Hi there! It's Tuesday! Come one and come all! You've come to the place guaranteed to enthrall! It's music and ministry, tunes that uplift! Read closely and carefully your heart it may shift. We've partnered the passions of melody and scripture. We've found them to be, quite the really neat mixture. So sit back don't worry, your mind should not fret! We're committed to staying til your needs are met. We've got B.J. and Blue Suede, some Baha Men too, and that is not all that we have for you! Get ready, don't panic this tune's quite the shocka. It stays in your mem'ry 'cause it starts ooga-chaka!
and if that wasn't enough, here's something that may make you grimace
Try to put THAT out of your memory...
The highest charting and most well-known version of today's feature song got a resurgence by being prominent in the soundtrack for the 2014 Marvel Studios movie Guardians of the Galaxy. "Hooked on a Feeling" and the other songs on that soundtrack catapulted the album to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Album Chart. This was the first time an album of completely previously released songs had ever hit #1. With all of the focus on Starlord's mixtape, the soundtrack reignited the interest in cassette tapes. Did you know that along with Record Store Day to celebrate vinyl, this day also began highlighting cassette tapes? I'm getting new batteries for my Walkman! Will the Zune revival be right around the corner?
Originally recorded in 1968 by B.J. Thomas (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"), "Hooked on a Feeling", which featured an electric sitar (who knew that was a thing?) would peak at # 5 on Billboard's Hot 100.
The Swedish band, Blue Swede (a play on their nationality, but pronounced "suede") version debuted as a single in 1974 and went all the way to #1. Blue Swede would only exist as a band for 2 years and their 2 albums consist primarily of covers. "Hooked on a Feeling" was their biggest hit.
The ooga chaka at the beginning of the Blue Swede version of "Hooked on a Feeling" was credited to British singer/songwriter/producer Jonathan King's 1971 cover of the song, which did not chart, nor make much of an impact past the inspiring intro (Really, who HASN'T covered this song?).
King was an alum of the British boarding school, Charterhouse at Godalming, Surrey. At a reunion of the school in 1968 and with his music career beginning to flourish, he heard and was enthralled by a band called Anon. This group consisted of bandmates, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Anthony Phillips, and Chris Stewart. King was so impressed with Anon that he would produce the band's first album and rename them to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band we all know and love as Genesis. After having a successful career as a producer, Jonathan King's notoriety would be tainted in 2001, as he was indicted and convicted for incidents that occurred in the 80's that involved indecent behavior with minor boys. His music career never recovered.
It seems many have been "Hooked on a Feeling" as the Blue Swede version of today's song has been used in movies (1992's Reservoir Dogs, and the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks), commercials, by the Toronto Blue Jays as an in-between inning cheer, complete with rally towels (Hooked on A Feeling Toronto Blue Jays Playoff Edition - 2015 ALCS), and TV (Dancing Baby from the Fox Network television show Ally McBeal (1997-2002)). It has been covered a multitude of times and continues to be that song that once it gets in your head, you really have to listen to a lot of music to get its feelings worked out of your system. Are you still going ooga chaka?
Have you ever experienced euphoria? I'm not talking about an unnatural, perhaps drug or alcohol induced state of being, but the feeling of happiness that is beyond all explanation? If you ever have, it is something that you could certainly get hooked on. Yet this kind of elation is difficult to sustain for long periods of time. Even in the most special relationships you have, there are times when you would rather give them the hook than being hooked on your feelings toward them. I have found that if I can achieve a balance of my feelings, I'm pretty content. That too I suppose is a feeling to which you could become addicted.
That's the funny thing about feelings and emotions. You can't trust them. Even the Bible says that you sometimes can't trust what's in your heart; Jeremiah 17:9 New International Version of the Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/English Standard Version of the Bible parallel. If we can't trust our "deceitful hearts" to be the champion of our passions, what are we to do? Are we to roll up and down an emotional rollercoaster and hope that the highs and lows equate to a middle somewhere? The answer to this question is...well...it depends on your worldview.
If you have a worldview that is founded on the principles of the Bible, God's Story of redemption for mankind, then read on. If your worldview is founded on something other than the Bible, God's Story of redemption for mankind, please click here: Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Reach Out (I'll Be There)"
Even if your foundation is the Bible, it is always so important that you use any Biblical passage in its complete context, regardless of translation or paraphrase. Far too many supposed theologians give Christianity a bad name by misquoting or quoting scripture out of context with the intent of evoking emotion and feelings. Today's passage from Jeremiah is a perfect example. There are those, "well-intentioned" folks who would ask, "If our hearts are full of deceit, then how can we trust any decision that we make?" causing indecision and a codependence on things that are more untrustworthy than a deceitful heart.
If you view this passage in Jeremiah in an endeavor to finish the thought, you see very quickly that while we can't trust our human nature and the feelings that we subscribe to our hearts, we can trust the God who is in control of everything! Jeremiah 17:9-10 - NIV/The Message/ESV
God is giving Jeremiah this dossier on the heart in the midst of a prophecy of great turmoil that will occur in Israel and Judah's not too distant future. God is telling this divided land to not trust anything including their own hearts, but to rely on Him. In some ways, God was telling His people to not get "hooked" on anything other than a complete dependence on Him. For the full context read the entire 17th chapter of Jeremiah
For believers, our proclamation should be..."I can't stop this feeling, deep inside of me, God, it's hard to realize all you do for me!". Our love for God should mollify our deceitful hearts. Our love for our fellow man should be second only to our love for God. The Ten Commandments testify to this in the Old Testament (Exodus 20 NIV/The Message/ESV), and Jesus commands it in the New Testament (The Gospel of Jesus according to Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34-40 NIV/The Message/ESV) These are the standards by which we should live our lives. God is the solid foundation. He is the one in which we can rely when it feels like we are on that emotional rollercoaster. It's simple, love God, love everyone else... then sing at the top of your lungs... I-I-I I'm hooked on THAT feeling...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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