#Popular music

[rosiexjo]

Girltober Day Twenty: Florence + the Machine

[stone-cold-groove]

Ringos.

[rhapsodynew]

Behind the scenes of Sergeant Pepper.

What would they do with modern capabilities?! The guys were super creative and talented! 😃

[citizenscreen]

“American Bandstand" began broadcasting nationally #OnThisDay in 1957.

The show that evolved into "American Bandstand" began on Philadelphia’s WFIL-TV in 1952. Dick Clark took over as host in the summer of 1956 and pushed for a national audience.

[victusinveritas]

Mapping Europe’s Most Successful Music Artists by Country.

[wiserebeltiger]

Anyone else feeling this lately?

[emilyscastlevania]

Missing @thebandghostofficial 🧛🏻‍♂️

[tilbageidanmark]

LPs

[schibborasso]

Peter Gabriel photo by Clive Arrowsmith, 1978

[rosiexjo]

Girltober Day Twenty Six: Aurora

[novelties-and-notions]

From The Complete Works of Piers Q MacBean, volume 8, Despatches From a Dark Cupboard (or Closet

I have found an odd musical memory, tucked away in a corner of this dark cupboard (or closet).

Some acquaintances in the music business had arranged for me to meet Bing Crosby, to consult him on a matter of vocalisation. He had graciously managed to find a few minutes for me before his radio broadcast. I made my way to his dressing room and found the famous crooner pacing up and down, a benevolent smile on his face. On seeing me, he extended a welcoming hand.

"So kind of you to see me, Mr Crosby. I wonder if I could ask you…"

He raised a hand to cut me off. "Ba ba-ba b-boom," he sang in that familiar baritone.

I was a little taken aback, but I tried again. "Perhaps you can help me…"

"Ba-zoo da-di-di da-zoom," was his reply.

For the first time, I noticed the burly figure of the musical director John Scott Trotter, sitting in the corner of the room, with his face in his hands. He lifted his head and gave me a despairing glance. "He's been like this for hours. I haven't been able to do anything with him. And we go on the air in half an hour."

"Dwee dwee ba-di-di di-di-di"

Trotter shook his head. "He went to see Louis Armstrong this afternoon, and you know how he is."

Crosby began whistling melodiously. Trotter buried his face in his hands once more, muttering "What will the sponsors say?"

"Ba-ba-baba ba-da ba-zoo-zoo dwiddy-bi da-zit" opined the singer.

"I quite agree," I said, not knowing how else to respond. His face brightened, and he sang rapidly "Do-dat di-viddly za di-waz-waz vizi vit-vit ba-bop," then fell into silence.

There was a long pause, then, without warning, he shook his head and began to sing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know," then quietly added "Dap-dap da-da-doo di-di-di."

Trotter leaned forward eagerly. "I believe he's coming out of it," he exclaimed.

"Where the tree tops glisten, and children listen…"

"Yes, he's definitely coming out of it. I think you had better go."

With that he hustled me out of the room. I left, gratefully humming that timeless magical tune from a long-ago white Christmas just like the ones I never knew.

[rhapsodynew]

Autumn is beautiful...The golden autumn has come!

[citizenscreen]

On March 14, 1958, the RIAA awarded its first official Gold Record to Perry Como for his smash-hit single “Catch A Falling Star.”

[anxietyfrappuccino]

why are there so many sex songs on the radio

[fashionlandscapeblog]

That older generations always criticized younger ones' taste in music is no novelty (old man yells at cloud). It's a fact of time and aging (when we become older, we're less flexible + tolerant to new ideas). Furthermore, traditionally, older generations criticized newer ones because of being 'too rebellious', 'too loud', too 'progressive in ideas' and 'too out there'. However, when a Gen Xer criticizes Gen Z's music it is quite often because of the opposite: it lacks the rebelliousness, loudness, and experimentation our generation's music had. Rock, the ultimate loud, iconoclastic, and rebellious genre of music is basically extinct. The Gen Z top 40 is traditionally poppy and agreeable with the status quo. So doesn't it seem the opposite? Am I really old, or is this generation too conformist in terms of music? Bob Dylan called this generation's music 'too smooth and painless' and people being now 'pill poppers, cube heads and day trippers'. If that's an old man yelling at the sky, is the average Taylor Swift listener an iconoclast and a punk? Am I the only one who doubts the latter?

P.S. There has never been in history more diversity and creativity in music than there is now in the Internet/Information era, yet music has never sounded more the same and you gotta spend hours to find something listenworthy outside the top 100 on Youtube/TikTok, while we, Gen Xers had experimental/alternative music in the Top 40 (admittedly, amongst a LOT of crap). Gen Z is politically superior to the coward Gen X, a big part of it is the contemporary 'hippie' generation, just not in terms of music, and that's what this rant is all about.