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Posted 7/14/2022 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
There's another thread that has turned into a music topic, but it made me think about this. When I was a kid, Elvis burst upon the music scene. My parents DESPISED him (hip gyrations especially) which of course made us embrace him even more. Eventually my Dad came around and really appreciated his voice. Then the Beetles, with their "long hair" and we repeat that cycle.

Now I'm the Dad/Grandparent. I dislike hip-hop, but no big deal. Just not my cup of tea. I despise Rap. It ain't music at all. You just mumble, go on rants, and be sure to sneak in a few angry stares, utter some MF's, F's, S's, etc. to complement your BAD TOUGH GUY image. Any real musical talent is purely coincidental.

Those are my biases and I'm dug in. By the way, my kids/grandkids have NOT embraced these music genres.

Sooooo... have I just gotten like my parents, but I haven't changed. So, maybe I'm even "worse."

Feel free to weigh in. Does this topic ring a (musical?) bell?

MEL
Posted 7/14/2022 11:29 PM (GMT 0)
In high school my bedroom was connected to a second story open air porch where my crew and I did our thing and then we'd come back inside and listen to some pretty loud music. On a couple of occasions my dad stopped by home briefly from work. He would unscrew the electrical fuse and my turntable would grind to halt. This was followed by some profanities yelled upstairs about the "hippy music." Lol.

Of course after my dad left to return to work we were back at it. Sigh... wouldn't it be wonderful if we could step back in time for just a few hours?

Rock and Roll ran out of riffs. I suppose Hip Hop, or whatever is popular now, will run it's course. I wonder what will capture the kids' attention in the future?

I guess I'll always be locked into classic rock.
Posted 7/14/2022 11:44 PM (GMT 0)
Growing up, I knew all my folks' music from the 1950s and very early 1960s, because they still had their record albums from high school.

I started listening to music from the "get-go" and still like the music from my youth, high school years, and college days the best ~ the "let's camp out all night & get tickets or ROAD TRIP to the next concert" years.

I hit the road one weekend, when I was maybe 17, with my high school girlfriend & that was my first concert. We drove four hours to get there. Memorable!

I think tickets were $15.00 & concert t-shirts were even more, but concert t-shirts were ESSENTIAL when you're that age!

I don't listen to current music ~ just not my jam.

The very last band I fell into was MATCHBOX 20 & they're probably playing on some "oldies" radio channel by now, too!

So ~ I'm content to fall right back into THE EAGLES, STEELY DAN, FLEETWOOD MAC, & THE DOOBIE BROTHERS ...

I was sorting through a box, earlier this summer, and found the mix tapes my high school girlfriend made for me, decades ago. I had no idea I had saved those!

For me, that music never "went away" ...

CYCLONE ~ # Iowa State University
Posted 7/15/2022 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
As to whether the music of yesteryear (especially rock-n-roll, including its later morphing into more recent forms of rock) is better than the modern stuff being played these days, I can offer as witnesses a group of folks who definitely agree that it is.

Namely, large numbers of younger people themselves!

If you would like to have some fun, do what I do sometimes:

1. Choose one of the great old time rock-and-roll songs.

2. Go to Youtube, search, find, and display a version of it, ready to play.

3. Once displayed, listen to the version of it, if you like, but certainly do this:

4. Page down to the "Comments" section below the video display and read the comments that people (of all ages) have left about the song.

There's going to be a pretty good chance that there will be a number of very positive comments by people who are obviously younger (obvious from the way they describe themselves), and who think the song is great!

An example:

"True Love Ways" by Buddy Holly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjfrhihsvwc

Some of the comments to be read below the video:

"Absolutely amazing song. My late mom’s favorite and it’s beauty rubbed off on me. Brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it. Perfection."

"Was at a wedding reception recently, and this was the first song played, at the bride and groom's request. First time, EVER, EVER that EVERYONE was dancing AT THE FIRST SONG! Will never forget it, and they are a super sweet couple, who obviously know great music."

"I love Buddy Holly, I grew up with his songs even though I was born in the 70's. Such a special man, so sorry his life was cut so short. Brenda."

"This was played at my grandad's funeral today and now know this will be my new safe space for when I'm upset and/or missing him."

"My husband and I danced to this song at our wedding in 2017. My dad gave me a Buddy Holly CD when I was 10 and I knew I always wanted to dance to this song with my true love at my wedding. Love you Buddy!"

and the like.

I guarantee you'll find similar sentiments from younger people expressed as comments on any number of other sites playing the the great pop songs from the past, from the 50's on..

That's because everyone, regardless of age, just instinctively recognizes great music, regardless of when it was written!
Posted 7/15/2022 2:08 AM (GMT 0)
Something related that I sometimes muse about. My three favorite bands are the Stones, Beatles, and Doors. The bands are brilliant in their own ways. What's interesting to me is the key figures of each band met quite by chance, and before any of them were singers or musicians of any significant note. So, if these guys had never met and their bands never formed, would have other bands taken their places as the revered bands of Rock? I'm not so sure. Especially for the Stones and Beatles with their exceptionally rich catalogs of great songs. I don't think most other Rock bands even come close. It's almost as if it had to happen.

The other side of the coin is how many "near misses" there might have been for the right guys meeting to form exceptional bands?

Well, I guess that's enough. Sometimes it's fun for me to think about. Maybe I have too much time on my hands. 😁
Posted 7/15/2022 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
I feel sorry for the younger generation. They've tied their musical legacy to rap and hiphop, which I consider to be mostly vulgar and obscene noize, not music. For me, music really ended before year 2000. I adore the music of the 50's 60's, 70's and some in the 80's. But disco was the start of the fall. We'll never see another musical team like Lennon/McCartney. What an era that was. I couldn't wait to listen to their latest recording on the radio. It was theway their music evolved that made them so unique and interesting. But it was the music of the 50's that really influenced their rise to the top. Little Richard, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Chet Akins, Fats Domino, etc.... All great artists in their own right who passed their talent right down the line. I hope God rewarded all of them for their contribution to the musical arena that brought us so much joy. That was back when lyrics were both inspirational and warmed the heart. Simple love songs have fallen by the wayside.
Posted 7/15/2022 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
Just an anecdote ...

I volunteer often at a large food bank, where we box up thousands of grocery boxes that get delivered to local pantries & schools & homeless shelters, all over the state ...

They have a wide variety of play lists, that we listen to, while we work ~ various genres, various eras.

One day it might be 1970s classic rock, another day 1980s songs, and another day might be MOTOWN hits ...

This summer, there are high school seniors volunteering ~ earning what are called "silver chord" volunteer hours for graduation or scholarships.

It's fun to see THEM singing the lyrics to these songs from earlier decades ... and I see ~ first-hand ~ that some of this music is truly TIMELESS!

C-Y-C-L-O-N-E ~ # Iowa State University

Post Edited (Cyclone-ISU) : 7/14/2022 9:12:19 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 7/15/2022 4:03 AM (GMT 0)
I grew up in the 50's and was a rock 'n roll fan from its beginnings....I woke up the other morning with "Rock 'n Roll Waltz" playing over and over in my head, When we travel, we listen to Sirius XM in the car, with the channel selected being either 50's 60's, or Prime Country. I seem to know most of the lyrics from the songs of the 50's and 60's, and then, of course, there was folk music, which was wonderful. I followed popular music into the 80's, when our kids were in high school, but since then I've found nothing on the radio worth listening to, and that includes the current poor excuse for country music. I was just listening to Conway Twitty this morning and also Del Shannon. And I still enjoy hearing tunes from the 40's that my Mom would be listening to as she ironed. There's still some beautiful music being made, but it's not likely to be found on the radio dial, although songs like "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran do show up on easy listening stations.
Posted 7/15/2022 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
What a great topic! I grew up listening to Jim Reeves and Marty Robbins. Love Buddy Holly (I live fairly close to Lubbock). I listened to a lesser known Bobby Darin song called Amy on you tube today. I got a little choked up and teary eyed. I guess I should be careful what I listen to while on Lupron.
I'm a vocalist and I used to sing the old standards at various local events and restaurants. One day this this young college student with earrings and a nose ring walks up to me and says "man I love that. Dean Martin will always be the king of cool!" Y'all are right some music is just timeless. Y'all have a blessed day.

Jim
Posted 7/15/2022 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
In my high school days guys were mostly into the Stones (mods) and Beach Boys (surfers), the girls mostly loved the Beatles. However, in looking thru Youtube I found some early club concerts of the Beatles, and man those guys were good in those days. Absolutely killer bass lines and lead guitar!!
When the kids were younger we used to rent the local school swimming pool for parties once a year. The operators would always ask what music we wanted playing. I told them anything except rap and hip-hop. If those get played, I want our money back.
Posted 7/15/2022 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
I think Woodstock defined most of the music I was listening to at the time and much of it continues to this day. Add some jazz and blues and that is my music. The night that the music died was a few years later.
Posted 7/15/2022 5:31 AM (GMT 0)
I also don't care for most music made since...oh, 1973 or so. But I always remember my mother saying "I feel sorry for your generation. You won't have any music to reminisce about when you grow old." That clearly turned out *not* to be the case. So I'm open to the idea that more recent music that I don't particularly care for will be remembered fondly by folks that are 20+ years younger than me. This year's Super Bowl halftime show may have been an example of that...I didn't know any of the songs, but for many people they were considered nostalgic.

I also remember reading an article that said our brains tend to lock into the music that we were listening to when we were 19. In my case, while I was 19 in 1979, even then I was mainly listening to music from the 1960s, which remains imprinted in my brain.

Pssst. It's spelled "Beatles" as in "beat" music.
Posted 7/15/2022 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
Classic rock here, Morrison bounced an empty Bud can off my head at the Kaiser Dome in Berdoo in 1967, many Zappa and Floyd concerts...all of the classic rock bands are on my play list. I listened to Glenn Gould's "Goldberg Variations" on CBC 2 on the way to radiation treatments in 2013, it is now one of my favourites. (I too was surprised that the world didn't end when he died.)

More recently, I picked up Blind Blake's greatest hits after watching Jack Reacher season 1. He was the artist Reacher was researching in the story. Right fine finger-pickin from the Chicago club circuit 1926 - 1932. Remastered from vintage 78's.

Always ready for new stuff, even put together my own rap tune, but that is too obscene to repeat here. blush
Posted 7/15/2022 4:55 PM (GMT 0)
I disagree with the characterization of the younger generation(s) has “ tied their musical legacy to rap and hiphop.” There is MUCH more going on in the music scene that younger people are into than that. Heck, country/western is still a thing and concerts of that type regularly sell out in these parts and dominate the radio dial. And if what is good is defined as what is popular I dare you to go back into those “classic rock” years and see what else what “popular.” Disco comes to mind.

For me, I’ve always been into music, all kinds of music. I had to take those required piano lessons that focused on classical music until I hit high school when I quit and picked up a guitar to strum along with the British Invasion and the likes of Creedence. I grew up in Southern California and over the years I was an avid concert goer seeing everyone I wanted from Three Dog Night(1969) to Creedence(1970) to The Guess Who(1971) to Steppenwolf to Fleetwood Mac (1975) to Queen (1976) to Pink Floyd doing The Wall to the Eagles and on and on. I switched my focus to jazz a went to lots of jazz shows including Gil Scott-Heron, one of the most memorable shows.

While I love the music I grew up with and have a very large collection of vinyl (33–1/3 and 45 rpm), reel-to-reel, 8-tracks, and a smattering of cassettes and CDs, I never stopped seeking out newer music. I am especially found of Indie-Pop, particularly bands from Scotland like Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura. There is much new and very satisfying music being produced and with the Internet it has never been easier to access.

And before you paint those “good old days” as having the better/best music, go back and look at the charts from those years and you’ll find lots of skippable tunes: Bobby Goldsboro doing “Honey” comes to mind but someone must have liked it.
Posted 7/15/2022 5:06 PM (GMT 0)

compiler said...
…..When I was a kid, Elvis burst upon the music scene. My parents DESPISED him (hip gyrations especially) which of course made us embrace him even more. …

That would make an interesting discussion: What music did you listen to that your parents objected to?

My parents liked Elvis. My dad was from Tennessee so saw some connection. My mom, a lover of swing, classical, and pop saw him as a great entertainer. When we lived in Hawaii (dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor), in about 1963, Elvis played a concert at the base outdoor theater and it quickly sold out. My mom took my sister and I and we listened from outside the fence.

That said, the only objections I heard about my music was my mom coming in and telling me she didn’t want me listening to the Beatles doing “Twist and Shout” or Peter and Gordon’s “Lady Godiva,” both which she found “suggestive.” My dad only complained about the volume and presented me with a nice pair of Pioneer headphones that I still use today. That probably led to my tinnitus. ;-)
Posted 7/15/2022 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
My three favorite bands from the 70s: The Eagles, Kansas, and Lynrd Skynrd.
Eagles were formed in 1970, broke up in 1980, the penultimate 70s band!
Kansas are from Topeka, KS where I live. I went to a Bible study that Kerry Livgren gave. Really nice guy!
Skynrd, fell in love with them in high school.

Disco sucks.

A quiz given by Doctor Johnny Fever of the big KRP.
Disco is ____________?
Posted 7/15/2022 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
I was a teenager in the late 50s and early 60s when rock and roll was all over the radio. With a few high-voltage exceptions like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin - who were head and shoulders above all the rest of what I'd hear on top-40 radio, most of it didn't float my boat. But at the same time R&R was going on we also had the "great folk music scare" which did capture my interest.

I listened to the likes of the Kingston Trio and Peter Paul and Mary but quickly followed the trail to more authentic or at least less polished and produced music. Thanks to living in the Boston suburbs I spent my late high school and early college years hanging out at the Club 47 in Cambridge and the Unicorn in Boston and a few other small folkie cellars. I saw Dave Van Ronk many times - not the greatest singer, but a great blues, ragtime, and - yes jazz, guitarist. Through him, Tom Rush, and others I'd see at these small clubs I followed the music they played back to their influences - Rev. Gary Davis, Bukka White, Woody Guthrie and other authentic blues/folk performers. Also over those years electric acts started turning up in those clubs. So thanks to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band I discovered Muddy Waters, Little Walter and a world of Chicago blues that wasn't played on any radio stations where I lived.

To this day I listen to and buy mostly blues, roots-style country (e.g., Doc Watson as opposed to pop-Nashville) and small roots-style current or recent bands and musicians, - The Steel Wheels, Gillian Welch, Townes Van Zandt. My wife and I just saw Della Mae last night at an outdoor concert with their great lead singer Celia Woodsmith.

That said my musical taste is pretty wide and eclectic beyond that. I love "American Songbook" standards. I'm right now pushing myself into playing guitar versions of things like "Blue Skies", "Georgia on My Mind", "It Had to be You" and others. I've lately set my sights on conquering "Stardust" on guitar (that is to say the music of my parents - go figure.).

Post Edited (Bohemond) : 7/15/2022 12:04:21 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 7/15/2022 8:48 PM (GMT 0)
WOW! Great responses. At least I feel somewhat validated in terms of my intense dislike for rap on so many levels and my ...disinterest in pop. Since you are naming specific artists/songs, my two favorites all-time are: Sittin' By the Dock of the Bay and Nights in White Satin by artists I don't normally care for. Here are my playlists on my Echo Dot (I carefully select the songs; these are the artists.):

Abba
Adele
BJ Thomas
Barry Manilow
Beetles
Bee Gees
CCR
Carly Simon
Carole King
Celine Dionne
Connie Francis
5th Dimension
Dolly Parton
Eagles
Elvis
Everly Bros.
Fleetwood Mac
Four Seasons
Frankie Va
Gary Pucket & Union Gap
Gene Pitney
Gordon Lightfoot
Helen Reddy
Jay & The Americans
JD Souther
Jerry Butler
Joan Baoez
Joe kCocker
Judy Collins
Kenny Rogers
Kingston Trio
Laura Nyro
Leonard Cohen
Little Anthony
Mamas and Pappas
Martina McBride,
Marty Robbins
Neil Diamond
Peter, Paul, & Mary
Platters
Richie Havens
Roberta Flack
Rod Stewart
Ronnie Milsap
Roy Orbison
Spanky & Our Gang
Tina Turner
Tony Orlando & Dawn
Whitney Houston
The Judds
Posted 7/16/2022 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
Mel - Looks like hormone therapy may have affected some of your choices, just kidding smile Might add Christopher Cross and Cat Stevens to your list to be complete.

Bohemond - We talked about Jerry Miller (Moby Grape) once. I found a CD called Live at Coles where his band plays with his Dad (piano). The first cuts are Deep Purple, St. Louis Blues, and Bye Bye Blues. Reminds me of my Dad with some modern improvements.

Time to get the guitar out again and not sing.
Posted 7/16/2022 12:48 AM (GMT 0)

Mumbo said...
Time to get the guitar out again and not sing.

My wife would agree with that about me.
Posted 7/16/2022 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
Most of you are older than I am. The first record I bought with my own money was "American Pie" by Don McLean, probably around 1972. When I was in College, the breakout band was Boston, and Disco Sucked the first time around.

My mother was a classically trained singer and a grade school music teacher. I grew up listening to Bach and Vivaldi and Beethoven--and Professor Peter Schickele and PDQ Bach. My mother loved Paul Simon especially his forays into ethnomusicology (Graceland). Musicality, lyricism, poetry, are all things for me. I can appreciate *some* rap for the poetry and rhyme. So much of what is modern today that I hear on the radio is so derivative and straight covers of older stuff. Where is the originality?
Posted 7/16/2022 3:56 AM (GMT 0)
I saw the Beatles in '64. It was like sitting through a 4.3 earthquake for 30 minutes. I was afraid the beams holding up the ceiling in the arena were going to collapse from the shaking. Couldn't hear much music. But the real entertainment was all around us. Pure human hysteria. A girl would jump on stage and it would take 4 large men (one on each arm and leg) to tote them off, one after another. And they were jumping from 15 feet off the stairwell that went up both sides of the stage. This repeated itself throughout the entire concert. Besides the police, they had members of the 4 main military branches on hand to handle the crowd. My ears were literally ringing for 2 days afterwards. The tickets were only $10 a piece, but that was some decent coin back then. The Beatles only played 30 minutes. I don't think any musical group would get away with that in modern times. Still, it was an experience of a lifetime. Never seen anything close since, as far as the level of hysteria.
Posted 7/16/2022 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
TJ123 notes:

"A girl would jump on stage and it would take 4 large men (one on each arm and leg) to tote them off, one after another. And they were jumping from 15 feet off the stairwell that went up both sides of the stage. This repeated itself throughout the entire concert."

A readily familiar scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=docytoba0ci

So just why do young teenage girls scream so passionately at bands performing before them at rock concerts?

Some psychologists, cited from the article linked below, weigh in on the why of this:

" ... young women are unfairly asked to squeeze into an impossible mold of politeness and modesty. Simmons says a concert is a unique event that gives girls the rare opportunity to break out of those roles. In their day-to-day, non-concert-going lives, girls don’t have a lot of permission to scream ... A concert offers an oasis from the daily rules about being good girls. Screaming is about letting go and leaving the confines of being the self-conscious pleaser.”

“When you’re a kid, and a girl, you don’t have control. Young people don’t have a loud voice in society, so screaming in this kind of space is a way to have a voice. Literally.”

"So girls are doing it not only to assert their passion for the band, but to compete with each other and to signal to each other that, ‘This is what I care about.’ It’s part competition."

"Evolutionarily, it probably came about as a way to startle a predator. But as [humans] developed socially, you get a greater complexity of interaction, and screams could serve a function within a social group.”

And, curiously

"For reunited boy bands, though, the scream will always be the barometer of success ... If there isn’t screaming, there’s disappointment [in the band's performance].”

Interesting.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/entertainment/2014/07/27/beatlemaniacs-beliebers-scream/13190111/#:~:text=screaming%20is%20about%20letting%20go%20and%20leaving%20the,sociology%20at%20whitman%20college%20in%20walla%20walla%2c%20washington.
Posted 7/16/2022 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
We have SiriusXM in our car. I have the 50s,60s, and 70s programmed in and they are my go-to stations. In contrast, my wife is younger and has the Frank Sinatra channel and Michael Buble programmed. Every time I get in the car I hear crooners. I used to like the older singers, but now I can’t change the dial fast enough. I love the Drifters and if stuck on an island and the only group to listen to, it would be them. We talked about concerts in another thread. The Righteous Brothers came to Tucson many years ago. They had broken up and were just getting back together. Since Unchained Melody was our first dance song, we had to go. On the East side of town was a small boat shaped venue that they picked to try out their first comeback. I believe there were only about 50-75 people that it could hold. We were shocked to see we were in the front row! They sang all of their big hits at the time. Funny story, towards the end, I had to use the toilet. I got up and when I returned Bobby was singing Unchained Melody. I had to stand in the back until he was finished. My wife has never let me live that one down. Another funny ending, that boat is now a strip club. LOL my best to all.
Jack
Posted 7/16/2022 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
What a wonderful trip down memory lane. Neil Diamond, Janice J (a little transitional), Jerry Lee (used to go to the movies in Natchez where wife worked ticket booth as a high schooler), Tina, and on and on. The one that sticks in my mind now is Kingston Trio Merry Minuet.
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