Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Time for a dance party!

The other night I was in the beer aisle at Trader Joe's picking out some liquid joy when "Ball of Confusion," the 1970 hit by The Temptations, started blaring throughout the place.  Oh, the memories!  My sister Lori and I used to play the 45 on our little record player, complete with the penny on the needle to prevent skipping, over and over and over.  Having memorized each word, we would sing along.
"People moving out,
People moving in,
Why, because of the color of their skin,
Run, run, run, but you just can't hide.
An eye for an eye,
Tooth for a tooth,
Vote for me and I'll set you free,
Rap on, brother, rap on."
 If you're over 45, you know you cannot possibly sit or stand still when you hear that song.  I started moving a bit as I perused my selections for the evening, and it was so frustrating not to just let loose and DANCE.  I mean go freakin' nuts. 

Seriously, don't you wish we lived in a society where people could dance as the spirit moves them while grocery shopping?  Old people, young people, black folks, white folks, and everyone in between making new friends as dance partners or just grooving in their own perfect world... God damn, that is the world I want to live in!
"Fear in the air, tension everywhere,
Unemployment rising fast,
The Beatles new record's a gas,
And the only safe place to live,
Is on an Indian reservation,
The band played on.

Eve of destruction, tax deduction,
City inspectors, bill collectors, mod clothes in demand,
Population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills,
People all over the world are shouting, End the war!,
And the band played on.
One time I stopped to get gas and they were playing The Bee Gees' "Staying Alive" and for once I didn't mind standing there doing the second most boring thing on earth (flossing is first).  I swear, if I knew of a gas station that always blasted the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, I would never get gas anywhere else. 

Every place I've ever worked, I proposed the idea of having a 2 p.m. dance party to break up the lull of the afternoon.  Yep, at 2:00 sharp, everyone would stop working for a little, say, Talking Heads break.  Music would blast throughout the cube farm and everyone would dance their asses off for a song or two.  Then they'd return to their work with fresh blood and renewed creativity pumping through them to get them through the rest of the day.  That was my vision.  No one took me up on it.

WHY AM I NOT QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE?  

The world would be so much more fun.  

So here you go, my friends.  I hope you're at work so you can blast this fucker.

 

"Great Googamooga,
Can't you hear me talking to you?"
You're welcome.


13 comments:

Caz Wilson said...

I love this 2pm dancing idea!! It should so be a movement!!

~Coach said...

You're not the queen of the universe??? :)

Carmel said...

Although it's against the rules I always have my phone in my pocket playing music. Often times you can find me at work signing and dancing throughout the building.

Memphis MOJO said...

I love it where the deep voice sings "And the band played on."

Vegas Linda Lou said...

@ Jazzy Cazy: Really! We don't have to limit it to the workplace. It should just be, everything stops at 2:00 for a quick dance break--wherever you are. Yes, a movement!!!

@ Coach: Alas, I'm still working on it.

@ Carmel: Good for you, sister. Break those freakin' rules!

@ Memphis MOJO: I know--isn't that the coolest?

Debbie said...

Great, great song!!! Unfortunately, the lyrics are still relevant today. And I'm with Coach ... I thought you WERE THE QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE!!!! LOL!!!

XOXO
Deb

Vegas Linda Lou said...

Yeah, isn't it something how that song has held up?

Unfortunately, I just lead everyone to believe I'm the queen of the universe. Someday, though. Someday...

Anonymous said...

unbelievable that you just posted this as in our office we were just told that we cannot have any radios playing nor listen to music on headphones!!! it has been two days and we are miserable. We said that even prisoners get a radio!!! I totally agree with the 2 p.m. dance session!! We want to start a 2 p.m. sing-a-long just to keep ourselves awake!! I usually listen to dance music all day long via my headphones just to stay awake. Anyway, love this post and I do wish you ruled the world, it would be a better place to live!!

Jill from NY

Anonymous said...

Doesn't matter where I am...if there's a good dancing song on I just start dancing! It's even better when I have my 13 year old son with me ("Mom...Mom...")! :)

Julie D said...

Um, I have never heard that song. And I'm 51. Go figure.

Vegas Linda Lou said...

@ Jill: That totally sucks. There used to be an Internet joke thing going around about why prison is better than work. Too much truth in it for comfort.

@ Anonymous: There's nothing better than embarrassing your children! Which is why I'll be taking my "sexy" jeans to Albany soon.

@ Julie: You gotta be kidding me! Hmmm... Maybe your high school wasn't 60% black like mine?

Gina D. said...

I think when I start getting interviews for new jobs I'm going to ask them if there is a 2:00 dance party there everyday--and if not I'm going to tell them I'm not interested in working there (which I will do anyway if they have one of those open concept designs...).

Unknown said...

There's another word for "the trend toward open design" and that word is retro. As in 1940's retro.

The only difference is now you can't smoke.