Old music is understandably relative. It can come with baggage, attachments, bias and context. It can be a go too, a safe space, a place where the feelings you receive are a known quantity, an emotional guarantee. Old music can also bookmark stand out moments in life.
New music’s cool but have you ever heard old music?
1954 gave us an absolute banger. A pure unadulterated heater. A one hit wonder that is most definitely wonderful. Have you ever heard ‘Sh-Boom‘ by The Chords? It starts with the line “Life Could Be A Dream” and then swoops you up in complete rapture.
A glorious display of vocal harmonies. This song feels like friendship, maybe because it was written by high school friends from The Bronx; The Chords. It’s said they wrote this number in a car and if you’ve ever been 18 years old in a mates car who has just passed their test you’ll resonate with the feeling this song gives. It’s freedom, It’s joy and most of all it’s togetherness.
The term ‘Sh-Boom’ was how they greeted each other in their neighbourhood. They’d say “Boom” and added the “Shhhh” to make it sound like a bomb. This coupled with the fact that the line “A Langalangalang” was there to represent the sound of the church bells in their area makes this record feel subconsciously familiar.
The saxophone break goes unnecessarily hard! It rips through the song with energy and class. It’s just adds to the pile of uplifting moments in the song. This song should be prescribed on the NHS. It should be behind a ‘Break In Case Of Emergency’ glass. If you’re feeling down just smash the glass, behind it will be a play button and when you press it Sh-Boom will play in surround sound.
I’d also recommend anyone to listen to ‘A History Of Rock n Roll’ in 500 songs by Andrew Hickey – Episode 18 if you wanted an intense deep dive into his song.
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Words: Owen Cutts