It's a good thing many of us don't pay attention to the lyrics of our favorite songs. If you dissect some of our favorite classic tunes, you'll notice that they refer to technologies we just don't use anymore. Whether its Donna Summer crooning about her "old Victrola" record player or Beyonce hoping "you'll page me right now," none of these songs would be written the same way today.
Here are a couple dated ditties with timeless subject matter -- love, loss, video games -- that would need just a few small tweaks to remain relevant in 2012.
1. 867-5309 / Jenny by Tommy Tutone (1981)
While people still have phone numbers (for now anyway), we just don’t give them out anymore, particularly on bathroom walls. And who makes calls anyway? In 2012, it’s all about social media.
If this song were written today, it would be about a twitter handle:
I got it. I got your handle on the Facebook wall.
I got it. I got it. For a good time Tweet.
Jenny, I got your handle
I need to send you mine
Jenny, please check your Mentions
@jenny8675309
2. Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles (1979)
The first song ever played on MTV was all about the rise of music videos and the way they changed music from a purely auditory experience into a visual one. But that was in 1981. Today, the only people still watching music videos on a regular basis are Beavis and Butthead. Instead of sitting on the couch, and wondering why a pack of ninjas just appeared behind Bonnie Tyler, we sit at our desks and marvel at how that YouTube cat was able to say “Oh, long Johnson” over and over again.
Today, the Buggles would have to rewrite their hit to focus on YouTube instead of MTV:
In my browser and on my phone,
we can’t click back, we’ve gone too far.
Streaming came and broke your heart.
Put all the blame on MPEG-4
YouTube Killed the Video Star
YouTube Killed the Video Star
For more rewritten songs click here!
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