Two songs for two unrelated memories connected through high school and a rap duo from Atlanta, USA.
OutKast - Outkast: Hey Ya! + More Hits playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/63lCcDlqFl3tge6AsR9CJu?si=NuwUmK3rQ3q2dYq5Pul8qw
(Yeah, I know they’re not lyrics...)
The year is 2000 and I’m in my first year of high school. My home group teacher was Ms. Jarred. She was a great teacher, she seemed to actually care about the success of her students. Apparently she could be a bit of a hard arse to kids playing up, but she was always lovely to me and my friends. Also that year saw the release of OutKast’s single ‘Ms. Jackson’.
The song instantly caught my attention. I have a faint memory of discovering it on Video Hits one morning, which might explain why I remember the film clip so well. The instrumentation was a smooth, lazy Hip Hop beat with a piano sample being the main hook. You couldn’t help but nod your head along. The reversed track that runs the whole way through gives it a slightly unnerving vibe, it was something that hinted at something more than just your regular run-of-the-mill hip hop song. Andre 3000 and Big Boi’s rapping is on point. I maintain Andre 3000 is one of the greatest rappers ever. His flow is so... off kilter. I love it. And Big Boy is just a killer.
So like I was saying, I was in Ms. Jarred’s homegroup, Ms. Jackson became a song I secretly admired, as I was trying to keep up my "metal kid" exterior. Being high school, people were tagging all the desks. I very rarely did (except for the odd SI ❤️'s *insert girlfriends initials* 4Eva). I wanted to do something different. I decided to start tagging the first line of the chorus to Ms. Jackson.
I’m sorry Ms. Jackson, I’am for real...
I tagged every desk I could, a few lockers and some random blank surfaces. After a little while, I began cycling through back through the classrooms and I started to notice that other people were finishing off the chorus.
...never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologised a trillion times.
It was oddly satisfying to be connected to random people in the school. Who knows what grade, sex, social status they were. For a moment we connected through this song. A song about telling your side of a story and about the effects of a break-up. I used to wonder “What were all these other kids stories?” Ms. Jarred eventually caught me one day. She thought it was the first time I had done it so I got away with it. I didn’t push my luck as it was all over the school so I stopped. I suspect someone kept it going though...
Fast forward to 2003 and I’m representing our school in soccer on our school's big sports exchange with Glossip High School in the Riverland town of Glossip. It was basically a week long mini Olympics between our two high schools. Each year the schools would take turns in bringing their teams to the other town. I attended the exchange in 2001 and was lucky enough to have an amazing billet named Ben. I have a certain album connected to that trip, but that is for another post. This time round we had planned for me to stay with him again but when I got off the bus I was told I had been specifically asked for and that this new dude would be my billet for the week.
What the fuck...?
I took a deep breathe, introduced myself to this complete stranger...
“Aaah hey, I’m Simon.”
“YO DUDE! I’m Theo! What’s happening? How was the bus ride? Here’s my car, Give me your bags, jump in man!”
I jumped into this stranger's car and we took off...
Now Theo is, how can I explain this... a Greek version of ‘Night at Roxbury’.
To be fair there were a lot of people like him in Riverland around this time. He was a bit older than me as he had his licence. He was stereotypically Greek. Commodore, boxing gloves (or dice?) hanging off the rear view mirror. Me being of Italian heritage I kind of knew what I was in for when I got to his house and sure enough it was as I suspected. His parents were lovely and super welcoming. They wouldn’t let me sit down without having a stupid amount of food in front of me. They were strict on him and his sister but they gave him a little more leeway being the older child. He was obsessed with soccer (as I was), obsessed with being Greek (?) and wanted nothing more than to be a Danny Zuko like person. He was an absolute sweetheart albeit slightly tacky. He was fairly popular at Glossip as I can recall, but he always seemed like he was trying to impress others. He wanted to be liked by everyone. Not in an arrogant way, he just liked being liked. Nevertheless he was a fun loving dude and I soon warmed to him and his family.
The debates were held at night in a hall somewhere outside of Glossip. As per the rules for the week, we had to attend every event, even the ones we weren't involved in. We had a huge feast for dinner and set off down a country highway. It was quickly turning dark out, he had a mix CD on with his favourite tunes. It’s safe to say our tastes in music were worlds apart. I finally felt comfortable enough to ask him something that had been bothering me.
“Hey Theo. My school told me that you requested to have me stay with you. Why did you request me?”
His reply was brutally honest. More honest than what I was ever expecting.
“Your cousin Anthony is a legend around here. He’s someone I look up to and admire. I took a punt that you were his cousin as I remember him saying he had a cousin living in Mt Gambier. I was hoping we could be friends and some of your family magic could rub off on me.”
He then proceeded to confide in me some of his worries and problems. I was taken aback. I idolised my cousin too and didn’t know how I was meant to help him. I still to this day don’t think I’ve ever been as cool as my cousin, I didn’t know how to reply to him.
There was silence... The CD was between tracks.
Nothing but the black highway and blurry headlights racing by.
Then... a piano.
Theo leant forward. “Fuck I love this song.”
He turned the volume up. Waaay up.
“CAROLINE! (Caroline!) Caroline all the guys would say she’s mighty fine!”
What proceeded was the most passionate dance filled (well, as much dancing as possible in a moving vehicle) version of the song I’ve witnessed still to this day. Theo belted that song out like he was possessed. For that moment in time, we became Andre 3000’s crew. I joined in on the fun belting out the parts I knew while letting Theo take the lead. I had heard the song a few times beforehand, but I had never really sat down and really took it in. It’s a brilliant song. It’s catchy as hell, the call backs throughout help you, the listener, join in without feeling stupid.
Plus we all know a girl like Caroline.
By the end of it I was totally sold on the song. It made Theo and I instantly happy after having a heavy conversation. Although I'm reminded of this moment when I hear the song, I smile because you cannot, not smile when the song is on.
The power of music, hey?
OutKast had once again helped me connect with a total stranger through their bizarre southern rap melodies.
The rest of the trip was a blast although a bit of a blur...
But I’ll forever have Roses reminding me of a stranger confiding in me on a dark highway near Glossip.
Comments