There may or may not have been a decline in the quality of music heard on radio in the 2000's, but those who romanticize the '70s as the golden age of rock must also remember what was actually being played on the radio at the time; namely, weak & watered-down disco, soft rock and country rock, spiced up with progressive and hard rock, anchored with old hits from the '60s (and even the '50s). The really cool stuff happening in music back then was often ignored by the radio stations.
With that in mind, there were bright spots and off-beat songs that got lots of air-play. Like this hit from the Rose Royce soundtrack to the cult movie which shares its title with this song. Aguilera's instincts are right on the mark with this tune. The song may have been considered a disco hit, but it was the soul in it that drove its appeal. Light fare for sure, but the message just below the surface would be that many young Americans struggle in meaningless, dead-end jobs for little pay and can't take such drudgery very seriously. And who can blame them?
Now, nearly 40 years later, most of America's youth face the same prospect as the car-wash workers trying to find joy in their wage-slavery. This song is more relevant now than it ever was back in 1976, and Christina has done a great job reinventing this old number.
There may or may not have been a decline in the quality of music heard on radio in the 2000's, but those who romanticize the '70s as the golden age of rock must also remember what was actually being played on the radio at the time; namely, weak & watered-down disco, soft rock and country rock, spiced up with progressive and hard rock, anchored with old hits from the '60s (and even the '50s). The really cool stuff happening in music back then was often ignored by the radio stations.
With that in mind, there were bright spots and off-beat songs that got lots of air-play. Like this hit from the Rose Royce soundtrack to the cult movie which shares its title with this song. Aguilera's instincts are right on the mark with this tune. The song may have been considered a disco hit, but it was the soul in it that drove its appeal. Light fare for sure, but the message just below the surface would be that many young Americans struggle in meaningless, dead-end jobs for little pay and can't take such drudgery very seriously. And who can blame them?
Now, nearly 40 years later, most of America's youth face the same prospect as the car-wash workers trying to find joy in their wage-slavery. This song is more relevant now than it ever was back in 1976, and Christina has done a great job reinventing this old number.