The Bangles, Black Swans,and the Beats of Change

Some songs don’t just take you back — they remind you who you were, and how far you’ve travelled.

For those born in the seventies and eighties — Gen X and the Millennials — Walk Like an Egyptian was one of the anthems we grew up with.

Those quirky hand movements, allegedly Egyptian, were pure joy to slip into any party routine. No house party was complete without it.

Looking back, I truly did love The Bangles — the raspy voice of the lead singer hitting those high notes, the soulful, slightly melancholic lyrics… it was magical in a way only that era could be.

Walking down the quiet streets of a Bangalore neighbourhood with a Walkman, headphones on, dressed in boyfriend jeans and a loose bubblegum-pink tee — that was what teen spirit smelled like back then.

The music scene has changed beyond recognition now. Who could have imagined MTV would one day cease to exist? Recently, when I was reading Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, something clicked — the real Black Swan event for music wasn’t a moment, but a slow shift: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and the entire streaming universe that turned the industry on its head.

In my teens and well into my twenties, my playlist lived on a steady diet of Madonna — I had an unapologetic girl crush — Michael Jackson, and the kind of old-school rock that soothed the pent-up indignation only a teenager can feel. Papa Don’t Preach became my personal anthem, much to the chagrin of everyone around me. Now, when I think back, I wonder how my parents’ style would be labelled today. Helicopter? Authoritarian? Permissive?

Honestly, it was just good ol’ parenting back then.

No questions asked, none answered.

As for my taste in music, it has evolved into something far more eclectic — more bluesy, more hip-hop, more everything. These days, my relationship with music is non-binary — fluid and always evolving.

Like shifting sand, one thing is certain: change is constant. It permeates every pore of our existence. To ignore it, to pretend the world isn’t tilting beneath us, is the fastest route to irrelevance and decay. Tradition is an anchor, yes — but anchor alone won’t carry you forward.

Change is ubiquitous. Even now, as I type this blog, someone somewhere is dreaming up an idea powerful enough to disrupt lives. The smart move — like choosing the right play in a chess game — is to lean into our strengths and use the expanding universe of tech tools to avoid being checkmated.

Fearmongering is frenzied these days — every new AI wave is painted as a tsunami poised to swallow us whole. I think the surest way forward is simple: educate, leverage, adapt. And apologies in advance if it sounds like I’m oversimplifying the problem.

Walk like an Egyptian, I say — but with more sway, more confidence, and a little more knowing.

In the end, we all keep walking and running — new pace, new VO₂ max (yes, the smart-watch techspeak) — but walk, nonetheless, one must. P.S.: This is simply my personal opinion and not a prescription for any problem. Like many of us, I’m grappling with unanswered questions — the uncertainty, the quiet resignation to the job losses ahead, and the lack of visibility on what the coming years may hold.

Molecularly Yours,

Sanjana

Curiously Irrepressible

Click Me

https://www.molecularlyme.blog/post/dancing-with-the-stars-and-a-few-bendy-teenagers

"If I’ve made you curious, please click on the link above.Happy reading! 🌿