Sometimes I think it’s a shame that I grew up in the 1970s, because I’ll suddenly and randomly get an AM Radio hit stuck in my head out of nowhere.
It’s worst when I find that I’ve unconsciously memorized all the lyrics. But even with something like Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown,” I’ll remember an entire verse of a song that I never particularly cared about one way or the other, and wonder how it got stuck in my brain, and what more important knowledge it’s keeping from lodging in there.
It’s also a shame that I never gave Childish Gambino much of a chance. I’ve liked everything I’ve heard, and I really love his videos, but the music usually evaporates for me the second I’m no longer listening to it.
Take for instance “Sunrise” from his first studio album, Camp. I knew who Donald Glover (no relation) was, but didn’t yet have any idea who Ludwig Göransson was. If I’d known back then that they were close collaborators, I would’ve paid more attention.
I don’t know if the album title Camp was a double entendre, suggesting that he was self-aware he was putting on an over-exaggerated persona, and challenging you to find the sincerity underneath. But I wouldn’t put it past him, since it’s full of weird and nerdy references like Carmen Sandiego and John Mayer’s pee-hole.
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