Comments | scooterbird: Reflections on a classic time

scooterbird

Reflections on a classic time

Nov 27, 2007 02:24

My sister recently asked me to burn her an album of songs which might be popular around the time of the Vietnam War, and generally iconic of that time and those circumstances. So I futzed around in my collection and found some songs which I thought of as emblematic of the time: psychedelia, soul, soft pop, and straight ahead rock 'n' roll, with ( Read more... )

rant, music

Leave a comment

Back to all threads

papertigers November 27 2007, 11:48:31 UTC

I agree with bluetara2020 that you stacked the decks; a list of songs you like vs. a list of merely popular songs is always going to win. I can't tell if the second list is better than the first, though, since I don't know most of the songs on either.

scooterbird November 27 2007, 17:19:39 UTC

Eh. I do admit as much, in a way, but the contrast is still amazing, and far more than that would suggest. Of the old songs I list, the one that really didn't do anything when it was released was "Break On Through". ("Share the Land" also was considered a disappointment when released.)

efbq is also giving me shit about this...I mean, yes, I could make up a list of stuff I like from 2004-2007 and it would be good, and I could go digging and put "Eve of Destruction" and Jay and the Americans on the list and such. That's not the point. There are two points here: first, that if you look at music in 1965 and in 1970, it changed dramatically for the better, and that was due to some amazing artists at work and songs being crafted in a very short time. I'd hold this period over any other since as being that way...the most significant period of its kind in popular music ( ... )

papertigers November 27 2007, 17:43:42 UTC

Those were the "merely popular" songs. Same deal, right?

now you're asking the wrong daughter; I don't like the Beatles or the Stones. ;) ask the other one when she's back from Serbia. :-P I was unequally unfond of the top 5 from your first list, though; the only thing there I'd even heard was "Bring Me To Life" (which I do like).

scooterbird November 27 2007, 18:57:17 UTC

Pfeh. btw, did you want a copy of the oldies CD to listen to? (A perfectly legal, not ripped at all, nosirreebob, copy, o' course, as this is a public post.)

Kid-1, btw, has taken to putting Beatles on her iPod. No prompting from me. Gloat, gloat, proud, proud.

papertigers November 27 2007, 19:15:34 UTC

GIMME GIMME GIMME. I did listen to Abbey Rd the other day with a fair amount of non-cringing, but generally those boys' voices grate like anything. I love the songs themselves, though (I'm on a mission to acquire every Beatles cover album I can).

scooterbird November 28 2007, 16:57:46 UTC

Well, there's only one Beatles song on there, though if that's your beef with them, I can't imagine how you'll react to Bob Dylan.

So which songs on there have you heard before?

papertigers November 28 2007, 17:36:24 UTC

to my certain knowledge, I've heard:
"The Times They Are A-Changin'"
"All Along the Watchtower"
"For What It's Worth"
"Time Has Come Today"
"Soul Man"
"All You Need Is Love"
"Good Vibrations"
"Scarborough Fair"

but a lot of the music I know really well I don't realize I know; just as an example, I didn't know what For What It's Worth was called or who performed it til I saw it on a list of songs from episodes of The West Wing. I've also hated Scarborough Fair (and most of the Simon and Garfunkel songbook, though I find Paul Simon tolerable solo) for much of my life without knowing who they were. and yes, Bob Dylan's voice is similarly grating, but since there's only one of him, I can look past it to appreciate his gift with lyrics and music.

Back to all threads