Why Don’t The Kids Sing Anymore?

I was just reading the blog of Natalia Yanchak who is the keyboardist/member of The Dears and I marvelled at how absorbed I became in her thought process and how she just spoke her mind of whatever she was thinking at the time.

I’ve realized that in the past, I think I’ve done that from time to time but have put that to the backburner on this site so that I can focus on creating a snapshot of my actual life at its present state so that future generations can take a look and say “So that’s what they did back then.”  Let me also say that I think it would be great if I get in the habit of taking a picture of my face every day and over the years constructing a flipbook with the images.  While I realize that this would take a lot of dedication, it would make for a very neat book to give away at Christmas in about ten years time.  😉

So here you have it…maybe it’s the mood I’m in and the fact that it’s the calm before the storm; the period in between midterm examinations and final exams.  All is calm in the world and I’ve been listening to Counting Crows and now The Dears.  If you have not listened to No Cities Left then I encourage you to go pick it up.  It’s a Palmer guarantee that you will find something to like about it.

I’ve been carrying around a little notebook with me everywhere which is an extension of the voice recorder that Vero gave me a few years ago.  The voice recorder helps me record tunes in my head whereas the notebook lets me write out the thoughts.  I just came across this entry:

no one likes to sing anymore or dance.  Why are they embarrassed?

I think this thought process started from the new Sam Roberts Band tune Them Kids which talks about how the kids don’t dance to rock n’ roll anymore.

It’s…so true!  Then I started thinking of years gone when people sang in the car before radio came along…I read about that particularly in Terrence West’s novel “Run of the Town” which has short stories of growing up in the North.  He talks about how everyone in the car would sing church hymns.

So that’s a start.  It looks like years ago people sang church hymns in a car.  Ok.  So what happened?

I can imagine that probably in the sixties people loved to sing along to their records and music was available in car radios…but after that, did people lose interest?  When did it become uncool to sing out loud?

I take playing guitar and singing as an example of people not singing out loud.  Countless times have I been the only singer in the room.  Is it because I overpower those in the room with my loud voice?  Perhaps.  But sometimes I lower it to see if people want to join in…and it just doesn’t happen.  Sure, I understand that an entertainer should not bother himself with these things, but it is quite strange when you’re ripping into Yellow Submarine and people can’t get the nerve to sing along (of course, I’m just generalizing here…there are those who are great at singing along).

So when did it become uncool to sing?  Is it this new world we live in where everything needs to be…perfect?  Your looks, your clothing, your voice, your demeanor?   I am amused while watching old films because I see actors who in this day and age would be deemed ugly and probably wouldn’t end up in a film.  Watch any film nowadays and tell me if you can find a mediocre looking person who isn’t mediocre looking for a reason (like being the sidekick to the main man).  Has this picture perfect world created this beast where no one wants to sing anymore?

Sometimes it’s hard to get people up to the karaoke machine!  But I hear the Japanese (and I don’t know about other cultures) LOVE karaoke.  Have they found the secret to life and that you should not look at yourselves too seriously and belt out “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer while up on stage with your friends?  Let’s not forget the excellent Rob Zombie imitators at Wave’s Biker Bar in Toronto.  😉

I haven’t found the answer yet as to why people don’t like to sing anymore.  I don’t know why people are…embarrassed.  I think it has to do with the idea that you can’t do anything unless you are perfect at it.  I guess the same goes for dancing.  Or maybe I’m reading too much into it and in the end, high school dances were the same back in the day as they were in my day.  The guys hanging out around the wall and trying to survive the night.  Maybe it really isn’t like all the films you see where everything is choreographed.  Ha ha.

Musings for the night.  I suppose I’ll try this as an experiment on this site…split the time up between documenting entries for the grandkids (Hey Kids!  Gramps here!) and exploring my thoughts a little more.  I find it helps me flesh out ideas for songs.  I think I’m really onto the songwriting kick lately.  A lot of people are saying they are liking the 705 song I wrote.  I think I’ve finally opened Pandora’s Box.

iplaying: We Can Have It – The Dears (No Cities Left)