Maybe the Future of Music Looks Brighter

I have always loved music.

Back in my musical prime, I was a walking encyclopedia of rock and pop music knowledge. When that kind of music died in the ‘90s with the advent of grunge and boy bands, I drowned my sorrows in country.

And I became pretty knowledgable about that genre as well.

Then country did the same kind of thing that popular music had already done when “bro country” took over the industry. Every singer looked alike, sounded alike, was possibly named Luke, and only sang about tailgates, tank tops, bonfires and getting stuck in the mud.

I mean, once you’ve heard a song about being stuck in the mud, you’ve heard all the songs about being stuck in the mud.

I didn’t have anything much to write about this week, so I did what I do lots of times when that happens. I went to a news website to look for inspiration.

As we all know, the news continues to be historically horrifying with Russian atrocities in Ukraine, hyper-partisan political childishness here and a potential Covid comeback this fall. There’s nothing really to make light of.

So I scrolled down to the entertainment section and saw this headline: “The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo lead the ‘Billboard Music Awards’ 2022 finalists.”

I will admit that I have heard of The Weeknd before, but never to my knowledge have I heard any of his songs. Last year when he did the Super Bowl halftime show, I worked on Buffalo wings in the kitchen. When I first heard of him, I thought it was a band, and I always thought the name was a typo.

Feeling adventurous, I decided to take off my baby boomer crown and sash and listen to a song by each of these three singers.

I started with The Weeknd and a song titled “Out of Time.”

This was a really good song. It was upbeat, and this guy can sing. I guess that’s why he’s a famous singer.

At the end, however, the tempo eerily slowed down, and instead of being out of time with his girl, I interpreted it to mean that he was out of time, literally.

I won’t get into it, but the unexpected ending reminded me of the Vincent Price part in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

Next up on Rate a Record was Doja Cat and a song titled “Woman.”

This one was a little too electronic sounding for my taste, although it was catchy.

She goes into this rap in the middle which was a cool change of pace.

Hey, I don’t hate rap as much as I’m supposed to.

Last but not least is Olivia Rodrigo and her song, “drivers license.” That’s the title, no apostrophe, no caps, the way Prince might’ve done it.

If I was a 16 year old girl and my boyfriend had just broken up with me, you would find me in my room with a half gallon of Ben and Jerry’s and this one turned up to 11.

It’s catchy, but it’s going to resonate most heavily with 15-year-old girls.

Bottom line: I enjoyed all three or these songs way more than I thought I would.

And that’s not just because none of them mentioned tailgates or bonfires.