Wednesday, November 02, 2005

A Brief Reflection on the '60s

iPod morning commute music: Phil Spector, Back to Mono (1958-1969), disc 3 (1991)
Uh-oh, first Dionne Warwick, now Phil Spector...the trend is looking '60s, and it's one of my favorite trends to follow. Phil Spector was one of the greatest producers pop music has ever seen, and these three discs (the fourth, A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector, is his famous Christmas album) collect the greatest singles he produced, and is essential to understanding the decade.

I guess one of the reasons the '60s were so important musically was the variety of styles that seemed to peak at that time. You had, of course, pop, but rock erupted in all its variations, along with soul, rhythm and blues, blues, country, jazz, and the intermarriages between genres was astounding. For many, I think, the '60s can be distilled into the Beatles/Rolling Stones/Dylan/Beach Boys, but this misses much of the great music of the decade. Box sets, such as Back to Mono, are great ways to catch up on what else was happening then.

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Japan, and I must admit I'm looking forward to a mid-week break.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, Craig. After your recent comments about holidays, what IS the national holiday in Japan. Wish we celebrated it here, but, oh, well...

Susan

craiginjapan said...

Now that's a damn fine question, Susan. Tomorrow is, appropriately enough given the discussion, Cultural Appreciation Day here in Japan. Perhaps we can celebrate by writing an original haiku, arranging some flowers, putting on a kimono, or drinking sake. I'll leave it to your imagination what I'm planning to do. Cheers! Craig

Anonymous said...

The sake and the haiku I can imagine. However, I suspect you'll leave the kimono and flower arranging to Kaoru. I had one of those days at school today where I would have like to arrange the teeth of a few students...or at least arrange travel for them to some distant land.

S.

craiginjapan said...

As long as that distant land isn't Japan, you have my support. I have enough students who inspire me to dentistry.

C.