The People I See - vol. 1

What Will Your Music Say to You In Ten, Twenty or Even Thirty Years?

I hopped in the car with my Dad on my usual trek to the airport when the song Love Machine erupted over the airways. I bounced; sang along and became really animated when the singer rolls his tongue mimicking a love machine, boldly announcing, “and I won’t work for nobody but you….huuuuyeah….” Looking over at me, my Dad laughed at my excitement. We proceeded to have a conversation about music in the good old days—an era we often think of as good and wholesome— when lyrics, if not reflective of what life represented to us; at least reflected what we wanted life to be.

Fast forward later that day I pull into a Los Angeles hotspot with my windows down, listening to my favorite radio station in Los Angeles, KJLH at what I consider to be a comfortable level. And although Maxwell is sending me soaring about now, up next to me, pulls in a Pearl White Escalade with butter leather interior, shiny rimmed wheels, a retracted sunroof and equally tan eye candy in the driver’s seat. Now his radio is bumping also, but to a very different beat. I estimate this man to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. He looks over, smiles and turns his music up a little louder, then shuts his car off. I return his smile with a furrowed brow, okay a frown because although his engine is shut down, his CD player continues to spew the foulest uncensored expletives I’ve heard. I watched him bounce just as had done earlier and wondered if he really enjoyed being called Bi*#h, MotherF*#@ker; or if he’d appreciate his loved ones being referred to in those terms?

Now this is not an indictment of Hip Hop or Rap because I understand that all of the aforementioned genre is not laced with those said lyrics. Besides I’m a lover of some tunes that have come out of that era like U-N-I-T-Y, Queen Latifah claiming her Queendom and don’t get me started with M C Lyte, yeah I like a rough neck too, Salt N Pepa’s Push It (sure not so clean but awesome to dance to) and countless others. Nor is this an endorsement of my era of music as if to say it is all good and racy or expletive laced, on the nose sexual content didn’t exist. Listen to Tonight’s the Night That You Make Me a Woman by Betty Wright; love the voice not the song. What this column is, is an inquisition. I’d really like to know if the public who cherishes this music find it entertaining, enlightening, inspirational or an enhancement to your life? And should it be all or any one of those things?

I say absolutely; music should be those things and more. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard many arguments counter my position and while I personally find expletive laden and/or sexually on-the-nose music vexatious, I’ll be the first to defend anyone’s right to listen to it. I just don’t want to hear it. But what I really would love to know is what this music says to those who enjoy it and will it still speak to you in the same way thirty years from now?

My music encourages me to share that No One The World will love you like I do, to Get Down on It, to Turn Off The Lights, to Love A Stranger or not to Worry ‘Bout a Thing, to Smile or to remember the 21st night of September, to Dance To The Music, to Rock Wit’ You, to Walk on By or to Hit The Road Jack.
My music is reflective; to realize life like how Silly of me to pour the wine…, how a Dance Turned Into a Romance or that he gives me love, love, love, love, Crazy Love, or that Love Shoulda Brought You Home Last Night and since you been gone all I have left is a Band Of Gold and that even though you’ve walked out the door again I Will Survive.

My music asks the questions, What’s Going On?, Will I See You in Heaven? Would You Mind if I touched, if I felt, if I held you tight…’til the morning light…yeah…, Is it still Good To You or Do You Know The Way To San Jose?, and Do You Love What You Feel?

My music talks about Pretty Brown Eyes, how you’re hanging up your player’s Jersey because you’ll never be a Player Again, it tells you I Want You Back, or that you’re taking too much time to make up your mind, either you love me or you don’t….Circles…going ‘round in, You Can Have Him I Don’t Want Him, that just because I’m not afraid to let you shine, I’m Still A Man or that you’ll cook my dinner too….Soon As I Get Home, I’ll go Through The Fire and that It’s Cold Outside and me and Romeo ain’t never been friends….Cassanova and that you’ll love me Always and Forever or our love reminds you of Muskrat Love, or that I’m Not Gonna Write You A Love Song and that You Can’t Hurry Love…you’ll just have to wait…or that you heard I was leaving you through the Grapevine because Love Don’t Live Here Anymore but if you want me Wild Horses couldn’t keep me away and that we are Unbreakable.
My music inspires me to Say A Little Prayer For You, to celebrate the fact that we are Solid As A Rock, or just to Celebrate good times come on cause I’m Going Up Yonder, or to rejoice in The Blessing of Abraham.

My music reminds you Don’t Go Breaking My Heart or that being with you in the Afternoon is a Delight and that you are strong and lean; a Dancing Queen
I could go on and on and on. And the few above mentioned titles are an inkling of music that spans more than forty years. My point is that like a classic it still speaks to me in many profound ways and when others hear music they may have grown up with or on, as adults does it still speak to them and do they want it to?

What I do know for sure is that I enjoy when I hear the above mentioned whether it be on the radio, in the movies, a television show or because someone hums, thirty years later my music makes my heart smile. This is Toni Staton Harris, Checkin’ Up and Checkin’ In on how your music speaks to you.

*This is the first in a series of articles, The People I See

Toni Staton Harris is an author of two novels; By Chance or Choice, Nothing Special…Just Friends? available through Amazon.com and the soon to be released sequel to By Chance or Choice entitled Here We Grow Again. She is a motivational speaker, blogger and Wine Connoisseur and can be followed on Twitter.com/WineWithToni for great wine recommendations and pairings and Facebook/ToniStatonHarris fan page. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband Injeel.