For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to venture to Ohio and show some love to Zapp and their classic song “Computer Love”. The lead single from their fourth album, “The New Zapp IV U”, “Computer Love” features vocals from Shirley Murdock and Charlie Wilson. The song was written by Murdock, Zapp Band leader Roger Troutman, and his brother Larry Troutman.
As someone who met his spouse of seventeen years online, I’ve always felt that “Computer Love” was a bit ahead of its time. “Computer Love” by Zapp is a song about love and how technology can bring two people together. Charlie Wilson is on a quest to find a woman with whom he can share his love of technology. The lyrics of the song state that sometimes people have to find love through technology.
In the song, there is an implication that technology is the new normal. The lyrics mention astrology and how the narrator used to use it to try to find love, but now he has found his match with the help of a computer. The narrator states that with the use of computer programs and technology, he has found what he was looking for.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase “Shooby-doo-bop” several times in a row. This is a form of repetition that is used to create emphasis. The lyrics of the song make it seem as if the narrator is searching for love and is willing to take it from whoever is available to him, even if that person is someone he has only seen on a computer screen.
“Computer Love” is about how technology has enabled a new way to date and form relationships. The song encourages openness and the courage to take chances in love.
Final Grade: A
“Computer Love” is available on all streaming platforms..
As a longtime music enthusiast, I’ve often wondered how quickly record labels expect lead singers from groups to release solo albums. This question came to mind recently when my iPod played “So You Like What You See” by Samuelle. Listening to the song, I realized he would be a great choice for this week’s Second Listen Sunday.
You know the voice. The moment Michael Marshall starts singing the hook in Luniz’s “I Got 5 on It,” anyone who grew up in the nineties knows exactly what time it is. However, nearly a decade before that 1995 hip-hop classic, Marshall was already responsible for another instantly recognizable vocal.
There are some albums you revisit because of nostalgia, and then there are albums you return to because they remind you just how high the standard used to be. Anita Baker’s Rapture falls into that second category. Released in 1986, the album did more than make Baker a star. It helped define what sophisticated, grown R&B could sound like without losing any soul, sensuality, or personality.