Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Abbey Road, Wonderwall, what do these musical works have in common? They all encapsulate a different zeitgeist. That's German for millennial (which is latin for internet). Bob Dylan was seen as the voice of his generation, and folks…it looks like we've found ours. The band Oasis, who are thought to have arrived from the British Isles, released the song Wonderwall in 1995. Upon its release, the song attained massive popularity. Today, it can still be heard in concert halls and fast food restaurants, evoking tears in the eyes of millennials. Let's take a look at why this song has had such an impact:
In my educated opinion, the most fascinating aspect of the song is that it can only be remembered by 90s kids. That's right, only 90s kids can remember this song! A group of musical psychologists scanned the brains of 300 people from a variety of generations (the good ones and the bad) and found that individuals who weren't born in the 90s forget it the instant the song fades out. An interesting anecdote is that people born in the 80s, who would've listened to the song during their teenage years, were not actually able to remember the song. Once again, the capabilities of 90s kids astound and amaze us.
Let us now turn our piercing and smoky gaze to the lyrics. From the first word, a message of urgency and in-the-momentness is conveyed. Starting a song with "today" is a bold choice, but Oasis makes it work. My generation doesn't like to put things off; we like to live in the moment and change the world without hesitation. It's almost as if the songwriter knew what heroes we would all be.
Now we can turn to the second word of the song: is. Present tense…a great choice!
Next, the song moves to "gonna". In the age of texting, we need all the contractions we can get. The rest of the lyrics are good too.
To highlight my point, I'd like to tell you all about my personal connection to the song, how it changed my life and continues to influence my personality. When I graduated from elementary school, my parents took me out to get ice cream. Back in those times, I usually ordered a turtle sundae, but on this day I decided to have worms n' dirt instead. As I was putting my spoon into the delectable dessert before me, a car drove by (the ice cream joint was outside). Its windows were rolled down and I could hear Wonderwall playing from the radio over the sound of childrens' laughter. This memory is always in my heart.
So if you haven't heard Wonderwall yet, give it a listen. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
