Music for old people

Subtitle: My musical roots

One of my top five music related films (actually, it’s in my top fifty DVD-worthy list as well) is Hi Fidelity, by Nick Hornby. I aspire one day to write a novel as witty and deeply meaningful as this. One day…

To the point, in one scene, protagonist Rob is goaded into hosting a CD release party for a band he’s produced, and on that event poster he reads (and this is directly from the screenplay):

EXT. CLARK STREET – MORNING

Rob walks to work, drinking his coffee. He stops and backs
up a few feet, and stares at a poster on a plywood board-up.

“‘I SOLD MY MOM’S WHEELCHAIR” the debut single from The
Kinky Wizards on Broken Records
Record release party July 20 at The Artful Dodger
Featuring the triumphant return of DJROB GORDON
“Dance Music For Old People”

Rob scowls, and storms off.

Dance music for old people. I’ll get back to why I find that important later.

Those who know me know of my love of music. Back in the day when CDs were big, I’d amassed a collection of over five hundred. That wasn’t so long ago. I was, as they say, an early adopter. The first CDs I ever bought (bought along with my first high fidelity stereo system, NAD) were Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Talk Talk’s It’s My Life. Medievel secular music and late eighties new wave – a more disparate duo would be hard to find.

This is Oh Fortuna, from Carmina Burana. Just in case you weren’t familiar.

I am firmly a child of the eighties. Yes, I know there was much dreck (Milli Vanilli, Boy George, Billy Ocean, and many many more), but there was also the brilliance of Peter Gabriel, New Order, INXS, Joe Jackson, The Pet Shop Boys, and many many others.

But the first record (yes, actual vinyl LP) I ever owned, I found in the garbage room of the 21st floor of 200 Wellesly St. East.: Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water. Looking and thinking back to that album, it is now very clear to me how my musical developed.

From the title track, I learned to appreciate and love the nuance of metaphor in lyrics (“Sail on, silver girl, sail on by.”). From The Boxer, guitar and harmony, and from The Only Living Boy in New York, percussion and the role of musical influence.

I’ve loved the folk genre ever since.

I remember also the very first record (again, a vinyl LP) that I actually bought, which was Queen’s News of the World. I can’t for the life of me remember what attracted me to this album. Perhaps it was the mass popularity of We Will Rock You, and perhaps that has fueled my ongoing dislike of smarmy, commercial pop singles. Commercial music in general, in fact.

And of course, my musical tastes have changed since then. Although I still love much of what I listened to back then, there is so much good stuff being put out now that one cannot fail to be sucked in. You just need to be able to find it, and know what to look for.

I’m not old, and my mom’s not old (sorry for suggesting otherwise, mom) but we’re all older. And yet, for some reason, I’m not like my father, or many of my cohort in that I don’t dream of the “golden age of music”, whatever that is. Or was. I like some of the music of today (what I rationalize to myself as being the “good” stuff”) but dislike most of it.

What’s good? Well, that’s a list for a future post (for which this is merely a preamble). What’s bad? That’s easier. Nickleback, SixxAM, Puddle of Mudd (indeed any band that has kreativ spelling) anything sung by an Idol. You get the message.

I’m opinionated in my musical taste. pf which more, later.

And so what is music for old people? It’s not classic rawk, and it isn’t necessarily popular. It is musically sound, usually more than three chords, with a unique sound, and perhaps even lyrics that mean something to someone. It’s intelligent, thinking music with a beat. It’s catchy, but not mainstream.

Funny… I’m reminded here of two things. In Hi Fidelity, there’s an automatic disqualification for the inclusion of a song on a top five list because it’s in the soundtrack of The Big Chill. And Woody Allen lamented about never wanting to be member of a club that allowed him to join.

It’s an aside. I have a few of those.

But hey, a top five list of bands I could not live without on a desert island?

1. Dave Matthews Band
2. Matthew Good
3. Counting Crows
4. Tragically Hip
5. Neil Young

And that’s not a list of music for old people – what we should all be paying attention to musically (if you like reading what I’ve presented so far).