Artist: OutKast
Song: Hey Ya!
Album: Speakboxxx/The Love Below
Song Length: 3:59
When I listen to “Hey Ya!” a flood of fond childhood memories greet me. I remember my mom gifting me the “Barbie Hit Mix” to ease the sadness I felt for my “Panda-bear” who had recently lost her plastic nose and part of an eye. The perpetrator was our newly adopted beagle puppy “Maggie” who, in addition to the ingesting my favorite stuffed animal’s extremities, had also recently gnawed off a leg of our wooden coffee table. I remember thinking, “Why would my mom get me a Barbie CD!?! As if I’m some kind of baby!”. As a little girl, I prided myself on not being interested in Barbie dolls. I apparently did not realize that my preferred brand of “American Girl Dolls” was just a spoiled-child version of the toy. I had recently obscured a coveted Boombox, so that I could play my own music. This was the result of an irritating habit of forcing anyone with a music-playing device, to replay my favorite songs at least 10 times over. “A Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani and “Hey Mickey” by Toni Basil were some of my most popular vices. It was so frustrating depending on others to be able to listen to music, so when I could play my own, I felt super grown up. Oh the freedom my boombox provided. My parents had an enormous collection of CDs, which I would pick from and play at random, but nothing topped the “Barbie Hit Mix”. “So what if it’s a Barbie CD”, I practiced replying to anyone who dared challenging my matureness. “Don’t judge a book by its cover!”. And surely anyone who saw me load “Hey Ya!” into my pink and light blue boombox, would have their suspicions erased. There must have been 20 songs on the CD, but I only listened to the first and last, respectively “Hey Ya!” by OutKast and “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. I wasn’t really into the sappy Hillary Duff and Jessica Simpson hits, I needed something I could groove to! So, a whole new world opened up with my discovery of “Hey Ya!”. For one, who knew cleaning your room could be so enjoyable! I jumped around, swinging my head to the infectious rhythm of the song. It gave me so much energy and joy! The wonder of discovering a song which could provide so much happiness and ecstasy, was a revelation I found otherworldly. I thought my passion for “Hey Ya!” surely meant that I was special in my adoration. I turned my nose up at my brother’s favorite songs, “American Idiot” by Green Day and “We Will Rock You” by Queen. Of course, we could both agree that “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix A Lot, was a wonderful jam, to which we would belt the lyrics, in Elliot’s spaceship themed room. My favorite was to recite all the lyrics perfectly, which I thought was an impressive talent. I laugh today imagining my young self, memorizing the catchy words about being “sprung”.
“Hey Ya!” introduced me to the enticing play-ability of pop music. It also provided my first taste of a hunger to dance to music. Almost all of my favorite songs to this day, share this quality; a need to soak up the music through body movements. And, predictably, now I am a dancer. Dance was the sole love of my childhood, where I spent 90% of the week in the studio. I have a feeling my obsession for it started with “Hey Ya!”, and my wild tornado moves in my room. “Hey Ya!” really opened up a lot of doors for 5 year old Corinne. I found out that being by yourself isn’t bad when you have music, especially with songs that elate you. I started to collect what type of music I loved and was interested in, and I was confident in my choices. I began dancing to music because it made me feel wonderful and joyous. All around “Hey Ya!” is like an old friend for which I have immense love, warm, and fuzzy feelings for. Listening to it takes me back to a time of childhood discovery and bliss, and for that I will always bop my head and to the chorus and smile when it comes on.
jay.lyons.class 