What's Going On?

Marvin!

May 21st marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. It's still ranked in the top ten of Rolling Stone's greatest albums of all time and I'm not sure a week has gone by in the better part of ten years when I haven't plugged into "Mercy Mercy Me", "What's Happening Brother" or "Inner City Blues"; the sound, the words and the feel are timeless.

I found myself skimming through an NPR piece commemorating the anniversary of the release this morning and I was inspired to pull my headphones on once again. I have literally listened to "Mercy Mercy Me" hundreds of times but the echo of the beat and that first "woooah" gave me the chills.

What's Going On has been my companion when I have been in love and when I have been heartbroken. It has moved me to think about how we live, how we consume and it has also moved me in the shadows of a late-night dance floor.

NPR's Felix Contreras said this about the album and "Mercy Mercy Me":

"Listen again to the words: Have things really changed that much? I hear references in 'Mercy Mercy Me' that could just as easily point to the oil spill in the Gulf and the recent nuclear crisis in Japan. It's hard to imagine any other song that still holds so many lessons for us, let alone in a mere three minutes and 12 seconds.

Marvin, you're forever.