Classic of the Week: Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

Some pieces of music mean more to people than just some pretty melodies. Some music makes me unbelievably happy, others implausibly sad, but very few times has an album been more than just that to me. Rarely does a record revolutionize the way one sees society at the time it was released. Marvin Gaye’s What Going On, in terms of its impact on society, might be the most important album ever recorded. Jesus, for me, it is was the greatest anti-war album ever written, one of the greatest statements on our country’s social order in all of arts history, and just in terms of the sound of music minus the lyrics, it is one of the greatest albums ever. Basically, if you don’t like this album, you might be one of the most musically ignorant people to ever live (I know that was kinda harsh, but seriously… IT’S FUCKING WHATS GOING ON).   

I will be honest; I have been swamped with work and really do not have the time to write a novel about why this album was so important. I will just say: YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM, PERIOD.

Below I have posted two videos from a PBS documentary about the life of Marvin Gaye. If you want to watch the thing, which I don’t blame you for because it is really interesting, just watch the whole thing, but if you just want to hear about What’s Going On just go to around 5:22 minutes into the first video and it continues on to the next video.