Maybe

I was checking out at our mega-Kroger over the weekend and a very nice grandfatherly-type guy was bagging our groceries. It was a beautiful day and he was in a great mood as he was doing his work.

I noticed, after a minute, he was singing. I listened for just a second and picked up the tune and this is what I heard:

Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy
But here’s my number, so call me maybe
It’s hard to look right, at you baby
But here’s my number, so call me maybe

It’s everywhere!

The U.S. Olympic swim team recorded a YouTube parody of the famous Carly Rae Jepsen song. I heard a rumor that another sports team, closer to home, might have done a similar spot.

The grandfatherly grocer has obviously heard the song somewhere - on YouTube, on The Today Show, somewhere. Could be anywhere. I can tell you this his sidekick – the checkout guy – was amused with the singing. And so were we.

Just a dude enjoying his job.

Then, I started thinking about the scene a little more on the drive home.

Here’s my question: How did this song get so popular? How is it possible that it has permeated the 60+ demographic? And more importantly, who decides what we focus on in the world of pop culture?

Or put another way…my question might be, “WHO is Honey Boo Boo?”

More importantly, why does this matter to me? Is it just me or did that name come up out of no where? Maybe I’m just not plugged in to the right channels but, honestly, I had to go online to figure out what it means (and yet…I hear it or see references to it all the time).

This year’s Boo Boo is last year’s Badger.

I give this sort of thing thought from time to time because it is almost like we wake up one day and there is some craze sweeping our nation and I never know when/where/how (and most importantly why) it got its start.

What dynamic, for example, gave birth to the dance craze created by South Korean rapper, Psy?

And over the past few years, we all heard of the Kardashians. But, who are they? Honestly, I really don’t know.

These crazes pop up. They are everywhere for a while. Then you see a (insert craze) on an end-cap, on clearance at your local Wal-Mart – gone the way of The Macarena, Max Headroom and Pet Rocks.

I wonder if this pop culture phenomenon is an American pastime or does it have international reach?  If you have the answer, call me…

Maybe.

JG  

(Source: youtube.com)

Originally posted 10/7/2012