I don't listen to much commercial radio anymore--in fact, it had been probably months since I ventured right of the dial from NPR. As a consequence, I had not kept up with the changing face of Louisville radio; I just assumed all the stations had remained pretty much the same since I was in high school.
Turns out that one of the old standards here for classic rock/new-ish scream metal anthems--100.5 The Fox--has succumbed, and has been replaced by something kind of magical called Gen X Radio. Now that's a pretty slippery handle, I'd say--does it mean music that was popular when Gen Xers were children, in the 80's? Does it mean middle school/high school era stuff from the 90's? Well, these are all interesting questions, but it turns out that they play mostly early to mid 90's dance club stuff. That's all well and good, but wait--Gen X is still a vital generation! Is In Living Color-era techno-rap really our generation's trademark music? It seems like our demographic is still an active one in the new music marketplace...some groups that identify with the Gen X label are ravenous Lady Gaga fans or big Vampire Weekend supporters, not the type to be perpetually searching the dial for a little C + C Music Factory. (or are we? Nostalgic escapism is a powerful thing, and it certainly went down pretty well with me.)
Anyway, I was in my car, slogging it through the snow (in Louisville, 4" is a pretty big deal, so my usual 10 minute drive turned into a stressful, white-knuckled, 50 minute Slip N' Slide of doom) and I needed something more appropriate to listen to besides a polite debate between well-informed experts. When I came upon 100.5 on my FM I was delighted to find exactly what I did need: C'mon 'N Ride It (The Train) by the Quad City DJs!
This sort of fun crap does hold a soft spot in my heart--it hearkens back to more innocent times when mainstream rap/hip-hop was more fun loving and ridiculous than it is today--more inclusive, more eager to embrace rhythmically challenged & dumb looking white people than it is now. But Gen X didn't stop there, it followed that old favorite up with something I hadn't heard since 1997 or so: Will Smith's Gettin' Jiggy Wit It! ha! remember that crazy Egyptian motif he went with for the video? It pretty much makes the song for me, starting out with Will and his dancers sporting the usual 90's style track suits (one leg rolled up, 'natch) but then, inexplicably, about a minute in they go full-on Walk Like an Egyptian wit it--costumes, set, dance moves, the works. Why? Why not? It was the heady days of the late 90's and Will Smith did anything he wanted, and the world na-na-na-ed along with him. So Will kept me alert on the road and saw me home safely. I'm almost positive that I'm the only person to ever say this, but Gettin' Jiggy Wit It probably saved my life yesterday.
So if you happen to be in the Louisville/Kentuckiana listening area, tune in to 100.5 FM--it may help you too.
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