Auburn Annie
03-11-2009, 12:59 PM
Music brings us together and divides us
By FRAN COPELAND, FOR THE DAILY SUN
Last week, Jerry and I celebrated his birthday a bit early by attending the Eagles tribute concert at Savannah Center.
We both enjoyed it immensely; great music, good showmanship, and an abundance of energy and real hair.
As we were leaving at the end of the show, I heard a woman say, “Not bad. It was OK.”
I couldn’t help wondering what the heck people want.
When it comes to music, I guess people want what they like and only what they like.
And they want other people to like what they like.
I imagine, when the first man to bang two sticks together realized he could get people to respond to the sound, one or more folks said, “Ugh. Good tune, but can’t dance to it.”
I think music should be added to religion and politics as a subject to avoid when in polite society.
Wouldn’t it be awful if countries went to war simply because their tastes in music differed?
Imagine bloody clashes between a kingdom whose national anthem is “You Light Up My Life” and a principality whose armed forces march to “Play That Funky Music, White Boy.”
That would be pretty awful.
I like Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Diamond and Merle Haggard. I also am pretty sure Barry Manilow really does write the songs that make the whole world sing.
When it comes to rap and the late, unlamented disco craze, I am grateful some thoughtful person invented on/off switches and volume control knobs.
I would rather spend a week trapped in a room with no windows with Stephen King, than endure 10 seconds of rap.
As far as I know, there are no binding, legal prenuptial agreements available for couples who discover that each cannot stomach the other’s music.
You cannot go running to court because you spend the day singing the entire score from “Camelot” while your spouse goes about his day humming “Werewolves of London.”
In our house, my husband has had to endure countless playings of Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind,” while I have put up with, ad nauseam, the strains of “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
We knew when we met in 1972 that Jerry was a Rolling Stones sort of guy, while I leaned more toward the Beatles.
We got married anyway, but I think it is important that people iron out these potential areas of friction before they strut their stuff to the “Wedding March.”
Tolerance is necessary in a lot of areas if we all are to co-exist peacefully in society and in the world at large.
Not everyone marches (or dances or hums) to the tune of the same drummer. How boring that would be.
I once fell asleep during a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert at Boston Garden.
I dreaded it when Jerry dragged me to see the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra perform the music of Led Zeppelin. (I am not a hard rock fan.)
However, I was moved to the strains of “Stairway to Heaven” played on a harp. I could have missed it, and that would have been a shame. Good rock-harp music is hard to find on Earth.
We are so fortunate that our favorite ear candy (doesn’t that sound gross?) can be recorded for future listening.
Imagine hearing a song that, for you romance fans out there, touches “every fiber of your being,” then you never hear it again.
That would, for me, be a passport to hell rather than a stairway to heaven.
Of course, there are those recording artists who transcend classification, who can both soothe the soul of the savage beast and also get the comatose out on the dance floor to shake their booties.
James Taylor and Carly Simon come to mind. They do something for just about everybody. They just could not do it together for very long.
By the way, have you ever heard “Tubas in the Moonlight” by the Bonzo Doo-Dah Dog Band? It is Jerry’s favorite song.
He gets to play it once a year. As many times as he wants.
On his birthday. Which was yesterday.
I may recover some time before Christmas.
Where the heck is Elton John when you need him?
Fran Copeland is a Villages resident and freelance columnist. She can be reached at francopelandrn@aol.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------
My husband's favorite song is "Rock Steady" by the Whispers. He's a big Earth Wind and Fire fan. Loves Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor. None of that sends me screaming into the night. After all, I grew up with Boots Randolph playing Yackety Sax and fabulous Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians' "Twas the Night Before Christmas" album which features "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" done a la Spike Jones, plus Strauss waltzes, Burl Ives, orchestra recordings by Jackie Gleason and Mantovani, and Broadway original cast albums. I came of age during the folk revival (Gord, of course, Peter Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, early Dylan) and have albums by Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, and Jean Ritchie among others.
I do think people have a tendency to get "wedded" to a style which had the most personal meaning for them, often in their teens or other formative period. But while I never wax nostalgic for Boots, I appreciate the exposure I had to such a variety of musical styles. Today's kids have little idea what they're missing. Yes, there are channels that address different tastes (rap, roots, world, electronica, etc.) but there's no ovelap on those stations. In the past, you could hear ALL sorts on the same station at any given hour: Elvis cheek-by-jowl with Tony Bennett etc. In 1963 you had Joan Baez and Wayne Newton, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke and Bobby Rydell. In 1964 you had the Beatles (in English AND German)and Rolling Stones but also Ray Charles, Dean Martin, Chuck Berry and James Brown, Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto (The Girl from Ipanema - Grammy record of the year), Al Hirt and the Beach Boys etc. No way would hear a mix like that on one show today (except an oldies program).
By FRAN COPELAND, FOR THE DAILY SUN
Last week, Jerry and I celebrated his birthday a bit early by attending the Eagles tribute concert at Savannah Center.
We both enjoyed it immensely; great music, good showmanship, and an abundance of energy and real hair.
As we were leaving at the end of the show, I heard a woman say, “Not bad. It was OK.”
I couldn’t help wondering what the heck people want.
When it comes to music, I guess people want what they like and only what they like.
And they want other people to like what they like.
I imagine, when the first man to bang two sticks together realized he could get people to respond to the sound, one or more folks said, “Ugh. Good tune, but can’t dance to it.”
I think music should be added to religion and politics as a subject to avoid when in polite society.
Wouldn’t it be awful if countries went to war simply because their tastes in music differed?
Imagine bloody clashes between a kingdom whose national anthem is “You Light Up My Life” and a principality whose armed forces march to “Play That Funky Music, White Boy.”
That would be pretty awful.
I like Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Diamond and Merle Haggard. I also am pretty sure Barry Manilow really does write the songs that make the whole world sing.
When it comes to rap and the late, unlamented disco craze, I am grateful some thoughtful person invented on/off switches and volume control knobs.
I would rather spend a week trapped in a room with no windows with Stephen King, than endure 10 seconds of rap.
As far as I know, there are no binding, legal prenuptial agreements available for couples who discover that each cannot stomach the other’s music.
You cannot go running to court because you spend the day singing the entire score from “Camelot” while your spouse goes about his day humming “Werewolves of London.”
In our house, my husband has had to endure countless playings of Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind,” while I have put up with, ad nauseam, the strains of “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
We knew when we met in 1972 that Jerry was a Rolling Stones sort of guy, while I leaned more toward the Beatles.
We got married anyway, but I think it is important that people iron out these potential areas of friction before they strut their stuff to the “Wedding March.”
Tolerance is necessary in a lot of areas if we all are to co-exist peacefully in society and in the world at large.
Not everyone marches (or dances or hums) to the tune of the same drummer. How boring that would be.
I once fell asleep during a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert at Boston Garden.
I dreaded it when Jerry dragged me to see the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra perform the music of Led Zeppelin. (I am not a hard rock fan.)
However, I was moved to the strains of “Stairway to Heaven” played on a harp. I could have missed it, and that would have been a shame. Good rock-harp music is hard to find on Earth.
We are so fortunate that our favorite ear candy (doesn’t that sound gross?) can be recorded for future listening.
Imagine hearing a song that, for you romance fans out there, touches “every fiber of your being,” then you never hear it again.
That would, for me, be a passport to hell rather than a stairway to heaven.
Of course, there are those recording artists who transcend classification, who can both soothe the soul of the savage beast and also get the comatose out on the dance floor to shake their booties.
James Taylor and Carly Simon come to mind. They do something for just about everybody. They just could not do it together for very long.
By the way, have you ever heard “Tubas in the Moonlight” by the Bonzo Doo-Dah Dog Band? It is Jerry’s favorite song.
He gets to play it once a year. As many times as he wants.
On his birthday. Which was yesterday.
I may recover some time before Christmas.
Where the heck is Elton John when you need him?
Fran Copeland is a Villages resident and freelance columnist. She can be reached at francopelandrn@aol.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------
My husband's favorite song is "Rock Steady" by the Whispers. He's a big Earth Wind and Fire fan. Loves Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor. None of that sends me screaming into the night. After all, I grew up with Boots Randolph playing Yackety Sax and fabulous Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians' "Twas the Night Before Christmas" album which features "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" done a la Spike Jones, plus Strauss waltzes, Burl Ives, orchestra recordings by Jackie Gleason and Mantovani, and Broadway original cast albums. I came of age during the folk revival (Gord, of course, Peter Paul & Mary, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, early Dylan) and have albums by Pete Seeger, The Kingston Trio, and Jean Ritchie among others.
I do think people have a tendency to get "wedded" to a style which had the most personal meaning for them, often in their teens or other formative period. But while I never wax nostalgic for Boots, I appreciate the exposure I had to such a variety of musical styles. Today's kids have little idea what they're missing. Yes, there are channels that address different tastes (rap, roots, world, electronica, etc.) but there's no ovelap on those stations. In the past, you could hear ALL sorts on the same station at any given hour: Elvis cheek-by-jowl with Tony Bennett etc. In 1963 you had Joan Baez and Wayne Newton, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke and Bobby Rydell. In 1964 you had the Beatles (in English AND German)and Rolling Stones but also Ray Charles, Dean Martin, Chuck Berry and James Brown, Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto (The Girl from Ipanema - Grammy record of the year), Al Hirt and the Beach Boys etc. No way would hear a mix like that on one show today (except an oldies program).