You Never Forget Your First

No, not your first love or first sexual encounter.  Your first album. The record you went and picked out yourself when you were old enough to have a choice.  My friend Slim, who owns Round Soap Records, providing all manner of musically inspired bath products, recently wrote a blog post of the same title.  His firsts were The Steve Miller Band’s Book of Dreams and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors.  Naturally, after reading his post, I thought about my first album.  The one that I made my mom take me to the mall to buy.  It was the B-52s.  Not Cosmic Thing, which had their hits “Love Shack” and “Roam,” but rather their first full-length album, from 1979 with the infamous tune “Rock Lobster.”

Well now, aren’t we all so special?

I’m not ashamed to admit to enjoying some pretty cheesy pop tunes. On some of these pop artists, I agree with many music critics who say that they are manufactured fluff, but others I believe are bringing a little more to the table.  Lately, I’ve had a workout/running mix that includes Lady Gaga, P!nk, Katy Perry, and Ke$ha. All of whom currently have songs out about being special or being yourself. NPR’s Soundcheck recently had a discussion about whether or not these women are the new gay icons or just pandering to a gay audience. The general consensus among guests and callers was that Gaga had earned her stripes, but Perry and Ke$ha, not so much. Pink was up for debate. I agreed and wondered, why was it that these white women felt the need to establish themselves with songs about being genuinely different, as in and P!nk’s “Raise Your Glass” or being special in Katy Perry’s “Firework” or just being yourself as in Lady Gaga’s  “Born This Way” or choosing your lifestyle as in “W R Who We R” from Ke$ha?   Were they special? And would any of them be around in ten years?