Satisfaction

In an article by Arthur Brooks, he wrote about walking by his teenage daughter’s bedroom and hearing laughter coming from within. He poked his head in the door and asked what was so funny.

“Oh,” she giggled, “it’s some old guy singing and dancing like a chicken.”

Thinking everyone likes videos of old guys dancing like chickens, Arthur decided it would be a great way to break up his day, so he went in and looked over her shoulder.

It was Mick Jagger at a recent concert, performing “Satisfaction.”

My understanding is that Arthur didn’t immediately disown her. If true, I can only admire his restraint.

I spend time around several teenagers, on a regular basis. I sing to them all the time and I can vouch that they just do not appreciate the classics. I especially noticed this one morning when I was singing “Good Morning, Starshine” to a gaggle of grandchildren as they straggled into the kitchen for breakfast. Not one of them joined in, and even stranger, none of them seemed to appreciate the music. I thought perhaps they just weren’t into show tunes, so I moved into my Kris Kristofferson repertoire, which is fairly extensive. I got nothing – no response at all. Then I thought about running a few Beatles songs past them, but if they hadn’t joined in, it might have broken my heart, and forced me to make a few modifications to my will.

I don’t remember my grandparents singing and dancing for me. The closest I can come for an entertainment memory is that if we really begged, my grandpa would say the table prayer in Norwegian.

And just a note to my grandchildren: when he finally consented, I never rolled my eyes and tried to change the subject. I appreciated him.

I will admit that at this point in his life, Mick Jagger is slightly...chickenish...when he dances. Also, considering that he’s nearly eighty years old with a net worth of around $500 million, if he hasn’t obtained satisfaction by this point in his life, the satisfaction ship has probably sailed. Still, he doesn’t deserve to have some little slip of a girl mocking him.

I think the kids are just jealous. Let’s face it, the last good song was written about thirty years ago, long before they were even born. It must be heartbreaking for a 16-year-old to realize that the peak of western culture was achieved when “Pet Sounds” was released in 1966. It’s been a long downhill slide since.

You think I’m kidding? We’ve been going to a lot of basketball games – about four leagues worth if you count the second-grade games – and I’ve been exposed to a lot of high school music. I don’t think I’ve heard a band play a song that was written in this century. Since I’ve realized this and because, on rare occasions, I like to use actual facts, I looked up a website for school bands. The most popular song listed was “The Hey Song,” which was written in 1972.

1972.

Take that, little girl.

Copyright 2022 Brent Olson