absolute music: the kings 'the beat goes on/switching to glide'



my great friend b. introduced me to this song by the canadian power pop band the kings.  we were in his garage shooting the shit and drinking beer.  b. has become something of a historian of late 20th century pop music.  when this song came on i asked who the hell is this.  you don't remember them, b. replied.  nope, i said.  the kings were active during the late 1970s, early '80s era of power pop.

last night, when anna, nick and i were driving home late after going to the theater and watching a terrible movie, we were clicking thru the satellite radio stations on the way home.  i heard this song by the kings.  do you remember this tune, i asked anna.  she did not.  well, to be honest, i remember the knack.  i remember cheap trick, to name a couple of power pop bands.  i confessed to anna that i didn't remember this song either by the kings.

no matter.  for in the pixels nothing ever dies.  i've watched this video several times now.  i love this tune.  it is bouncy, heady, fun, and goofy.  what does 'switching to glide' mean?  fuck if i know.  but i will take a guess at its meaning: turning off your work-a-day mind, and simply going with the flow.

and remember when this single was released the world was in a pretty dark place.  we are in an even darker place.  i am very pessimistic about our future.  i think we are supremely fucked.  maybe not in the immediate future, but in the middle and distant future, we are screwed.  we've done it to ourselves.  and yet, art, music, like this song, help to create our era, and that we still can dance to a funky tune.  it is an emblem, even in dark times, living is the best fun we will ever know.  let us remember that attitude.  every now and again, let us switch to glide.