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« on: October 18, 2018, 09:28:20 pm »
MUSIC
As Dok started off this “blog” by writing about music, I will do the same.
Overall, my taste in music hasn't changed much over the years. I pay little attention to 21C music. I still mostly listen to the same stuff I listened to in my 20th C youth. I'm uncertain as to whether or not this is normal, as many old, former “rock 'n' rollers” have abandon the genre for Country & Western music. But to me, C&W is just white noise. And, as I've worked/lived in very noisy environments, I learned a long time ago how to simply “tune out” most noisy distractions.
I consider myself fortunate to have been born a few years before the birth/recognition of Rock 'n' Roll. Otherwise, because of where I was born and raised, I would have had to listen to nothing but polka music. (It makes my skin crawl just thinking about such an adverse fate!)
I clearly remember hearing "Rock Around the Clock," by Bill Haley and the Comets, on my dad's car radio, back in the day. (However, when I looked it up, to verify the date the song first hit the airwaves, I was surprised to learn that Bill and his band were white. We didn't get a TV until a year or two later, and Bill didn't get much, if any, TV time anyway. So, based on the sound alone, I had always assumed Bill and his band were black.)
I also clearly remember watching Rebel Without a Cause from the backseat of my dad's Ford at the local drive-in theater. (Much to my surprise, that drive-in theater is still in operation today!)
And, I clearly remember watching Elvis's first appearance on TV. That was such a big deal that many people who didn't own televisions yet went somewhere where there was one just to watch him. Influential as Elvis was however, I was never a big fan of his.
When cheap Japanese transistor radios flooded the market (I don't remember exactly, but I think I was given my first one around 1957.), I and my fellow would-be rockers would stay up late to tune into the Joey Reynolds Show on WKBW, Buffalo, New York. On a good night, we could receive WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wonderful WO WO, was the best because they often played “The Double Dozen Plus One,” or twenty-five songs in a row without commercials. From where I lived we could also easily receive the old, powerful New York City radio stations at night. The only problem was that they rarely played anything other than “Motown.” Now, I don't dislike Motown music, but I really didn't want to listen to Diana Ross and The Supremes the whole gawdamn night!
It may seem obvious now, but rock 'n' roll was so new that there were no “oldies,” or “classic rock” radio stations back in the day. If an artist, or group, didn't continually crank out new hits, they completely disappeared from the airwaves. That didn't change until sometime in the late 60s, early 70s. I mention this because Buddy Holly disappeared from the radio shortly after his untimely death, and I didn't hear him on the radio again for well over a decade.
The disappearance of “cold” artists and groups may, however, not be a new phenomena. These days I seem to see an endless stream of pop artists that come, make a big splash for a couple of months, and are never seen again. Most of the time I barely notice their comings and goings.
Big money made its impact on music fairly early. Even the local radio stations were playing paided-to-play garbage. We would-be rockers barraged them with complaints about it, but the corporate money was too good to pass up, and they simply ignored us.
I don't watch much TV, and most of what I do watch I record on TiVo, as I have no patience for commercials. So, my exposure to 21C music is, pretty much, limited to whatever new artist or group appears on Saturday Night Live. In truth, I am generally underwhelmed by what I see and hear. I don't remember a particular artist's name from last year, but she sang something completely forgettable, struck poses in a skintight bodysuit, and rolled around on a dais. I guessed that that was supposed to be “performance art.” But, the girls down at the local nudie bar (BYO) roll around, take off their bodysuits, and do it to much, much better music. The only new artist I've seen/heard recently that made a favorable impression on me is Ed Sheeran. I'm sure there are a few others out there, but again, I pay little attention to 21C music.
I don't think Pop music has changed much over the years. There are new performers, of course, but it's mostly the same old bland stuff. Occasionally the Pop music people do come out with something really good, but I think it's more by accident than by design. The only real difference I've noted in Pop music is that the women now prance around in skimpier outfits. But, once again, the girls down at the local nudie bar do that to much, much better music.
I do not like Rap “music.” There, I said it. Yes, I know, it's the music of a different generation, and the music of a different subculture. And, that generation and subculture is welcome to keep it all to themselves, as far as I'm concerned. Seriously, to me it's boringly simplistic, and repetitive. And, it's so obtrusive that I find it difficult to “tune it out.” (Perhaps not being able to “tune it out” is part of it's attraction to this different generation/subculture?) Anyway, at least those C&W twangers have the decency to be ignorable.
Still, as with the old “rock 'n' rollers” who abandon the genre for C&W, I can't help but wonder if a lot of young people listen to Rap out of subtle peer pressure, and don't really care for it all that much in the first place. Thinking back on it, I'm certain a lot of those old “rock 'n' rollers” would have been listening to C&W, if “the cool kids” weren't listening to something else.
And so, I who once thought Rock 'N' Roll Will Never Die is not so sure anymore. But, I intend to buy a license plate frame for my old hot rod that proclaims it, now that I'm retired, and have time to work on “The Roach” once again.
If you were to look at my collection of old records and CDs, you would see the following:
A lot of stuff by Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and others of that era.
A lot of The Moody Blues.
However, I rarely listen to them anymore.
A lot of The Rolling Stones.
“Far Away Eyes” is my favorite C&W song. Even though the hired band didn't know the song, my old gang and I sang it at my wedding reception in 1979.
A lot of The Who.
They produced an absolutely amazing body of work.
A lot of The Doors.
Jim Morrison was A True Rock 'N' Roll God™.
So many of my friends had asked me about it over the years, that I finally made the pilgrimage to his grave. But, it wasn't at all what I expected. First of all, the internal, painted maps in the cemetery were worst than useless. And, the cemetery lies in really rugged terrain. After wandering around for nearly an hour, and ready to give up, I finally noticed the graffiti carved into one of the many mausoleums. Then, following the long, blazed trail of graffiti, I spotted a French policewoman, standing beside a bicycle, on the next steep hill. Upon climbing the hill I found the simplest of graves. And, around the grave were a bunch of pimply-faced pre-teenages with many thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment dangling from their necks. (I mean, did those asswipes really need three Nikons each, just to take pictures of a grave?) Those dweebs were so uncool I don't doubt Jim would have been rolling over in that simple grave, if he's really even in there.
A lot of Meatloaf.
It doesn't get much better than “Bat Out of Hell” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.”
A lot of George Thorogood.
His stuff never gets old for me. Plus he covered a lot of the old R&B men, who never got any “Top 40” air time.
A lot of Dire Straits.
I love that bluesy sound.
A lot of Bob Dylan.
I listen to Bob a lot while I'm driving, but I often just turn him off. After all, I know the songs by heart, my tempo is often better than his, and my singing is much, much better.
A lot of Bob Seger.
Or, as I call him, “Bob the Younger.”
A lot of The Grateful Dead.
I listen to them a lot while I'm driving too. They, “Far Away Eyes,” and some old R&B type stuff from Hank Williams Sr. is about as close as I get to C&W music.
Then there's an odd mixture of other stuff, like Steppenwolf, The Hollies, Ray Charles, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and many long forgotten bands.
But, that's just me. Listen to what you like.
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