Dear Editor,
The first two weeks in the first month of the new decade were a hit parade of golden oldies. Early January heard the resurrected jingles of history – some recent, some distant – as representative of projection and progress on the charts of the present and the future.
A smoky volunteer battalion of sari-clad Tammy Wynette sisters came out to give the listening public a preview of ‘Stand by your man.’ Rumour has it that these singers have engaged a tiny group of back-up dashiki attired dancers to complete the ensemble of third term performers ready to parade like Banquo’s ghost. The dashiki folks have insisted – in the absence of Elton John – to offer a rendition of Sarah Vaughn’s, ‘I’ll be loving you eternally.’
Both songs and subject are tipped to remain at the top of the billboard. In addition, January brought about the recycling of a veritable alphabet soup of perennial performers from memory lane. The top ten was overwhelmed with PPP, PNC, WPA, CIA, and lead vocal heroes (or rogues) LFSB and CBJ. There was a long overdue reunion rerun spanning from the 1950s to the 1990s; fifty years of Guyanese political history immortalized in song and dance. It is where the future is history, daily existence is a forgotten vinyl, and theatre is paramount. Guyanese succumbing to Henry Mancini’s haunting ‘Moon River’ as they search individually for “the rainbow’s end” that is “waiting ‘round the bend” even as they enjoy breakfast at the Pegasus.
They relive the nostalgia and promise of ‘Yesterday when I was young’ while they lose track of the sadness of today’s ‘Nobody knows the trouble I have seen.’
To maintain the festivities, and not to be left out, the two pit bull doggies in the window exhumed their cocktail hour togs, and started yodelling polite throat-clearing sounds about “shared governance” and “enhanced collaboration.” This is a true Guyanese style replay from the party guys getting ready to party. I cannot wait to read the headlines following this reconciliation after a bitter sixty year divorce. Here is the hair-raising confrontation of Brother Bob’s ‘War’ overwhelmed by the goose-bumping caress of Satchmo’s ‘What a wonderful world’ and Otis Redding’s searing, ‘I’ve been loving you too long, and I don’t want to stop now.’
Instead of what lies ahead, it is the same old rearview mirror of the past. And like the Four Tops harmonized, “It’s the same old song, but with a different meaning to you and me…” Yes, from the early indications from the record archives and the airwaves, 2010 promises to be an interesting year, overflowing with memories, oldies, and goldies.
At least, it would be so for those lost in the past and the comforting rhythms that grace the ear and fill the heart. On the other hand, diehard believers and the futuristic can take comfort in Zeigler and Evans, “In the year 2525.” Yes, Guyanese men “should still be alive… and the women will survive.” May I have the next dance, please?
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
