I often get razzed in the newsroom for my (relative) youth. I call it jealousy.
The age disparity between myself and some of my colleagues means I might not understand some musical references at first blush. Sure I might recognize a song when I hear it, but I won't necessarily know off the top of my head that it's by an artist that played a pivotal role in a co-worker's adolescence. No, I don't know the lyrics to that one song that was playing at your high-school prom. Sorry. (I'm not sorry.)
I've also been guilty of playing up that role and being deliberately obtuse for the fun of it. The Doobie Brothers? What's that? A sibling-run head shop? The reactions can be priceless.
But just because I pretend to be ignorant of some things because I get a rise out of people, doesn't mean that I don't actually know what was playing on those round-spinny things made of vinyl that you couldn't plug into your car's auxiliary audio line. If it came out before I was born in the 1980s, there's a pretty good chance I'm vaguely aware.
For example, I'm quite fond of a tune by The Exciters, a pop group formed in 1960s Queens, NY.
Tell Him, their first hit, reached the Top 5 on the charts in late 1962. It's also one of my go-to karaoke songs because it's so upbeat in that hopelessly optimistic way that music of that vintage had on lock.
Check out a video for the song on YouTube (http://youtu.be/ah-tui1ubnU) inexplicably shot at a zoo. Why? I'm sure I'm too young to understand.
