Yes, you read that right: my education.
Because it was through listening (on beloved WBCN, no doubt) to the Stones' 1968 masterpiece back when I was in high school that I learned about the Russian Revolution of the early 20th century.
I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change.
Killed the tsar and his ministers.
Anastasia screamed in vain.
Who was this Anastasia person? Up to that point, my public-school education had neglected to cover the Russian Revolution. So I looked it up (using the Google of the 80s: our trusty set of Encyclopedia Britannicas) and read the tragic story of pretty, young--and murdered--Anastasia. Thanks for that one, Mick and Keith.
My education-through-music started way back in the 1970s, when I was just a kid. One of the first things I remember learning from rock 'n' roll were the indispensable "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." I made sure to store Paul Simon's helpful tips in my head for future reference.
I really started learning in fourth grade, with the release of Grease. Oh, how I loved that movie! I had the Grease backpack, photo-novel, and, of course, the awesome double album. I wore that record out. Learned a lot from it, too. One of my favorite tunes, "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" was belted out by Stockard Channing:
Lousy with virginity.
Won't go to bed 'til I'm legally wed.
I can't, I'm Sandra Dee!
I remember going to my mother for clarification: "Mom? What does 'virginity' mean?"
And if I recall correctly, she explained it to me.
Yeah, Grease pretty much taught me about sex.
When I was 12 years old, my obsession with Rick Springfield got me to look up the meaning of "moot" after I heard it in "Jessie's Girl." How many tweens do you know who can use moot correctly in a sentence? Exactly.
The list goes on and on:
- The Beatles' "Helter Skelter," which I heard for the first time in the early 80s, sent me running for the encyclopedia so I could study Charles Manson and all his evilness. I especially loved it that one of his acolytes was a suburban Armenian girl named Linda Kasabian. So cool.
- The 1982 song "Key Largo" (by some dude I've never heard of named Bertie Higgins) went like this: "We had it all, just like Bogie and Bacall. Starring in our old late, late show. Sailing away to Key Largo." My parents explained to me who Bogie and Bacall were. Up until that point, the only classic films I'd seen were The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music.
- "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" taught me that some grown-ups--even married ones!--placed and answered personal ads. And that some people's idea of having fun on the dunes at the Cape had nothing to do with building sandcastles.
- From "Run, Joey, Run" I learned that, in some families, violence was the norm.
- "Another Brick in the Wall" taught me that it was way better to be an American girl growing up in the 70s than and English schoolboy during wartime.
Plus hundreds more, I'm sure....
What about you? What have you learned from rock 'n' roll?
