As part of my digital cable package, I get something like 30 different digital music channels. Most of them I don't have much use for (eight different variants of country-pop?), but there is one kind of fun one I listen to sometime.
They call it by the (I think horrid) name "Malt Shop Oldies," which to me smacks of 20 or 30 something condescension - "Gramma and Grampa, here are your tunes"
It's mostly 50s and some early 60s stuff - lots of doo-wop, girl groups, that kind of thing. I love that kind of music.
One of the neat things about the channel is that along with the familiar stuff I've heard hundreds of times, once in a while they play some gem I either haven't heard or don't remember hearing.
Today one of those showed up. It's called "To the Aisle" and it's by a group called the Five Satins. (I think they're better known for "In the Still of the Night").
But the song struck me, partly because of the sheer sweetness of it, but also because it's SO VERY DIFFERENT from so much of what is promoted in pop music these days.
Here is the lyric that made me stop and listen more closely:
"Then you put a ring on her finger
And the tears start flowing awhile
Then you'll know she's yours forever
While each step draws you closer to the aisle"
Wow. I realize they're idealizing and all that, but still: very sweet.
And the idea of hoping and planning to get married - not always so promoted in today's cultural milieu.
(And not a mention of a bitch or a ho' anywhere in the entire song. Quite the opposite, in fact, it kind of puts the woman on a pedestal.)
While it's highly unlikely I'll get married at this point, and even less likely I'd have a big fancy reception with a band or a DJ, still, I have to say this would be a serious candidate for that "First Dance" song.
If you want to hear the song, here's a YouTube clip. The graphics along with the song aren't *great* - they sort of look like someone did Google Image searches on specific words and just plopped in what came up - but you can at least hear the song:
1 comment:
Sirius (and I guess XM now too) has a channel called Rock - Garage. It's my favorite because 1) It's all raw, unslick music and 2) It's very eclectic. They'll play punk songs from the Ramones to the Buzzcocks, hippie-era rock, old Beatles and Rolling Stones -- just a lot of stuff.
The other day they played a song from a musician I feel I should have known about but didn't -- Billy Fury. They played his song Nothing's Shaking (But the Leaves on the Trees) that the Beatles remade. Great tune, great musician. I love running across stuff like that and, for me, the Garage station has been the best place to find stuff I didn't know about.
w/v: philidef - The strange condition of Philadelphia politicians who, upon election, become unable to hear or understand good ideas.
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