Another Problem With America: We Confuse Popular With Good

 

I don’t Google. Partly because Google is so pervasive, taking over most aspects of life online, but mostly because Google is not a verb.

I use a search engine called Swagbucks, which rewards users with Swagbucks (duh!) that can be saved up and used to buy stuff, everything from a computer wallpaper of Cage The Elephant (just 5 Swagbucks) to a new scale for the bathroom (6,795 Swagbucks) or full drum kit, with cymbals (37,825). All I ever buy are $5 Amazon gift cards for 450 Swagbucks.

 

Anyway, one way to earn Swagbucks is by answering the daily poll. One recent poll asked:

Which of these decades had the best music?

The results, I'm sad to say, are in the above chart.

What this means is, either it was opposite day when this survey appeared, or it was Moron Day, and 81 percent of these people have been nominated grand marshal of the parade.

As anyone older than 14 knows, the only truly great decade for music was the 1960s, starting with the Everly Brothers, Cathy’s Clown, through the Beach Boys, Good Vibrations, and Aretha Franklin, Respect, to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bad Moon Rising.

The last half of the 1950s was good, what with Elvis and Chuck Berry and Ricky Nelson and Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, et al, but the first half was pretty lame. Patty Page, The Tennessee Waltz? C’mon.

Dozens of songs like Unchained Melody and Stand By Me and Hey Jude have proven that they will still be listened to and appreciated 50 years later. You just can’t say that about Lady Ga Ga and Justin Bieber. Does anyone even remember the Thompson Twins?

Cease The Day!

As college instructors, Kelly and I find lots of word abuse and misuse from students, but we see a lot of homophones in other places, as well. A billboard that used capital when they meant capitol, for example, or food going to waist. Those always makes us laugh.

My Swagbucks Daily Poll this morning asked: “Which best describes how you wake up in the morning?” As always, the choices were in descending order, with the second through sixth picks being:

“Where’s my coffee?”

“Hit the snooze button multiple times.”

“Oscar the Grouch.”

“Another day, another dollar.”

“I wake up closer to the evening.”

At the top of the list: “Ready to cease the day!”

While that’s not exactly what the author meant, I’m sure, it’s probably closer to the truth for most of us, most days.

Have a good weekend.