  5. Ah, thank you, Jeff. I'm glad someone is in the know 'round here. I, on the other hand, am more accustomed to vagaries and assorted nonsense. I rarely can offer facts as explanations for my feelings, let alone for my platforms.

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