Jump to content
UNRV Ancient Roman Empire Forums
  • entries
    212
  • comments
    746
  • views
    11,483

Once In A Lifetime

docoflove1974

334 views

It's happened to all of us...we're in a public place, and over the intercom system plays a song that, for whatever reason, strikes a chord immediately with us. Oftentimes it's a song that transports us back in time.

 

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Giants game, where they not only beat the Padres 3-1, but in doing so they swept the series. In one of the middle innings, in between frames, they played

. I could picture David Byrne's sweaty head herking and jerking all over the place, and the weird movements that he did in order to mimic the random videos in the background. I began singing the song, as did some of the others of my age group.

 

A teenager in front of me had this quizzical look on her face. "What is this song about, anyway? I don't get the lyrics at all. 'Same as it ever was'???" Admittedly, it's a difficult thing to do, explaining the meaning behind the songs of New Age and other 80s pop movements. But this one was a bit easier...at least, I think so. To me, this is about a guy in the midst of a mid-life crisis. He's freaking out over the fact that his life has slipped passed by in a blink of an eye.

 

Then again, I've been having a few of those thoughts myself lately. Not the mid-life crisis thoughts, but the "where the hell did my life go?" thoughts. I realize that my being in my mid-30s I'm not old enough to really have those self-revelations, but it happens, especially as I see people's updates on Facebook. At times I wonder if I've done enough in my life thus far, and whether I eschewed some opportunities when perhaps it was not wise to do so. Nah...I don't think so. I mean, unless I had an opportunity to be rich and famous in front of me that I just didn't recognize, I think I've done okay so far.

 

Naturally, in order to write this blog entry, I wanted to watch the video to relive a bit of my early memories of MTV. I forgot how, well, odd the Talking Heads' videos were. I mean, personally, the most creative and awesome video of that decade was

, and for years people were trying to copy it or equal it. Unlike the "Once In A Lifetime" video, which definitely looks nearly 30 years old, "Sledgehammer" looks really good for 25.

 

Wait..."Sledgehammer" is 25 years old? Where has the time flown? I remember hearing "Thriller" just yesterday...didn't I?



3 Comments


Recommended Comments

Oh yeah, I know where you're coming from. All I have to do is hear Black Velvet by Alannah Myles and I'm back in the nineties, driving an open top car in bright sunshine with the world falling at my feet (please don't misunderstand what I mean!). Well, it felt that way at the time.

 

Sleepy Satellite by Tasmin Archer has a similar effect on me. Both songs make me remember good times.

Share this comment


Link to comment

Sledgehammer? Once in a lifetime? Black Velvet? Sleeping Satellite? I bet if you two each listed your favourite 20 tracks, they'd already be on my iPod!

 

On the subject of mid-life crises. It's something you should plan out in detail and look forward to. Mine is to pack it all in, and bum it round Europe in a VW Camper. Admittedly, there's no sign of it happening yet, and the clock's ticking!

Share this comment


Link to comment

GoC, you and I have the same plan. Although I don't know about the VW Camper...I guess for my age group, it's a Westfalia :lol:

 

One note: my favorite music of the era will always be New Order, Depeche Mode ("Somebody" and "A Question of Lust" are the most awesome examples of love and lust in music), Erasure (outstanding live!) and Pet Shop Boys...not to mention that U2 will always be part of the list. Talk about taking me back!

Share this comment


Link to comment
×