Category: Music

The psychecology of ’68

In 1968 America exploded politically, between the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of MLK and RFK, and the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, all of which ultimately led to the election of Richard Nixon. It was a difficult year for me personally, between the second half of 7th grade sucking, family problems, and having to move. Also, I went from thinking about girls to thinking about girls, girls, and girls.

A HUGE bright spot for me in 1968 was the premiere of Laugh-In, a TV show that I enjoyed with great, even painful, intensity. And, as always, reading comic books and listening to the radio helped to get me through my troubles. 1968 was the year sandwiched between the Summer of Love, with the Monterey Pop Music Festival, and Woodstock. It was looking like a light year for Beatles singles, until Hey Jude dominated the charts for weeks, but there were plenty of other songs I loved hearing that year. Here are my top 5, in no particular order. One of them is the Troggs song I already featured.

http://youtu.be/S8-knbCtXdQ

http://youtu.be/nWxm5YRmzEU

From standard to soul

Here’s the sort of net post I like, and like doing myself, about the evolution of the song Try a Little Tenderness. I knew it first, as did most in my generation, from Otis Redding.

http://youtu.be/dael4sb42nI

The article says of Ray Noble’s 1932 recording, “Mawkish, stilted and perfectly forgettable, it comes off as a courting lesson on how to gain permission to put hand on knee and stare just a little too long.” Personally, I completely disagree. I really like the Ray Noble and Bing versions. Clare Teal on BBC Radio 2 plays a lot of Ray Noble on her Sunday show. Here’s a tune, written by Noble, that’s featured prominently in Casablanca.

On another Pop music note, Denro reminds us that MTV is now officially 30 years old. Who didn’t have a crush on Martha “cute as a button” Quinn?

http://youtu.be/86Wa3QJLkFQ

Yeesh. Another 4:3 video made wide, like an HDTV in stretch mode. I think it’s popular because it makes everybody in old TV shows look fat, the way so many people are now.