Friday Funtime: Pop Argot Becomes an Oldie

Back in the mid-'80s, when I began listening to retro radio on a devotional basis, the local golden-oldies station, WWSW (3WS), used 1970 at its unofficial cutoff point: Shocking Blue's "Venus" and the Beatles' "Let It Be" were the most "recent" songs in its playlist. So I developed a working definition of an "oldie" as being a song that was at least 15 years old.

This definition served me well until the end of the '90s, when I discovered that songs I loved at the time of release by bands like Culture Club and ABC and Men at Work had become "oldies," rendering me a saddened and decrepit old man before I'd even hit middle age.

I bring this up because today is the 15th anniversary of my college graduation: a triumphant moment for me in my cap and gown (or, to be precise, top hat and gown), but now a worryingly distant memory. Yours truly is now an oldie even in the sense of achievement of adulthood, I guess. In commemoration, here are 10 other things that felt kind of new in 1995.

1. Smashing Pumpkins, "1979"
2. Sophie B. Hawkins, "As I Lay Me Down"
3. Martin Page, "In the House of Stone and Light"
4. TLC, "Waterfalls"
5. Nicki French, "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
6. U2, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
7. Seal, "Kiss From a Rose"
8. Rappin' 4-Tay f/ the Spinners, "I'll Be Around"
9. Boyz II Men, "Water Runs Dry"
10. Oasis, "Champagne Supernova"

Roxy Music, "Out of the Blue"

If this blog post were a Facebook status update, it would read: Pop Argot is overwhelmed by what electric violin can do in a rock context.

But to elaborate, I'm also overwhelmed by the aptitude of everyone else onboard the space shuttle Roxy Music - especially the oboe player, and how often do I get to say that? - on "Out of the Blue." Even if I think Bryan Ferry's sartorial reputation is rather overstated, at least if this clip is evidence.

Lady Gaga, "Telephone"

Few artists today are as polarizing as Lady Gaga - you either absolutely adore her or are absolutely mystified by her overwhelming success over the past 18 months. I'm not on board with her - didn't she learn from Elton John and Madonna that costumes only go so far, that you have to have some lyrical meat on your glittery bones? - but I appreciate that she's affected a number of lives for the better.

Including, apparently, several among the U.S. military in Afghanistan: members of the 82nd Airborne made a video for Gaga's "Telephone" that's been setting the blogosphere abuzz. No dialogue about killing cows and making burgers (what does that line even mean?), just gyrations and choreography and three minutes of implorings to "stop talking."

I haven't yet decided, though, if it's preferable to the 10-minute Tarantino-inspired epic video Gaga and Beyonce did, though.