The Official "Music Was So Much Better in the Glorious Days of Yore" Thread

[rubber soul]

Yeah, it's hard to imagine given the Beatles' fame.

On the other hand, I didn't really hear a Bob Dylan record until I was about twelve, that would have been 1974. Up until then, I thought he was just this odd enigma in music.

[rostasi]

Perspective, folks.
Whiteman, in his day, was second in popularity only to Ellington.
Even asking a 20 year old who had a moderate interest in music then
might not have even known who Ellington was after over 50 years of
popularity - which is what you are asking of some 20 year old today.

[SGR]

Originally Posted by rostasi

Perspective, folks.
Whiteman, in his day, was second in popularity only to Ellington.
Even asking a 20 year old who had a moderate interest in music then
might not have even known who Ellington was after over 50 years of
popularity - which is what you are asking of some 20 year old today.

Except in this comparison, we're ignoring the massive increase in access to information and the proliferation of information that's become normal and widespread since then, with TV, the internet, and advertisment networks subsuming everything, swallowing cultural and geographical boundaries in its wake. It's an apples to oranges comparison that you're making.

[rostasi]

Originally Posted by rubber soul

Yeah, it's hard to imagine given the Beatles' fame.

On the other hand, I didn't really hear a Bob Dylan record until I was about twelve, that would have been 1974. Up until then, I thought he was just this odd enigma in music.

He is still an odd enigma (to put it nicely) in music.

[rubber soul]

I don't know if comparing Duke Ellington and certainly Paul Whiteman to the Beatles is the right comparison. The question may be if a 20 year old a generation ago would have heard of, say, Frank Sinatra (they most likely would have) or maybe Bing Crosby (maybe not) or even someone like Rudy Vallee who was arguably the phenomenon in the 1930s (probably not).

[rostasi]

Yes, there’s easier access to a wider area of info today
which could make it more unbelievable that The Beatles
hadn’t crossed this person’s radar - knowingly. And that’s the key.
Some people are (and enjoy) being insular in their interests and
that can be a very good thing - especially if they are of the creative type.
Of course, we know nearly nothing about this person that this man is talking about,
so we can’t say what her personality is, but not caring to actively seek
out some old rock while she’s an energetic young person tells me that
there’s hope in the creative minds of young people.

In my case, of course Ellington or Whiteman could be a very accurate comparison.
Sinatra would’ve been barely a teenager. Crosby would’ve been in his mid-20s and
actually would’ve just been invited to join Whiteman’s band.

[Frownland]

Some people also don't listen to music. It's a bit more insane to expect people to know things because you do. Rick Beatoff only knows three other bands off the top of his head to begin with so he's not really qualified to talk ****. He's a big proponent of the restrictive interpretation of music that asserts that every song has been written and a bunch of white dudes finished making all the songs before 1980.

[Plankton]

Ricks brother, Richard, sends his regards.

[rubber soul]

I was born late in 1961. I honestly hadn't heard of Paul Whiteman until maybe twenty years ago to be honest. Duke Ellington I knew about early on but more on reputation. I didn't really hear any of his music until after he died.

Everyone seemed to know about Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra when I was a kid. Heck, I remember the Minute Maid commercials Crosby would hawk for. Of course, I knew Crosby from the On the Road movies with Bob Hope and some of the bad crooning imitations of him mostly. I also remember it being a big deal when he died, almost as big as Presley who had died earlier that year.

And, of course, Sinatra was all over the place, in music, movies, TV, the alleged mob ties in the news, etc. Yeah, I guess if you insulate yourself enough, you may not have heard about the Beatles, or anyone else. But it would be awfully hard.

I can get someone never having heard an artist's music, but not at least knowing the name? That's a little hard to imagine.

[rostasi]

Originally Posted by rubber soul

I was born late in 1961. I honestly hadn't heard of Paul Whiteman until maybe twenty years ago to be honest. Duke Ellington I knew about early on but more on reputation. I didn't really hear any of his music until after he died.

So, basically you were the same as this 20 year old girl that you’re shocked about.