I can't remember if I locked my car. I can't remember if I closed the window in the bedroom. I can't remember if I left the lights on downstairs, or which side the fork goes on, or what the color was of the shirt I wore yesterday. But ask me the lyrics of a particular song from Steely Dan or Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Wonder that I first heard 20 or more years ago, and I can recite it back no matter how nonsensical it seems. From Talking Heads: "We are vain and we are blind / I hate people when they're not polite / Psycho Killer / Qu'est-ce que c'est ? / fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better." Just be happy you are merely reading this, and can't hear me singing it.
For many, music is like that. It seems to dovetail with our brain waves in a way that makes it not only easier to remember but actually unforgettable. Back in the 1970's an advertising executive named David McCall noted this very phenomenon, wherein his young son couldn't remember his multiplication tables but could belt out the lyrics from the Rolling Stones. He pitched an idea to then ABC programming exec Michael Eisner (later head of Disney) to develop a Saturday morning series for kids in which educational concepts would be put to music. "Schoolhouse Rock!" ran in multiple iterations on and off over the next 40 years. Songs such as "Naughty Number Nine" on multiplication, "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla" about pronouns and "I'm Just a Bill" about the legislative process helped countless kids sing their way to a passing grade in math, English and social studies.
Now the Consumer Product Safety Commission is trying the same tack to get their messages out. Sure, they have PSA's that run on broadcast outlets, print ads and online reminders about food safety, health and a bevy of other topics. But figuring you should fish where the fish are, they have ventured into the music world where so many people old and young spend a great deal of their time. And rather than drop a product recall, they have dropped some tunes, in the form of an album called "We're Safety Now Haven't We."
In styles such as K-pop and hip hop, the songs are freely available to download and remix. They address bread and butter safety issues for younger people such as wearing a helmet when you ride your skateboard, using your cell phone responsibly and using fireworks safely. There are also tunes reminding you to check the smoke alarm in your home and to ride your ATV with the proper equipment.
The lead track is "Protect Ya Noggin'" reminding listeners to tie their helmets on tight: "Ok let me flip scripts / Kick push, then I kick flip / I can do this all wearing lipstick / I got on a sick fit / Just one more accessory / Let me pick the helmet that will tie it all together please." It's also recorded in Spanish, where the hook "En la- en la calle / estés alerta / no seas cabeza hueca" translates as "In the - in the street / be alert / don't be an empty head." Then there's "Going Off Like Fireworks," which bows to the fact that people may use them, but need to do so safely: "Yea, we burning bright bright / So hot we might ignite nite / Smokin hot like noone else / gotta step back before I burn myself / Oh you're dangerous like dynamite / Let's set it off / Let's watch it light." And "Phone Away" repeats over a techno beat "You gotta put your phone away / On the sidewalk / On the dancefloor / When you're riding."
No, there're not "Hotel California" or "We Will Rock You" or "I Want To Hold Your Hand." But then again neither the Eagles, Queen nor the Beatles ever tried to write a song about smoke detectors, so some slack is due. But if they help make a dent in accidents involving young people, it's an effort worth making. The messages aren't new, it's just a new way of delivering them. After all whatever you do, you have to yo yo yo, do it safely. Word.
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Marc Wollin of Bedford is always looking for new music. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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