When I was a kid I devoured old musicals, movies, and tunes. By the time I was about 20, I was so into my parallel universe of anachronism that I had more in common with my parents and grandparents than most of my peers....weird. Not that it's a bad thing in retrospect, but at the time (the '70s-80s), it certainly made me quite the outsider. I didn't have much desire to be driving around in a Camaro with air-shocks, listening to Zeppelin....I was more into listening to Anita O'Day, learning to mix a good cocktail, finding the right cigarette case to fit my Luckies.....trying to decide if it would be cooler to buy a Packard Patrician or a Studebaker Commander. Odd, I know.
It's funny.....until recently, my daughter always found the excess of oldness rather intimidating....even embarrassing around her friends. Imagine, if you will, never having anything in your kitchen that dated past the 1940s.....you can't even make a smoothie without KNOWING that you have to be careful, because it's mom's vintage Osterizer? having to get your OJ made by learning to use the juicer attachment on her '30s Sunbeam Mixmaster? not having Disney prints on your walls, because your mom insisted on decorating it with original pictures from British-invasion era teen magazines. Sarah's friends thought it was cool, but she was not into it much at all....just kind of immune to it. "Oh, my mom? she collects...ummm, dust....something like that" ;)
So, anyway....I think the chickens are coming home to roost. All that exposure is becoming interesting, finally. She'll actually come home and pop in a copy of "It happened one night", "Flying down to Rio". or "Meet me in St. Louis", instead of turning on her Wii, or hitting YouTube for pop songs on her laptop. She knows the dance steps to "Like a G6", but is cool with trying to imitate the Nicolas Brothers, too....something like that.
So I'm pretty happy with that, really. I'm working on this Rosemary Clooney list, and Sarah commented on how she loved that both RC and Frank Sinatra had such impeccable diction, when they sang. She listened to the Margaret Whiting interview on NPR, and loved it when she talked about how her father's fellow songwriters taught her how to deliver a lyric with conviction, not just sing through it. I love how when I'm working I hear Sarah singing "Tenderly", and "Mood indigo" in her room....not knowing that I overheard it :)
No argument from me on that one...........
After trying my best to hate my father's music while I was growing up, I recall the day I asked him if I could borrow his Mr. 5X5 record so I could listen to Rushing and Goodman doing Brussel's Fair Blues. He hardly even gloated, but I know he was pleased. He said something like, "..produced by John Hammond, he discovered everybody.." Har!
ReplyDeleteOh, A-freaking-men! You know, a while ago I was having a brain fart while doing a list (yeah, surprise, right?) soooo...anyway, I had an unlabeled file that didn't have the title on it. It was "Long ago and far away". I know that song backwards and forwards, but being under pressure to get the list up I blanked out...couldn't remember the name. I called my parents....of course knowing that they would have to know. He was pretty pleased to be able to school his know-it-all daughter, but also I think he was pretty proud that the fist person that I would think to ask would be him, too :)
ReplyDeleteI'm the exact same way. I'm 22 and everything I love is from the 20's-40's. Besides my boyfriend, I don't know anyone personally who likes the same music as I do. so it was so great when I found your blog!
ReplyDelete@Carly: so your BF is also from the 20s-40s?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, barberella, I presume it's your daughter in the photo. She is beautiful, and well on the way to appreciate the old stuff.
You guys are great :) You were lucky to find a BF that shares the same tastes as you, that's hard to find, Carly. Sarah's father liked Phil Collins after Genesis and MOR '80s stuff, and I had an ex that would only listen to modern country :0 :0 (Oh, did I say :0?). AMD...Thanks, I agree about Sarah, that is my kid :) She's been a choral singer, and studying opera for quite a few years, but is just starting to get her sea legs about her regarding classic vocalists. She has the potential to do pretty well with it, I think....the kid has a nice voice. She certainly has quite a few jazz vocalists and instrumentalists on both sides of the family, so she has a great support system. Time will tell. :)
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