Everything I need to know, I learned from rock 'n' roll

Cafe Society
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Ah, yes, those great lessons of life we glean from popular culture. Last week, we surveyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and my, what an eye opener that was…

But what about music, specifically rock ‘n’ roll? (OK I’m going to use an expanded definition of rock ‘n’ roll, that includes the pop music of the second half of the twentieth century in general, so I don’t expect all responses to fit everyone’s definition of rock ‘n’ roll)

I’ll begin with the obvious one- “You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you can get what you need”, which we learned from the Strolling Bones.

Billy Ido taught us that “when the other man has none, you don’t need a gun”.

Cindy Lauper was kind enough to point out that “money changes everything”.

Next?

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OK, you damn hamsters, get the “l” you stole from Billy Idol out of your cheek pouches and put it back in my post.

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[nitpick] I must point out that “Money Changes Everything” was first recorded by an extremely obscure but great New Wave band called The Brains.[/nitpick]
As to rock n’ roll wisdom, even though many unfortunate things happened to me because of following this bit of advice too enthusiatically, I submit, from Jefferson Airplane, “Feed your head.”

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Somehow this explains a lot about the world.

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Neil Young taught us what was important when he sang, “Don’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning.”

The Eagles urged us to “Take it to the limit.” (I always quoted them when teaching calculus. :))

R.E.M. sang, “Don’t go back to Rockville,” but my little sister and her husband moved there anyway. Hasn’t seemed to have any ill effects.

Semisonic reminded us that “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end,” just as I was changing careers and cities.

That’s a start. :slight_smile:

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Stephen Stills reminds us that “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”
And everybody knows that “if you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel”

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“You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a’ changin’”

Bob Dylan
“Nadine, honey is that you?
Seems like every time I catch up with you
You’ve got somethin’ else to do.”

Chuck Berry
“I heard the news
There’s good rockin’ tonight”

Elvis
Pretty much everything worthwhile that I’ve learned in life can be summed up in those three Rock ‘n’ Roll songs.

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The Humpty Dance is indeed my chance to do the Hump.

If we all Wang Chung tonight, we will have fun.

While waiting for my man, the first thing that I learned was that I ALWAYS have to wait.

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Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.

Women, not girls, rule my world.

I said, they rule my world. (Pay attention!)

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“You were wrong when you said…
Everything’s gonna be alright…
All that glitters isn’t gold…
All we are is dust in the wind…
We are all just bricks in the wall…
You can’t always get what you want…
It’s a hard rain’s gonna fall…
We’re still running against the wind…
And life goes on after the thrill of living is gone…”
Built to Spill, “You Were Right”

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Sneaking retards into a sperm bank is a great way to get one over on lesbians.

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“Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye
Crabalocker fishwife pornographic priestess”

Words of wisdom for us all there, i think you’ll agree.

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Yipee. My one and only chance to use my sig.

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As Machine Gun Fellatio kindly corrected in The Girl Of My Dreams is Giving Me Nightmares:

Hard to believe you can’t get what you dream
But if you try sometimes you might find
you get what you steal
Or, as R.E.M. mentioned in Good Advices:

Keep your money in your shoes

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“Heart beats real stroong, but not for long,
better watch your step 'cause your gonna die.”
J. Jackson (you know the macho one)

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“There is no dark side of the moon really…it’s all dark”

Pink Floyd DSOM

mc

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Words I live by:

Stop wasting my time
You know what I want
You know what I need
Or maybe you don’t
Do I have to come right flat out and tell you everything
Gimme some money

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“All lies and jest,
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
and disregards the rest.”

Paul Simon, “The Boxer”

Explains a helluva lot about human nature, IMNSHO.

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“Get it while you can”

“After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same”

“Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there”

“The love you take is equal to the love you make”

“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”

“It’s who you look like, not who you are”

“Life is a toil and love is a trouble” (OK, it’s folk, sue me :wink: )

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“I fear no man and I’m unarmed…guns are for pussies”
-Nick Hexium from the wonderful band 311

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”
-The Beatles

And the hokey pokey is certainly what it’s all about.