Rod Stewart//Young Turks

Although I HATE Rod Stewart, I LOVE this song with total abandon (I also love "Maggie May," with lesser intensity). Anyway, I’ve been considering this as an OSS post probably since the inception of the blog. Many of my friends can vouch for my dedication to this track, as I am an adamant lobbyist for its inclusion on any dance party playlist (I’m looking at you Jill, Karl, Emily and of course, Ryan).

Really, I owe my awakening to the brilliance of this track to Ryan and countless hours spent playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with him and various characters, mostly Ann Arbor in nature. This song was on one of the radio stations—probably classic rock—the same one that featured “Free Bird” (which is really great to “listen to” while driving around in one of the low-rider Harley-type motorcycles or “flying around” (poorly in my case) in a prop plane). RAISE UP, MARK!

Despite the fact that I’ve been deathly ill for the last week, I’m starting to get really excited about going on tour. Music is IT. It’s what I want to fill my life with. I like that this song is all about going out and doing what you want to do, approaching your life goals and dreams with youthful enthusiasm and not with defeated lowness.

What really made me think about this song yesterday is that I was listening to a Terry Gross interview with another of my least favorite gravely-throated singer-songwriters, John Mellencamp (someone who I can’t remember made this awesome joke when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: “John Mellencamp inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; John Cougar and John Cougar Mellencamp overlooked”). He played a little snippet of “Jack and Diane,” a song which I guiltily like a lot, totally totally despise and know will be stuck in my head for weeks on end each time I hear it. Anyway, while these songs came out roughly at the exact same time ("Young Turks" was ’81, "Jack and Diane," ’82), the chorus of that song (“Oh yeah, life goes on/Long after the thrill of living is gone") is a stark and depressing opposite to the chorus and message of this song (“YOUNG HEARTS BE FREE TONIGHT!!!!”). That song is about letting life beat your dreams down. This song is about having one shot at life and taking it, while you’re still not afraid!



Young Turks.mp3

Don't forget to listen for the killer synth line and the awesome part at the end where he seriously breaks it down.


We got just one shot of life, let’s take it while we’re still not afraid.
Because life is so brief, and time is a thief when you’re undecided.
And like a fistful of sand, it can slip right through your hands.

Young hearts be free tonight!
Time is on your side!
Don’t let them put you down!
Don’t let ‘em push you around!
Dont let ‘em ever change your point of view!