From yesterday's new music in 2024 to today's selection of 14 songs from 1954. I wonder what people in 2094, on the edge of the 22nd century, will think of today's music, similarly seven decades in the past?
A fair few of these have come from cover-mounted CDs with Mojo or Uncut magazine, usually delving into the songs that inspired the likes of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Fleetwood Mac. It's
hard to imagine the thrill of the new back in '54, when the needle hit
the platter and people heard these songs for the very first time.
When I was a teen, this music was already 30 years old and really sounded like it was from another time. Lady K listens to a lot of music that's 30 years old but the music of 1994 doesn't feel so dated or different from much of the music that's being made today.
And whilst I see and hear that in a positive way, music as a continual complement and inspiration rather than homogenous regurgitation, it's good sometimes to go back to music that in so many ways has informed and inspired music right up to the present day but is also very much of its time.
1) Blue Moon Of Kentucky: Bill Monroe
2) I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine: Elvis Presley
3) (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock: Bill Haley & His Comets
4) I'm Just A Country Boy: Harry Belafonte
5) Hernando's Hideaway: Arche Blever
6) Rose Marie: Slim Whitman
7) Grande Jacques (C'est Trop Facile): Jacques Brel
8) Joy Spring: Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet
9) Shake It: Johnny Otis & His Orchestra
10) When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer: B.B. King
11) Last Night: Little Walter
12) The Streets Of Laredo: Roy Rogers
13) No Place To Go: Howlin' Wolf
14) Katy Cruel: Peggy Seeger
A thought provoking post. I guess my thoughts on all the above are that the 3 minute banger was happening in 1954/94/2024. What we've lost in the last 30 years is the appreciation of the album. Interesting that Stephen Wilson's podcast re: great albums stops at 1998. I think that all generations until 2094 will love a 3 minute great song but will that generation be able to listen to a whole double album like we did?...not sure (and i feel a sadder world for it..)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike. I'm surprised at how much my own listening experiences have changed over the years. I still enjoy getting a new vinyl album and the whole (inter)action that goes with the playing and listening experience but I would say that it doesn't - and can't - have the same impact that it did on me as a teen.
DeleteI'm glad though that many artists do still focus on creating albums as statements/snapshots of where they are and what they want to say at a particular point in time. That said, if I flick onto another Sunday Brunch interview with a musician where Simon Rimmer asks for the billionth time about whether they see their album as a "body of work"...!
An excellent selection. Yes, if Back To The Future happened today, Marty McFly would be travelling back to 1994. That's why they can't EVER do a remake.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, Rol, they probably shouldn't have made Back To The Future 2 and 3 either...
DeleteA great selection. Sinatra released his classicSongs for Young Lovers album in the January of '54. There's a wealth of material that could've turned your 14 track playlist into a 15 track playlist!
ReplyDeleteAh, Songs For Young Lovers. It was a jewel in my friend Stuart's dad's record collection and slightly offset his Cliff Richard obsession. Sadly, I've yet to get my own copy of the album John, otherwise it would have made the selection, I'm sure!
DeleteJM
ReplyDelete