Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Bad Is Bad" (Huey Lewis and The News)

 

Welcome To Tuesday!!!  You have just clicked into the place where music meets message, where rhythm meets redemption, and where tunes meet the Trinity, all wrapped in a little digital blog space we call home.  So take a seat, no really, sit down, and relax.  Tuesday's Musical Notes always promises to give you something a little different about the songs you know and love.  Sometimes that something is well known, but wrapped in with a new shiny, new bow.  Other times it presents itself as a challenge we didn't realize we had.  Either way it is something that for the next few minutes we get to discover together.  Ready? We hope ya are because you've hit the place where cool is the rule, but sometimes...

"Bad Is Bad" - Huey Lewis And The News from the 1983 album Sports

 

What do you get when you mash up the backing bands from Elvis Costello and Van Morrison?  A rock and roll band that will rule the charts for over a decade and have 5 of its 9 studio albums certified Gold or Platinum.  You also get a band that is very inquisitive as they ask "Do You Believe In Love" and then boldly answering their own question by proclaiming, "The Power Of Love".   They are a band know for soundtracks and Sports and they released their first album, the eponymous Huey Lewis and the News, 36 years ago this June.

 

Like so many bands that had their origins in the 70s and 80s, the lineup for Huey Lewis and the News has changed since the first hit single, 1982's aforementioned, "Do You Believe In Love". However, the band member turnstile has not been as active as some of their compatriots from bands of that era.  4 of the 6 original members still tour about 70 dates a year.  

Between 1982 and 1991 the band would ride the waves of MTV popularity as they set intricate harmonies to rock and blues beats.  All of the albums released during this time would go Gold or Platinum.  They were nominated for an Academy Award for "The Power Of Love" from the Back To The Future Soundtrack.  Their music was also "featured" throughout the movie Ghostbusters, albeit they had to sue Ray Parker Jr. for infringement based on the similarities between "Ghostbusters" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Ghostbusters") and the Huey Lewis and the News Song, "I Want A New Drug".  Listen closely the next time you watch Ghostbusters and see if you can hear samples of "I Want A New Drug" throughout the film score.  The lawsuit came about because of behavior that was considered inappropriate.  In short...sometimes, bad is bad!

The most popular Huey Lewis and the News album by far is the 1983 multi platinum hit Sports.  5 of its original 9 tracks were released as singles and all of them went into the top 20 on the charts.  Our feature song of the day, while getting its own video, did not however get released as a single.  The video was in heavy rotation on MTV but the song never caught enough traction to warrant a single, therefore it never had a chance at chart success.  It is another reason, however folks bought the album Sports with its du-wop harmonies and catchy play on words lyrics.  It emphasizes the transition that so many words in our vernacular have had as ensuing generations come to be able to speak and write.  

As an example, the word "cool".  Its original meaning is one that implies a lack of heat, but not quite being cold.  Fast forward a few years and it is a slang term for something that is cutting edge or popular.  The word "neat" also has several connotations.  "Neat" in its most popular form means something that is tidy or clean.  In the 50's and 60's it became slang to describe something wonderful or interesting, perhaps even "cool".  One of the cruelest of word transitions has occurred to the word "gay".  Dictionary.com lists the sexual orientation meaning as its initial response.  This is a dramatic change from the 1800s when the word meant:  "Having or showing a merry, lively mood", "bright and showy", and "giving or abounding in social or other pleasures".  However, at the turn of the century the word began to transition into its current common form.  As early as 1938, the "transitioned" use was beginning to be used  as exhibited by one of my favorite movies, the 1938 Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn comedy, Bringing Up Baby....Bringing Up Baby - Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn 1938.

The most egregious transitioning of word use however, must be for the word "bad".  The English version of the word originated in 1250-1300 in Europe by those who spoke what is known as "Middle English".  It is defined as "Not good in any manner or degree", "Having a wicked or evil character, morally reprehesible", and "of poor or inferior quality, defective." (Dictionary.com - "Bad").  But somewhere around the late 1970s, a change began happening.  It began to be fashionable to refer to someone who was excellent at what they were doing as..."bad".  Michael Jackson went so far as to give his 9 time platinum, 1987 album as well as its 1st single, the name Bad.  

The Bible is replete with characters who could be considered "bad" by both of the above derivatives.  However, it does provide a warning to us about the way we continue to transition the meanings of words.  Isaiah 5:20 New Internationl Version of the Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel.  This passage uses some very strong words, "woe" and "doom", to those who attempt to disguise words or actions as something they are not.  We must be very careful in our day and age to fully understand the connotation by which we speak.  It really is about context in our era and as Christians it is imperative that we call things what they are.  

One of the worst examples of this is the organization known as Planned Parenthood.  If you get past the political conversations about funding you find an organization that attempts to disguise abortion clinics as "women's health providers".  The Notes does not feel obligated to show the videos that have been all over the net with regards to the practices in which this entity has engaged.  Our layman's judgement is that it is a bad (original 1250-1300 definition) institution.  And to step into the political argument for just a moment, the health care of women was supposed to have been funded by the Affordable Care Act if I understand the politispeak of the Act.  Therefore, there should be no need of funding to a group that is a "Women's Health Provider".  Sometimes...bad is bad.  That however, is a conversation for another time. 

 

As disciples of Jesus, we must realize that if we are bold regarding our faith that our actions will be under some scrutiny.  We have to ensure that our standards are high with regards to our behavior as well as in line with the premises that God has described in the Bible.  Be sure that folks are watching to see if in your life, "sometimes...bad is bad".  In God's Word, bad is bad all of the time.  That is a consistency on which you can stake your life and eternity. 

'Til Tuesday

Serving HIM by serving you,

Randy