Oct 262010
Here’s Van Morrison doing “Wavelength” on Saturday Night Live. Check out this video while it lasts, because the rights holders to musical performances on SNL are obsessed with wiping this stuff clean off the Web.
This is the last Van Morrison song I love, and one of the things I love about it is how corny it is, throwing around that mood ring-worthy “wavelength” jive just a few years past its due date. It was perfect for me, a kid coming of age on the tail end of hippiedom and free love. To this day it still makes me feel like that era saved a morsel of peace, love, and understanding for my own enjoyment.
Can you think of other songs that unironically debuted with outdated catchphrases?
Good Vibrations
I don’t know if it was outdated at the moment, but I’m guessing that Paul Abdul’s “Straight Up” pretty much marked the end of that expression’s street cred.