2011-08-15

Please, Mr. DJ!!!

I have noticed a major trend in music lyrics these days. The trend centers around lyrical subject matter involving the imploring of the DJ to allow the story's narrator to fully express himself/herself through dance.

The general them of the lyrics follows more or less the same general pattern as Jennifer Lopez' "Play." The idea is that there exists a song so fantastic that the narrator must absolutely hear it soon. No other song is its equal when it comes to the power of inspiring the narrator to dance, or to dance well, or most importantly to "feel alright."

Perhaps the most important quality of the narrator's song (the narrator's song of choice, the one being requested in each of these lyrics - also known as "my song" or "that song") is its innate ability to ensure that the narrator "keeps dancing" "all night long." However, I am not sure if this particular quality of "that song" is more a factor of the fact that the narrator "feels alright," or simply because the phrase play that song has the same rhyme and meter as the phrase all night long.

Similarly, in the music of the 1960s, it may not have been so important to people that they made her understand, because this was most likely nothing more than a handy next-logical-lyric to taking her by the hand.

Other qualities of the song that needs to be played involve thinly veiled lyrical representations of grinding one's genitalia against that of a dance partner and/or taking drugs. Occasionally, the narrator may also choose to refer to a time of yore, idyllic days during which the song was played with far greater frequency than it is today.

We are to understand above all else, however, that this song exists and that the DJ has no current intention of playing it. Thus our story has conflict. If the DJ fails to play "that song," then there is sure to unfold a rather unpleasant series of events: People will not "feel alright," no one will "dance all night," ladies will not have it going on, no one will grind anything sexual against anyone else, and the drugs that make it all happen will fail to be consumed. All of this will occur simply because the DJ elects not to play "my song."

Songs that implore the DJ to play "that song" can be seen as an evolution of their precursor: the 1980s rock anthems in which the narrator desired nothing more out of life than "to rock," and would therefore embark on a series of descriptions of how they could not possibly be prevented from "rocking," indeed that all such attempts were futile, and the ill fate one was destined to suffer if one designed to prevent the narrator from being able "to rock."

While many would suggest that music trends are fickle and fleeting, I reject this notion entirely. For over half a century we have been taking each other by the hand, making them understand, putting our hands in the air, waving them like we just don't care, trying to gain the freedom to rock, and begging Mr. D.J. to please, please, oh DJ, please, play that song.

1 comment:

  1. Don't just stand there.
    Come on! Get up, and move!

    ReplyDelete