My sister calls it “gettin’ all kinda ugs”--as in, getting all ugly, making crazy faces & expressions as you really get into a song and sing aloud like it’s nobody’s business.
Well, I call it having a good time singing along to the old school beats. The joy of remembering the sophistication of tape recording, the high tech of pagers and secret agent pager code, waiting all day for that ONE song on the radio, and doing that whole point, open, and close thing with your fists, as you sang to that imaginary crowd and imagined yourself busting out the coolest dance moves in front of the crowd. Yep….the good ol’ days that were tied into the best of the old school rap and hip hop and R&B.
Yes, that’s right. Some songs just wanna make me get all kinds of ugs.
Just last week marked the 10 year death anniversary of one of my all-time favorite artists, Aaliyah. And in the midst of my own little party in my car on the way to work, I dug out her One In a Million album and immediately got lost in the captivating trance of her hit “Let Me Know”.
It’s weird how songs take you back into a chapters of your life, how it touches upon old memories and even makes you laugh remembering the weird outfits you wore that convinced yourself you were the hippest kid in school. I loved Aaliyah for her style and the art of her music and still remember, as I’m sure most true R&B fans remember, the day the news broke out of the tragic plane crash that ended her life much too soon. I remember how sad I was hearing that the music industry lost one of its greatest. I even remember where I was—roaming around my college campus on a typical “I’m gonna melt” type of day in Arizona.
Even now, 10 years later, I still find a little part of my heart saddened as the hauntingly sweet voice of Aaliyah sang my favorite songs, taking me back to a time when it was indeed cool to wait all day for your favorite song on the radio before you hit the play/record button on your cassette recorder, to wear the baggiest pants your body could possibly swim in and still look great, to sport a pager, and most of all to enjoy an era of time in which Aaliyah’s “Back and Forth” made you giddy for the party of everyday, not just a Friday.
Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to get all ugs to this beat.
Happy Monday, to you and yours!
Well, I call it having a good time singing along to the old school beats. The joy of remembering the sophistication of tape recording, the high tech of pagers and secret agent pager code, waiting all day for that ONE song on the radio, and doing that whole point, open, and close thing with your fists, as you sang to that imaginary crowd and imagined yourself busting out the coolest dance moves in front of the crowd. Yep….the good ol’ days that were tied into the best of the old school rap and hip hop and R&B.
Yes, that’s right. Some songs just wanna make me get all kinds of ugs.
Just last week marked the 10 year death anniversary of one of my all-time favorite artists, Aaliyah. And in the midst of my own little party in my car on the way to work, I dug out her One In a Million album and immediately got lost in the captivating trance of her hit “Let Me Know”.
It’s weird how songs take you back into a chapters of your life, how it touches upon old memories and even makes you laugh remembering the weird outfits you wore that convinced yourself you were the hippest kid in school. I loved Aaliyah for her style and the art of her music and still remember, as I’m sure most true R&B fans remember, the day the news broke out of the tragic plane crash that ended her life much too soon. I remember how sad I was hearing that the music industry lost one of its greatest. I even remember where I was—roaming around my college campus on a typical “I’m gonna melt” type of day in Arizona.
Even now, 10 years later, I still find a little part of my heart saddened as the hauntingly sweet voice of Aaliyah sang my favorite songs, taking me back to a time when it was indeed cool to wait all day for your favorite song on the radio before you hit the play/record button on your cassette recorder, to wear the baggiest pants your body could possibly swim in and still look great, to sport a pager, and most of all to enjoy an era of time in which Aaliyah’s “Back and Forth” made you giddy for the party of everyday, not just a Friday.
Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to get all ugs to this beat.
Happy Monday, to you and yours!