My Gen X Playlist: Oblivious – Aztec Camera

One of the byproducts of Covid was the increase in zoom meetings. Prior to the pandemic, there was an abundance of conference calls and face to face meetings. Zoom meetings became a hybrid of the two. They are conference calls with a face or virtual face to face without the warmth. I guess nothing is perfect. These video calls have almost replaced the two altogether.

At the beginning, I rarely turned my camera on. I gradually got on board and began showing my face. A few times I was that guy with the suit jacket and tie with shorts. I had to remember not to stand up. Working from home eventually made everything more casual. Dress shirts were fine. I still snuck in shorts during summer.

Now that I turn on the camera, there is a little more prep required. What’s in the background, how is the lighting, check the camera angle. Someone using a weed wacker outside? Better close the windows.

The downside of having the camera on is transparency. People know when you’re multitasking. They also may notice when you are bored, daydreaming or tuned out. It’s difficult to keep an interested expression on your face at times. This has become a necessary skill.

The new normal took time to get used to. I think I can officially drop the new normal moniker and just call it normal these days. All in all, turning on the camera is a small price to pay for the convenience of working from home. I try not to schedule calls before eight o’clock. Nobody wants to see my bed head on camera.

A friend introduced me to Aztec Camera’s Oblivious back in the 80s. The interesting thing was this really wasn’t his style of music. He was more into rap and soul. But the upbeat style of the music did match his good natured personality. This is totally an 80s song.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

From the mountain tops
Down to the sunny street
A different drum is playing a different kind of beat
It's like a mystery
That never ends
I see you crying and I want to kill your friends

I hear your footsteps in the street
It won't be long before we meet
It's obvious
Just count me in and count me out
And I'll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious

Met Mo and she's okay
Said no one really changed
Got different badges but they wear them just the same
Down by the ballroom
I recognized
That flaming fountain in those kindred caring eyes

I hear your footsteps in the street
It won't be long before we meet
It's obvious
Just count me in and count me out
And I'll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious

I hope it haunts me 'til I'm hopeless
I hope it hits you when you go
And sometimes on the edge of sleeping
It rises up to let me know
It's not so deep, I'm not so slow

They're calling all the shots
They'll call and say they phoned
They'll call us lonely when we're really just alone
And like a funny film
It's kinda cute
They've bought the bullets and there's no one left to shoot

I hear your footsteps in the street
It won't be long before we meet
It's obvious
Just count me in and count me out
And I'll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious

I hear your footsteps in the street
It won't be long before we meet
It's obvious
Just count me in and count me out
And I'll be waiting for the shout
Oblivious