Astonishing

Since "awesome" is overused, I needed to come up with a new word, and I don't hear anyone say "astonishing." It's too many syllables or something.

I was listening to the decades channels on XM radio today- the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90s. I don't really listen to old music much. I swore to myself that I'd never be one of those people whose musical taste got frozen when they were in high school or college. But in my car CD player at the moment are 2 Rilo Kiley albums, A New Pornographers album, and "Learn French In Your Car" (P.S., you can't). I like the 3 albums very much, but they're pretty similar and I got bored.

I kind of flipped by Chuck Berry, because he's such a pioneer of rock and roll that it's difficult to think of it as real music, but it's kind of fun to think about what it must have sounded like when people had never heard anything like that before. I then heard a bit of an interview about Hank Williams. I'm not a big country music fan, but you can trace almost everything in country music back to Hank Williams. I saw a show about his life once. He died when he was 29, and the musical legacy he left is truly astonishing. Nobody since has caught the perfect balance between pathos and charm and humor and great, hook-filled melodies. "Lovesick Blues" and "Jambalaya" were two of my favorites. If you're into music, check it out.

Then I heard "Billie Jean." Michael Jackson has become sort of a joke, but there is nobody in music today who was as hugely famous and successful as he was in the early 80's. I was in my mid 20's a pretty serious softball player at the time and after our games we'd go to this hole-in-the-wall bar on 3rd Avenue and 93rd Street. Sweeney's I think it was called. The best thing about it was that they'd sell you pitchers of beer or mixed drinks and let you take them outside and hang out on the sidewalk. There weren't tables or anything and I'm sure it wasn't really legal, but nobody bothered us. There was a pizza place a couple of blocks away and somebody's go and get some pizzas and we'd eat them out there. It was always packed with softball players after the games. So one time I go inside to get a refill and I see and hear this video on the TV and it was for "Billie Jean" and I'd never seen anything like it. Jackson was the first to do really interesting videos. He was a superb dancer and showman and a real pioneer in music video as a pop culture form. And the song...The best way I can describe it is "itchy." It just makes you have to move. It's a perfect blend of R&B and pop and if you don't think so try playing that song before you hear some modern R&B/pop blender like Beyonce and see which one makes you want to dance.

I've never forgotten the moment seeing that thing. I think there's a DVD of his videos, including the famous 17 minute "Thriller" video, narrated by Vincent Price and directed by John Landis, director of Animal House and the Blues Brothers and Trading Places. Best music video choreography ever by Jackson. Very much worth a Netflix rental. Of course, we all know his story didn't end well, but in 1983 there was nothing to compare.

As a footnote, that song was followed by Steve Miller Band, "Fly Like An Eagle," the consensus most impossible rock song to dance to.