Day 148: A song beginning with “G”.

“Give Your Heart A Break” – Demi Lovato

I’m just old enough that I missed the era of the Disney Channel. Which means I was lucky enough not to be brainwashed by the insipid canned laugh track-driven “comedy” of their shows and the “talent” of the singers/actors in those shows. These shows are complete dreck that all revolve around one plot:

• Hilarious misunderstandings because people assume something and never actually think to ask their friends questions. Oh my God! I heard Billy say he has to go to the hospital to see his mom. She must have a horrible disease. Just like we thought Jane’s mom did a week ago! Let’s tiptoe around him for the next 17 minutes (excluding commercials).
• Quick fixes once it’s discovered that—imagine that—it was just another hilarious misunderstanding. Oh! Billy’s mom works at the hospital! How silly of us!
• People spontaneously breaking into song once said misunderstanding was wrapped up. <Insert silly, crappy, generic Disney song here.>

And people wonder why kids have the attention of a span of a gnat. Blame Disney.

Anyway, because I missed these, I have never had a predilection to seek out the latest Disney-created wünderkind. And I’m okay with that. Very okay with it, actually.

On another topic, I recently bought a new (to me) car.

Those who know me will tell you that when it comes to large-ish to large purchases, I find something I think I want, and then I hem and haw for days, weeks, months, and in some cases even years before pulling the trigger (or not). So was the case with the car.

Four years ago, Ford redesigned the Taurus, making a car that was actually cool to own. Two years ago, I first test drove one. And while I did, “Give Your Heart A Break” came on the radio. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, but pretty close. And during that test drive I realized I liked it. (The song. Not the car. Actually, the car, too.)

One of the niceties of the Taurus (and many cars these days) is the fact that the radio actually shows you the song and the artist. (Much different from the 80s when we sat glued to the radio for an hour and a half after we heard a song we liked hoping the DJ might actually tell us.)

I made a mental note so I could look it up later.

And promptly forgot who and what it was. (It sucks getting older, kids.)

But I managed to figure it out. And I bought the song. And then two years later, I bought a Taurus.(I do not know what Frank thinks of this car.)

What do these things have in common? Demi Lovato was a Disney kid. So in theory, I ought not like this song. But I must grudgingly admit that I do. It’s a good song overall, with a very catchy chorus. But what really gets me is the bass during that chorus. In this case, it’s actually the bass sound and not the actual notes of the bass line. Add the string pads that come in after she says “So let me give your heart a break” and I was completely sold. I love the arrangement. Kudos to producers Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg for that one.

The good news is that I sampled the rest of the album and didn’t like anything else on it. So I can thankfully chalk this up to an anomaly.

Now, if I could only explain “Call Me Maybe.”