What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[Dragon Soldier]

Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Jerome Kern weren't alive in the '70s, hence the '70s were not the greatest decade in popular music. Not even close.

American popular music reached its absolute zenith on Sunday, July 26, 1936. On that afternoon, Fred Astaire and Johnny Green's Orchestra teamed in the American Record Company's studios in Los Angeles to create the finest recording of the finest American popular song ever written, Jerome Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight." Nothing has ever equalled it.

There's an argument which follows the line of reasoning that the "swing era" was the last era of truly popular music, before the term "pop" was even coined.

It's arguable, and I've even argued it a few times, that it was the last period in history when several generations would have listened to and appreciated the same "current" music.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A few years ago someone asked for recommendations of great popular songs from the Era, so I came up with the following list:

1. The Way You Look Tonight (Fields-Kern, 1936)
2. Night And Day (Porter, 1934)
3. Body And Soul (Heyman-Green, 1930)
4. (In My) Solitude (DeLange-Mills-Ellington, 1934)
5. I Get A Kick Out Of You (Porter, 1933)
6. Stormy Weather (Koehler-Arlen, 1933)
7. You're The Top (Porter, 1933)
8. All The Things You Are (Hammerstein-Kern, 1939)
9. They Can't Take That Away From Me (Gershwin-Gershwin, 1936)
10. Over The Rainbow (Harburg-Arlen, 1939)
11. With Every Breath You Take (Robin-Rainger, 1934)
12. Our Love Is Here To Stay (Gershwin-Gershwin, 1937)
13. I'm In The Mood For Love (Fields-McHugh, 1935)
14. Thanks For The Memory (Robin-Rainger, 1938)
15. I Only Have Eyes For You (Dubin-Warren, 1934)
16. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? (Harburg-Arlen, 1932)
17. There's A Small Hotel (Rodgers-Hart, 1936)
18. Too Marvelous For Words (Mercer-Whiting, 1937)
19. Isn't This A Lovely Day? (Berlin, 1935)
20. You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me (Dubin-Warren, 1932)
21. Let's Put Our Heads Together (Harburg-Arlen, 1937)
22. Two Sleepy People (Loesser-Carmichael, 1938)
23. It's Only A Paper Moon (Harburg, Rose and Arlen, 1933)
24. Why Shouldn't I? (Porter, 1935)
25. Did You Ever See A Dream Walking? (Gordon-Revel, 1933)

I didn't intentionally restrict this list to the 1930-39 period, but that's how it shook down, in line with the fact that the quality of popular music took a real hit with the coming of the war. It could have just as easily been a list of fifty or a hundred or two hundred genuinely great songs, but even a short list like this makes the point.

Every one of these songs ought to be instantly familiar to a musically-literate English-speaker as part of our shared cultural heritage -- and yet, unless you're a Golden Era buff or a jazz musician yourself, nearly all these songs are as unfamiliar to moderns as the chants of ancient Babylon. I think that's a genuine tragedy.

 

[Dragon Soldier]

Fabulous list but very American and from an era just before the US came to dominate the popular music industry. I have Playstation 3 games with one or two of those titles in the soundtrack... Try and find anything from a '20's/30's British Dance band outside of a specialist retailer.

Not really related and I'm sure I've mentioned it before but one Christmas, I think it was round about the turn of the century, BBC Radio presented a "what if?" style documentary which had one basic premise... Buddy Holly didn't get on that plane. They then extrapolated British and worldwide popular music culture based upon that single event. It was brilliant, I tuned in quite by accident and try as I might I've never found any reference to it or come across anyone else who has heard it since.

 

[HudsonHawk]

wretched acts such as...Led Zeppelin

Now how can you possibly expect anyone to take you seriously?

 

[HudsonHawk]

Mr. Jones beat me to it. Music from the 70s had it's moments, but it was all downhill the moment disco arrived.

I don't understand why people think of 70's music and focus on disco. That's like saying the 60's music sucked because all there was was Fabian and Pat Boone.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Are you in your '50s by any chance?

I am in my 40's. The 80's were "my" decade, I'm of the "MTV generation". I know ever band on your list, but the 70's still had the best, most diverse music. I remember thinking there were three truly *great* bands to come out of the 80's: U2, INXS and The Fixx. None were American, by the way.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Not really related and I'm sure I've mentioned it before but one Christmas, I think it was round about the turn of the century, BBC Radio presented a "what if?" style documentary which had one basic premise... Buddy Holly didn't get on that plane. They then extrapolated British and worldwide popular music culture based upon that single event. It was brilliant, I tuned in quite by accident and try as I might I've never found any reference to it or come across anyone else who has heard it since.

I haven't seen that particular documentary, but I've heard similar discussions. February 3, 1959 is known as "the day the music died" for good reason. The premise being that most of the early 50s rocker types were having problems (Elvis was in the Army, Jerry Lee Lewis was in scandal over marrying his 13 year old cousin, etc) and without Holly carrying the load, we were sort of stuck with the "teen idol" types with a lot of style and no substance. It took the Beatles coming across the pond a few years later to get things moving again. But what if?

 

[Dragon Soldier]

I am in my 40's. The 80's were "my" decade, I'm of the "MTV generation". I know ever band on your list, but the 70's still had the best, most diverse music. I remember thinking there were three truly *great* bands to come out of the 80's: U2, INXS and The Fixx. None were American, by the way.

That's my theory blown out of the water!

 

[Dragon Soldier]

I haven't seen that particular documentary, but I've heard similar discussions. February 3, 1959 is known as "the day the music died" for good reason. The premise being that most of the early 50s rocker types were having problems (Elvis was in the Army, Jerry Lee Lewis was in scandal over marrying his 13 year old cousin, etc) and without Holly carrying the load, we were sort of stuck with the "teen idol" types with a lot of style and no substance. It took the Beatles coming across the pond a few years later to get things moving again. But what if?

It was quite heavy at first, a lot of it revolved around racial issues, but then moved on in line with real history, the major change being that Holly had made popular a relatively conservative strand of Rock 'n' Roll that owed less to blues musicians and more to country musicians. It's a long time ago, don't recall the exact details but I do remember the Beatles surviving well into the seventies as a terribly pompous & pretentious Prog Rock act and the influence of Punk being tempered by rebeleous youth listening to fast electronic versions of Russian folk music (they drew on the British band The Wedding Present for this part) as the music of the Cold War "enemy" was supposed to represent the ultimate in rejection of society... Or something.

Where he ended it, all the "popular" music we know still existed, but was a great deal less influential than it was in the real world. Pop stars still lived in mansions, but they didn't buy islands to build them on.

 

[HudsonHawk]

It was quite heavy at first, a lot of it revolved around racial issues, but then moved on in line with real history, the major change being that Holly had made popular a relatively conservative strand of Rock 'n' Roll that owed less to blues musicians and more to country musicians. It's a long time ago, don't recall the exact details but I do remember the Beatles surviving well into the seventies as a terribly pompous & pretentious Prog Rock act and the influence of Punk being tempered by rebeleous youth listening to fast electronic versions of Russian folk music (they drew on the British band The Wedding Present for this part) as the music of the Cold War "enemy" was supposed to represent the ultimate in rejection of society... Or something.

Where he ended it, all the "popular" music we know still existed, but was a great deal less influential than it was in the real world. Pop stars still lived in mansions, but they didn't buy islands to build them on.

Wow, that's quite projection!

I do think it's impossible though to discuss early rock n roll without getting into the racial aspect, as it's a direct descendent of American blues and R&B. And while Holly was seen less raunchy than Elvis and less rebellious than guys like Lewis and Eddie Cochran, he was still heavily influenced by the black musicians at the time, just listen to the syncopated Afro-Cuban rhythms in songs like Peggy Sue and Not Fade Away, which were taken straight from guys like Bo Diddley and Johnny Otis. At any rate, it's an interesting intellectual exercise.

 

[jamespowers]

You're delusional. Harrison was, for the most part, a brilliant musician and lyricist, but that song is nothing more than pop pablum.

EVERYTHING he and the Beatles were involved with was/is pop pablum. :rofl: You made my point for me. lol lo

 

[jamespowers]

Now how can you possibly expect anyone to take you seriously?

Because they did suck.

 

[jamespowers]

I don't understand why people think of 70's music and focus on disco. That's like saying the 60's music sucked because all there was was Fabian and Pat Boone.

That is because you LIKE 70s music and see it through that prism. lol lol
The era of the one hit wonder:
http://youtu.be/XwCJZi8IlcU

 

[jamespowers]

I am in my 40's. The 80's were "my" decade, I'm of the "MTV generation". I know ever band on your list, but the 70's still had the best, most diverse music. I remember thinking there were three truly *great* bands to come out of the 80's: U2, INXS and The Fixx. None were American, by the way.

Now I understand completely. :rofl:

 

[vitanola]

I am in my 40's. The 80's were "my" decade, I'm of the "MTV generation". I know ever band on your list, but the 70's still had the best, most diverse music. I remember thinking there were three truly *great* bands to come out of the 80's: U2, INXS and The Fixx. None were American, by the way.

What about Soft Cell, Laid Back, The Allen Parsons Project, Timbuck 3, or Hipsway?

 

[jamespowers]

What about Soft Cell, Laid Back, The Allen Parsons Project, Timbuck 3, or Hipsway?

Gee, I actually know one of those groups.

 

[vitanola]

Gee, I actually know one of those groups.

"Eye in the Sky", perhaps?

You see, I didn't simply reject the music of the 1970's and 1980's out of hand. I made a game attempt to really know the subject before rejecting it as rubbish.



If I could only get back the nights spent in smoke-filled, noisy clubs!

 

[jamespowers]

"Eye in the Sky", perhaps?

You see, I didn't simply reject the music of the 1970's and 1980's out of hand. I made a game attempt to really know the subject before rejecting it as rubbish.



If I could only get back the nights spent in smoke-filled, noisy clubs!

Yeah that is the one.
I want whatever hearing I lost back.

 

[dh66]

........... I can not think of one redeeming thing to come out of the 80s!......

http://youtu.be/czElKoDQbGQ

 

[HudsonHawk]

What about Soft Cell, Laid Back, The Allen Parsons Project, Timbuck 3, or Hipsway?

What about them? If you think they were truly great bands, we're not even talking the same language.