Hello,
I am guest posting for Mr. Wednesday as he is detained out of the city for the time being.
So we’ll give it a go. All I could think to write about was me and my music experiences, and luckily this Thin Lizzy stuff is feeding right into it. So, read on if you care to.
I’m not sure why I like some music over others, but I do know it definitely helps to have an open mind and encouragement to like something never heard before, or even heard but disliked. Look at Cramer’s experience with Thin Lizzy. That’s what I’m talking about.
When I began, my parents were into happy, friendly, 50s rock, especially the kind that leaned over a bit to the sexy side. So, that gave me a good base, but I kept hearing other music and I was intrigued. I guess it was curiosity.
What came next was rock of the Rolling Stones variety as well as disco. I was born in ’68, so you can feel the era. So my first album was Donna Summers and my first tape was the Rolling Stones. I remember them because they were the only ones I picked out in a span of years which was probably 5.
My step-father gave me a bunch of country albums and I liked those as well. We’re talking outlaw country. And that music is about having a good time, and I wanted my step-father to like me, and I wanted to have a good time, and it’s fun singing about raising hell when you’re 11. My step-father had a friend who once pulled out a gun to shoot a roach running around his dining room ceiling. He shot it. These were rock ‘n roll attitudes, but in country. I liked it.
In the midst a friend asked if I liked this song by Hall and Oates and I’d never heard of them. She sniffed and was amazed I’d never heard of them. From then on, for some reason it was important to me to know what was going on musically.
Then new wave came along and everybody was doing it in high school. I went to my first concerts, Robert Plant, the Cure, Depeche Mode.
Then off to college where everybody in my circle of friends really listened to 60s music all of the time. It was really weird, actually, looking back. I’m not sure why we did that but it seemed so natural. I mean, I was going to Love and Rockets concerts as well as the Ramones, but I listened to so much Stones and Dylan and my god there was one night where everyone was singing Beatles songs. I had enough by then.
A close friend really loved the Grateful Dead and I really tried to like them and finally, after a few years, I liked them ok. Another close friend really loved Bruce Springsteen and The Modern Lovers. The Modern Lovers was an instant hit, but Bruce took a little longer. Today, I love that guy.
Then came the boyfriends and the music they brought.
Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Enya
John Cage
Led Zeppelin
The Lounge Lizards
this weird music that I can’t even remember the name but I think D&D guys love it
Blues, the genre
one guy told me never to listen to live albums
Brian Eno, music that isn’t really music
another guy told me jazz was dead and to stop listening to it
Leonard Cohen
At this point I’m listening to other stuff I never thought I’d like. I know I specifically said when I was in my 20s that I would never like any of that blue hair stuff like Mel Torme or Frank Sinatra. I’m the opposite now.
And I remember listening to this Grace Jones song on the radio in the 80s thinking it was the worst song I had ever heard in my life. I didn’t know who it was for almost a decade, and then I recognized it and liked it!
And I never liked REM in the day, or the Smiths. Now I love the Smiths, and can tolerate REM.
And though I love blues music, I can’t really listen to it right now, and haven’t been able to for years. It might not come back, but I’m ok with that. But I could watch it live if it was a good show. Did you guys ever make it to a lounge, I think it was called Etta’s Lounge, of 610 and around TC Jester or so, and Etta would sing with her feather boa? Man, that was a show.
So, what I think is that music is more about what you have going on on right now, personally, and not necessarily about if it’s good or not.
Kind of like if you haven’t heard about Jesus and then you die, I really don’t think you’re going to hell. If you want to think about it in that way.
It’s better than thinking about like that one scientist who wrote an article saying that past a certain age you’re not going to listen to new music anymore. Whatever. And I read another article that said each generation gets progressively more liberal, but more odd was that it showed that a person rarely changes their political thinking. I mean, people can barely keep their minds about anything, but they can keep a particular political view for the span of their lives? Bizarre.
I am just happy to keep finding new music, and discovering old music I never gave a chance or got a chance to really listen to.
Just popping in to say that was really amusing. I like how, in going through the boyfriend music list, that there are certain boyfriends like Mr. “jazz is dead/stop listening to it” boyfriend and my gut reaction from that scrap of information is “What a dick! Clearly, he was a bad boyfriend.”
this weird music that I can’t even remember the name but I think D&D guys love it
That would be Rush.
haha, I was thinking King Crimson, Justin.
nice post Ramona. I tend to agree with you which is why I have a hard time understanding how people make overarching statements like, everything this band did sucks, or I’m gonna love this band forever and ever. Seems to me that music appreciation has a lot to do, as you say, with context.
Maybe, Carlos, but there’s a place for passion too. You might want to lighten up just a wee bit.
I’m old…
You guys were so close! I looked up King Crimson in allmusic and what do you know, the band I was thinking of is a similar artist! Marillion.
You’re just very left-brained Carlos. Me too. I try not to be. I hear the right brain is so fun.
I hear the right brain is so fun.
That is an awesome video, as most of those TED videos are.
I remember Etta’s being down Scott street from UH… are we talking about different places?
I think that club was actually on Ella Street, definitely not next to UH, and that’s why I keep forgetting that woman’s name. Etta on Ella? Not sure anymore.
I do remember that place near UH though. It was fantastic the one time I was there. They bought us beer and we were very under-dressed and the only white people there.
Yeah, eventually the Rice kids took it over and it wasn’t as fun, but my first few years of college I had a lot of fun at Etta’s on Scott street. Whenever one of the regulars had a birthday, everyone would buy them a bottle of booze, and then they’d get out the plastic cups and everyone would file by, wish them a happy birthday, and they’d pour you a drink from their newfound stash. It was awesome.
Yes that is Etta’s, Charlie. Great place.
Thanks Ramona for posting. I really enjoyed this one too. I get what you’re saying about context but at the same time I do like expressing how one feels at the moment. Makes for more interesting discourse. Just wish I had more time right now to explain exactly why I am not a member of the TLAS. It’s actually a timely issue for me.
Some day also, I’ll tell y’all what positive thing Ramona did for me in the past, musically speaking. Even though it made me feel old and feeble at the time.
I’m pretty sure I’m older than you, Wed., so don’t go all feeble on me as I’m not ready yet.
Did it have something to do with being shaved?
I think it was that cha cha song, which by the way, my boy shakes his whole body to when it comes on. So funny.
I get what you’re saying, about passion, and of the moment. I need to work on that.
BTW, this is my favorite TED video, though that other one is a close second.
look at that, people do change their politics – Mamet switches from liberal to conservative
I have a Marillion song on this computer, and it’s fucking terrible. Does anyone know where I can watch Spinal Tap online for free?
I hadn’t seen that TED video. That guy is pretty funny. But I was multitasking while watching it, so there go his theories about the relative size of my corpus callosum.
look at that, people do change their politics
I read that Voice piece last week. Mamet may have changed some of his views, but it’s not like he went all David Horowitz or anything–he just thinks that the State doesn’t need to try to fix people’s lives.
But it’s a change, and that is good. The content is good or bad in the eye of the beholder.
I really love Ken Robinson as the subject he talks about is something I’m really interested in, and as I’m totally into dance, the revelatory moment really hit a nerve with me. “She’s not sick, she’s a dancer.” So, cool. In fact, dammit, I’m not putting it off any longer, I’m going to get his book right now.
I watched the TED video this morning about the stroke and it made me sad. I started to watch the presentation about refusing to age, but the kiddo is pretty disruptive. I want to watch more on this site. Thanks for the link…
But it’s a change, and that is good.
True. It’s interesting that he starts the piece about how he doesn’t believe in government intervention with a quote from Keynes who was a proponent of government intervention.
Also, for fun. a quote from Churchill:
“If you put two economists in a room, you get two opinions, unless one of them is Lord Keynes, in which case you get three opinions.”