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Monday, March 08, 2010

Old School Romance vs New School Bragging

Back in the day (as the saying goes), I remember being taught a couple of things by older women:
  1.  Be a lady in public and not in the bedroom, and
  2. Don't share your everything with everyone. Leave some things to the imagination
Well, apparently, those lessons are not being taught anymore.

The last few days I've been hearing so much about a song by a young dude named Trey Songz that I had to go and check it out. Title: Neighbors Know My Name.

Okay. I'm thinking the song is maybe about a guy and girl getting closer in their relationship & he's over at her place so much that the neighbors are starting to get to know him.

Not.

The song is all about their sex life being so hot & noisy that the neighbors can hear her calling out his name.

WTH?

What is with this whole thing of sexy and romantic love songs going from being subtle and enticing to just being all out there? Don't get me wrong - I am not saying  that I don't just love a good love song to set the mood. I came of age when Marvin Gaye was causing a baby boom with "Let's Get It On." And we all know that Barry White caused a LOT of heated bedroom action without even being present.

I guess I'm just old enough to still appreciate not being turned on by a man telling me things so much as showing me. And I don't really want everybody having a window of knowledge into what happens in my bedroom. If you're grown and fairly normal, it's an automatic assumption that you're having sex. How you're doing it and who you are doing it with is between you and that whoever. Why do you need to talk about it so much?

Here's another lesson I learned back when I was younger:

Talking ain't doing. Or  better put (and this is from my friend Keen Ya just the other day): Mouth can say anything.

And not to be snarky, but have you noticed that all these popular artists who are writhing around in their videos and talking about how they're "getting it in" (not a sexy phrase to me at all, by the way), are always fighting off rumors? Rumors ranging from how lousy they are in bed (thanks to their groupies) or that they are swinging with transvestites and same-sex partners while not owning up to it?... (And I am NOT singling out any particular artists, just saying that so many get hit by rumors.)

I'm just saying.

Yeah, so, give me a song with some music that fuels the senses and lyrics that talk about getting it on instead of getting it in. "Getting it in"... Sounds kind of surgical, or like talking about using a feminine product. Please stop.

How about this? Go back to "old school" and study some Lenny Williams, Barry and Marvin, Smokey - anybody who knew how to use real music and voice talent to enhance the romantic setting without giving people step-by-step instructions. Unless you need instructions, I guess.

Peace
--Free