Bubblegum Pop

Everyday I walk on my TreadClimber for 30 minutes, but I can only do that if I'm listening to music. I've been on a Matchbox Twenty kick lately, which you might have noticed if you're on Facebook. Today I decided to listen to something new, but since I have so much on my iPod, I got frustrated with having to scroll down too much. I couldn't even get through the As, so I settled on ... are you ready for it? The Archies! Yeah, I'm a dork and have their greatest hits on my iPod.

Music has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mom was an Elvis fan, which is the reason I became so fond of him. My brother listened to harder rock like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. My sister really loved The Beatles, whom I liked when I was younger, but can't seem to tolerate now. Weird, huh? Some of The Beatles' songs make me grind my teeth, and yet, I can listen to The Archies. I know ... it makes no sense.

I was born in 1965 and bubblegum pop was big from 1967 to 1972. Then it stopped for a few years before picking up again before the disco and punk rock age. So, I grew up with bubblegum pop, regardless of what my family was listening to. I remember people complaining about that type of music. My grandfather complained about hippies, long hair, and music. Now that I'm an adult, I see things different because I remember how life was then as compared to how it is today. What was so bad about bubblegum pop? It might have been corny, but it was decent when it came to the lyrics. Most of the songs I listened to today by The Archies were sweet and talked about innocent things like ...

Sunday picnics on the grass

Falling in and being in love

Holding hands

Watching children play

Going for walks and kissing

Birds singing and the sun shining

Life being good because everything's alright

Interesting, huh? None of the songs are over-sexual. They're not crude. They're not disrespectful to anyone. They were about friendship, loving your neighbor, being in love, etc. It was the hippie generation -- peace, love, and blah, blah, blah. Some of the new music shocks me. I guess I'm just an old prude. So, as I walked today listening to The Archies, I was reminded of those older people back then who used to complain about bubblegum pop. It makes me wonder what they'd think of it today. Would they still hate it? Or would they look back fondly, remembering a simpler, more innocent time?