I Was There When...

Have you ever watched a person tragically die right in front of your eyes? Have you ever been witness to an event that made the front page of newspapers all over the country? I have, and the experience is one that I will never forget. In fact all I have are my memories, because it happened before the advent of youtube, and there are no videos of the incident.

It was shocking, sad, and tragic. There are a lot of words that can accurately describe the situation, but "groovy" is not one of them. Unfortunately groovy is the word-o-the-day, so I won't be able to finish this story now. Hopefully there will be an appropriate word sometime later, because it really is interesting.

A lot comes to mind when I think of the word groovy, but I decided to focus on my "Top 3 Pop Culture References" that I think of when I hear that word.

3. Greg Brady as Johnny Bravo--As a child of the 70's, I have logged countless hours in front of the television set watching episodes of The Brady Bunch. Everything about this episode is groovy--from the vocabulary of the record producer, to the threads of Brady, as Bravo. The one thing that was not groovy, however, was Greg's initial decision to skip going to college. Fortunately, Greg realized that the producers only wanted him, because he fit the suit. It was a tough lesson for him to learn, but what's the Brady Bunch without a lesson in every episode?

2. Phil Collins's version of "A Groovy Kind of Love"--For one point, name the group that did the original version of this song in the 60's. For another point, name the movie (also starring Phil Collins) that had this song as a part of its soundtrack. The answers will be at the end of this entry.

This song is the perfect example of a song that was completely overplayed, during its heyday. It's also the typical example of the synth-pop kind of music that Collins was churning out at this time. It's unfortunate, that Collins has become synonymous with this kind of "Lite FM" stuff. Because when Collins was part of Genesis-and I'm talking in the Peter Gabriel days, he was a helluva drummer. I actually have a lot of respect for his musicianship, but not much respect for this stuff. But, you have to admit that some of it is pretty infectious.

3. "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite--First, a disclaimer....I am straight. With that being said, I freaking love this song. I love to dance, and this song is one of those wedding reception standards that I really enjoy. I mean what's not to like...you've got Bootsy Collins, a chick in a unitard, Q-tip doing a rap, and a slide whistle. I know that this is a bold statement, but I would venture to say that this is my favorite song ever to feature the slide whistle.

Before I end this entry, I have some unfinished business. The group that did "A Groovy Kind of Love" was The Mindbenders, and the name of the movie was "Buster." If you knew both of those answers, I would say congratulations. But it's actually kind of sad.