A Tribute to the 2010 Grads

Commencement speaker I am not, but I'll still take a moment to say a few things to all of my fellow 2010 graduates. What prompted this post is a matter of sheer coincidence (at least I think) that I happened to notice, and thus have analyzed as a sort of 'sign'.

In case you can't recall our high school graduation in 2006, our senior song was "Forever Young". There was a great cover version of Alphaville's original that the band Youth Group created that year, which was featured on The OC (and of course, that's why we all knew it). It was a great song, and an obvious pick for our graduation ceremony. We didn't have to worry about any cuss words or hidden messages. Our task was plain and simple: please the grads, and please their parents. Of course Youth Group's "Forever Young" made the cut, it was a modern-sounding version of a song that our parents used to sing when they were growing up. No possibility of trouble with lyrics like:

Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever.



What I find interesting is that just within the last couple of weeks... just about the time we're getting ready to close the next chapter of our lives, another great cover of "Forever Young" hit the radio. Four years later and just before our college graduation, radio stations are now playing the newest version of the classic, this time created by Jay-Z and British singer Mr. Hudson (one of whose albums I have reviewed earlier in this blog).

Now let's take a deeper look and contrast the new version's lyrics with the old though. Jay-Z's lyrics that are supposed to be equally profound to those of Alphaville say:

So let's just stay in the moment,
smoke some weed, drink some wine
Reminisce, talk some shit,
forever young is in your mind.

My my, how the times have changed. Look how far we've come?! I have to say, although I'm a Jay fan, he has never been the best lyricist in the rap game. Interesting thought, Mr. Carter, but I think I'll pick the Youth Group contender as the winner in this battle. Jay's rendition of "Forever Young" is a worthwhile listen nonetheless. Mr. Hudson's voice provides a great parallel with the original version of the track, which creates an interesting contrast with the new lyrics. However, I'm not sure if I would want this one playing at my UC Davis graduation ceremony in a couple of weeks though.



Regardless of which version you prefer, the overall message is the same. Just remember that no matter where you are, and no matter what you're doing in life, you should always take time to enjoy the little things. They may seem trivial to you at certain times, but they are, after all, what keep us "Forever Young".