0402070253
DETROIT FREE PRESS
040208
Sunday, February 08, 2004
METRO FINAL
1L
MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Copyright (c) 2004, Detroit Free Press
THE MUSIC MUST MATTER, NOT THE HYPE
Istill remember the girls screaming. Because I was only a kid, it really
didn't faze me. I didn't know what songs the Beatles were singing anyhow. To
me, they were just these guys on Ed Sullivan on our black-and-white
television, guys with long hair (my own hair being a brush cut those days). As
I recall, my sister thought they were cool, and, because I didn't know what
"cool" meant, I just sort of followed her.
At some point, the Beatles went from mystical to musical. I began to hum their
songs. There was nothing hard about singing "she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah,"
even if you were 6 years old.
Their melodies became my melodies, their songs my songs. I don't remember much
about summer camp, but I do remember, whenever kids pulled out a guitar, they
would pluck a few chords and sing, "yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far
away . . ."
The first French I learned was "ma belle" from the song "Michelle." (I
thought, for years, it referred to the phone company.)
And what 10-year-old didn't think lyrics like "we all live in our yellow
submarine" made perfect sense?
My junior high clique would go arm-in-arm and sing, "Ohhhhh, we get by with a
little help from our friends . . ."
One of my first slow dances was to "something in the way she moves . . ."
More than a peep show
It was 40 years ago this week when the Beatles shook up America on the
Sullivan show. I thought about that Sunday night on CBS. Then I thought about
our most recent Sunday night on CBS -- last Sunday, the Super Bowl, when Janet
Jackson popped her top.
In both cases, it was huge news.
In both cases, the artists received worldwide "exposure."
In both cases, you had young people saying it was no big deal and old people
wringing their hands as if the world were about to end.
The difference, as I see it, is the music. The Beatles, to be honest, were
tame in their performance on the Sullivan show. They wore suits. They smiled.
They did less jiggling than Elvis had done eight years earlier. The thing that
made the audience scream was their hair, their cuteness and, yes, the fact
that their songs were hotter than a brushfire, and every young person seemed
to know them.
In Jackson's case, I've already forgotten what she was singing. It wasn't new.
It wasn't hot. The audience on the field was simulated, the way they are now
at every Super Bowl, with young extras hired by the host committee to act as
if they're really truly enjoying the show. Never mind that most of them do it
to get in the stadium to see the game.
A lyrical challenge
Am I starting to sound old? Well, the danger in growing up, musically, is that
everything new seems lousy and everything old seems great. Much of this is
because old people -- meaning older than 25 -- are irrelevant when it comes to
music sales.
But comparing the Beatles and Janet Jackson, it's the music that's the
relevant topic. The Beatles were controversial because of their music and
style. Jackson was controversial only because she went semi-naked.
And I guess that's what saddens people my age. We truly connected to the songs
of our artists -- because we didn't have video. They didn't play the Super
Bowl. If the song couldn't stand on its own, musically, it disappeared.
Stripping didn't help it.
Times change. But time has a way of putting things in perspective. Forty years
from now -- maybe when all earthlings walk around half-naked -- people will
chuckle at the fuss we made over Jackson's strip.
But I doubt anyone will be singing her songs.
Meanwhile, if I start a line from one of the tunes the Beatles did on Ed
Sullivan 40 years ago, I'm pretty sure you can finish it. How about, "I want
to hold your . . ."
Those of you who said "breast," please leave the room.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch
Albom Show" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760) and "Monday Sports Albom" 7-8
p.m. Mondays on WJR.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COLUMN