(no subject)

[proximoception]

We were watching VH1's '80s one-hit wonders special today. Being married to someone my exact age means we tend to get that Proustian rush for the exact same things. It's a strange middle category that trips it: not the extraordinarily good or memorable, since those you keep on thinking about, or running into since everyone else is still thinking about them; not the totally forgettable because you, like, totally forget those; but a middle zone of rather good or otherwise fairly distinct phenomena. The '80s one that got us was "Boom boom boom / let's go back to my room!" We cracked up for five minutes but were also absurdly moved.

I wanted the feeling again so I spent hours (yes, this is a procrastination day) looking for other old songs. I found a great one, complete with video on Youtube--the song Laid by James. Hadn't heard or thought about it in 15 years, probably. Got Julie too, she almost cried. James' Laid almost made someone cry. It's a nice song, but drenched with past it's so much more. For just the one listen, though; if I buy it from iTunes and listen to it regularly it will only ever be nice.

Boom boom boom I hadn't thought about for almost 25. One of the two radio stations we listen to during the c. 20 minutes to and from school is mostly '70s-'90s pop/rock--I guess these songs were just a bit under its radar.

Comments

[jones-casey.livejournal.com]

i like this entry. myself, i've heard laid dozens of times in the past fifteen years, because it's the theme song to the american pie franchise of movies, of which there are now seven, with an eighth in the works.

[proximoception.livejournal.com]

So that's where it went! I did see the first American Pie when it came out, but I came in pretty late so may have missed it; or if I did hear it my brain may not have taken any notice. And why would it have? Laid was the kind of upbeat, vaguely recent song you'd hear in movies. I wonder at what point I wouldn't have known what the song was called anymore, or who it was by, since yesterday I didn't recognize either before I clicked play--I was just randomly playing songs off the Wikipedia '90s One Hit Wonder list. But after hearing it I remembered the television I first saw the video on, the many times I saw it in ensuing weeks, my reactions to it, trying to sing along and getting dizzy at the loud yodel parts etc.

The Proustian effect is from having no other context to fit it in but its original, I guess--so the context and the you of the time (the context of that context!) hurtle forward and you're more than one person for a little while. More than two, also, in a sense, since some pretty fundamental identity barriers get trashed in the collision.

But re. where Laid's been: I remember mentioning to Julie a couple years ago how strange it was that Paula Cole's main hit had disappeared completely, from the radio, movies etc. I knew it had been overplayed but surely people weren't still sick of it? She set me straight how everyone but me had been hearing it constantly.

[thelican.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love "Laid"! It's gorgeous. It's always felt, to me, like it encapsulates that rush of time when you're so crazy about someone you can't even think what to do. ("You're driving me crazy / When are you coming home?")

[andalus.livejournal.com]

I have never heard this song before.

[proximoception.livejournal.com]

It's being held hostage by American Pie movies.

[andalus.livejournal.com]

didnt see those either

[awils1.livejournal.com]

As a 90s kid, "boom boom boom" makes me think of the Venga Boys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llyiQ4I-mcQ).