Wham Bam & Shazam

Finding Music Wherever I Can

Out of the many, many technological inventions in my lifetime, there’s one I’m completely enamored with: Shazam.

This app is in no way related to the first thing Gen X thinks of upon hearing the word “Shazam”: an intense middle-aged man with five-o-clock shadow who yelled SHAZAM! and ran around in man tights every Saturday morning. Click here to watch him “flying” AKA planking on a sawhorse in the back of a flatbed truck while being filmed by teamsters. That’s how SFX worked back then, baby.

I just look like a cult leader that’s wearing drapery.

By the way, the plot description of this 70’s super-hero show is “Teenager Billy Batson and his adult companion, Mentor, travel in an RV, helping people in need.” I think that type of storyline is what we now call “a chilling three-part Netflix true crime documentary series based on the popular Wondery podcast.”

But with just a click, the Shazam app identifies any music that’s currently playing in your environment. I use it in stores, while watching movies and shows, and in bars and restaurants that aren’t blasting Kid Rock or Ted Nugent, because I can sadly identify those freaks on my own. I also use Shazam surprisingly often in our Texas grocery store HEB because the songs they play are so good. Kudos to whomever programs all of the disco deep cuts that entertain me when I’m buying toilet paper and healthy weight dog food on Friday night!

Quick disco aside: Chris and I were returning something to an Austin Costco a couple of days ago, and the nice man helping us had a name tag that said TAVARES. I said, “Are you named ‘Tavares’ after the music group?” He said, “Uh, yeah! They’re my mom’s favorite. Nobody’s ever asked me that before!” A truly proud moment for this suburban wanker. I now hope to meet someone named Chic before I die.

Back in the old days, we didn’t have Shazam, we had the radio. And we listened to the radio a lot. In our rooms, at our jobs, driving the car, everywhere. It’s where we discovered the songs we loved or learned to love. Mostly because the DJs/record companies wanted us to, but who cares. If we heard a song and wanted to hear it again, all we had to do was wait about 15 minutes. Or tune to another station. Or turn on MTV where you’d probably see the video of it in high rotation, alongside ads for General Foods International Coffee and Dexatrim diet pills. (“Mom, why is my heart beating so fast? Is it the speed I bought at Rexall Drug?”)

All of that song repetition worked really, really well, to say the least. Do I know my kids’ social security numbers? Hell, no. But I can still accurately sing every word of Sussudio — and not because I found the lyrics online. They’re burned onto my Phil Collins-loving soul.

Of course, there are many Gen X’ers who weren’t Top 40 stooges like me, and I’m envious of them. I was far too busy listening to Casey Kasem’s weekly show with my finger on the ‘record’ button of my tape recorder to actually take time to search out cooler music. On the plus side, Casey taught me a lot of great trivia about people like Sheena Easton (who was born Sheena Orr, and became Sheena Easton when she married Sandy Easton at age 19) that’s forever lodged in my brain.

Music is more siloed now than it even was back then. We’re served music via the algorithm that’s similar to what we already like, so it’s harder to find anything new. So unless you download a few completely different songs that you heard in spin class, or liked in a commercial or ad, you’re sort of stuck.

(Also: YES I just said I’ve found songs on commercials which is so, so horrifying to admit because Gen X used to freak out whenever one of our songs was “bought by the man.” Like when Nike used the Beatles’ Revolution and people were ready to f-ing riot.)

I recently noticed that all of the songs I’ve Shazam’ed are actually on a Spotify playlist, which is really fun and a little creepy since I didn’t do that myself. I guess the apps are collaborating? But I’ve had a good time listening to these songs on shuffle and trying to remember when and where I searched them up in the first place. “When You’re Good to Mama”, “Anything Goes” and “Last Midnight”? I was at a Broadway showtunes drag brunch. “Far From Over”? On the couch with Chris watching the SNL synchronized swimming clip and proving to him that yes, it was sung by Frank Stallone and not Whitesnake. “Last Christmas”? Holiday shopping and completely incensed that someone made a horrific cover of Wham!’s masterpiece that also caused me to lose Whamageddon on December 1st. DO NOT TOUCH LAST CHRISTMAS.

All of this is a great forensic exercise for my memory, and it’s also led to me finding new artists I like. Of course, a majority of these “new” artists and songs are from the 70’s, but that’s okay because I love that era of music so much. I miss the old days, but it’s also amazing to find and listen to whatever you like instead of being beholden to a radio station or record company or MTV. Or more recently, to what you hear on TikTok when some dipshit isn’t using headphones in the airport.

I miss the commonality of everyone knowing the same music, but I also kind of like that we all have our own personal Top 40 songs now. And number one with a bullet for me this week? Tavares, of course.

Thanks for reading!

—Wendi