I enjoy old things. Antiques, movies…if it was made before I was born, there’s a good chance I’ll like it. It’s probably why I tend to read from authors who are already dead. But in general, I find us as a society becoming more and more nostalgic. Let’s blame technology.
That’s not what I want to talk about.
With my love for the old, it’s no surprise I love black and white movies (I’ve talked about this before) and don’t have many friends my own age (but that’s another story, isn’t it?)
A while ago I watched the movie Jersey Boys and from that fell in love with…doo wop. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons remained constant on my playlist.
Now, I had a love already for old school country. Give me Hank William Sr. or Charley Pride any day. But other than that from the 50s and 60s all I really knew were Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and The Drifters.
So let’s turn the dial for a second to a simpler time (oh, that was cliché.)
Here are (a few of) my favorite singers and songs from that era:
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons – Walk Like A Man, Sherry, and Silhouettes
The Everly Brothers – That’s Old Fashion (That’s The Way It Should Be), Bird Dog, Cathy’s Clown…and pretty much all their songs.
Ricky Nelson – Teenage Idol, Travelin’ Man, and It’s Up To You
Dion (& The Belmonts / & The Teenagers) – I Wonder Why
Ritchie Valens – We Belong Together
Paul Anka – Put Your Head On My Shoulder
The Marcels – Blue Moon
The Drifters – Up On The Roof
The Del-Vikings – Come Go With Me
Danny & The Juniors – Now and Then
I’ve even got my niece into it. She’s seven and her favorite is Sherry.
Most of modern-day music is trash. Not all, but most. I’m not saying the 50s and 60s had the most interesting lyricists either.
It’s simply nice to listen to.
Like, wouldn’t it be nice to just go to a diner with your friends and have burgers and fries and cherry pies because it was simple and good back then?
(For people who don’t know Charley Pride, the end of that sentence is a line from one of his songs.)
I think the way that social media brings us together online, distances us in real life.
There’s a reason so many people claim to be born in the wrong time.
Just something to think about – and listen to if you’re up for it.
Memoir of a Writer 
social media brought us together pre-2011. Once marketers realized the goldmine of social media data mining, social media became just another way for businesses to exploit us. I’d like to be able to have a dinner at a restaurant without someone at the table scrolling their phone, but those days are gone. lol
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That’s got to be one of the most annoying things. Someone on their phone at dinner. Or even if I’m at their house. I think, “I didn’t come over to watch you scroll.”
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“Computer (alexa) play Beach Boy’s Radio” (iHeart radio seems to mix them well, just heard the big bopper, buddy holly, la bamba, and a dozen others from that era.)
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I love old black & white movies. My grandfather used to try to get me to watch TCM with him. At first, my thought was, “Uhg! Black and white? Yuck!” Then I got addicted to TCM. I’ll watch anything Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Kubrick…
Musically, I love Doo Wop, Frank Sinatra, Lead Belly… I like to creep into the 70s too with John Lennon and David Bowie. I can find quality music in all eras.
I think too often people get caught up in what’s popular instead of quality. It’s like there’s a mentality that great art can only be created in one’s lifetime. Anything else is just old.
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Cary Grant is one of my favorites, as well as William Powell!
That’s an interesting idea – that there’s a mentality that great art can only be created in one’s lifetime. I wonder how true it is for people.
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The movies and music of that era were our distraction from reality – just like social media now.
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True, but I’d say those distractions still helped you bond with someone else. Social media acts more as a facade of social interaction when in reality it becomes more self involved the more it’s used.
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Yes, I see what you mean. In past eras people had to physically go out and participate (usually on a Friday or Saturday night) whereas now social media is like a mini-universe tailored to revolve around each separate person.
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We have an Everly Brother’s CD permanently stuck in our car’s player. We figure, ah well, if the thing had to break, at least it’s on some good music 😉 This was a fun post- thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Hahaha right! At least it had a good one in it 😂
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We’ve heard that bottom end and base riff before. And the cord structure. For decades the call and response of the teenage anthem, or the Beach Boys cum Abba vocal triplets, or Motown Magic. At a certain age the commercial becomes commodity and what did emote suddenly denotes a concoction, and like alteration, then only cacophony can follow.
There can only be so many aural representations of the first- kiss, heartbreak, or generational fix, or fallacy. Eventually, all becomes auto-tune.
Nice post.
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After reading, I got the sense that you’re pretty good at vocalizing the feeling of yearning for a simpler time. I feel like this happens in history often with throwbacks to the times of antiquity, and the pre-industrial nostalgia of romanticism. With the world changing so fast nowadays, I guess its only natural to want an escape. I think you put it best-
“There’s a reason so many people claim to be born in the wrong time.”
Awesome post! Keep it up!
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Haha, thanks. Yeah I’ve been told my writing is nostalgic. I don’t think I can help it, I have lots of opinions about it.
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