My Parents' Music and the Contrast Podcast
This is such a rich topic for me. Both my parents were musicians. Not professionals in the strictest sense (although my mother did play flute and piccolo with the Cleveland Women's Orchestra) but they were very accomplished. In fact, they met while they were members of a German orchestra in which my father played the violin and accordion.
They were old when I was born. Well, old for the times. My mother was 39 and my father was 50, so they'd lived entire lives before my brother and I arrived on the scene. Anyway, the point is that "their" music was a whole generation removed from the popular music of the times. My mother loved big band and swing music. I grew up listening to one of those radio stations that billed itself "the music of your life," and they were talking about the 40s and 50s.
My father was much more of a classical musician. He loved to wake us up with John Philip Sousa blaring on the stereo. He had lots of Stravinsky and Strauss and Brahms in his record collection. (And the obligatory Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, you know the one I'm talking about!)
The upshot of all this is that I'm immediately drawn to any music that is jazzy or orchestral, with syncopation, strings and melancholic overtones. This probably explains a lot about my love for Devotchka, Andrew Bird, Owen Pallett, The Real Tuesday Weld, Ben Folds, Arcade Fire, etc.
On to the contrast podcast. This week's theme is, you guessed it--"My Parents' Music." You can listen to or download the whole thing right here. I picked a jazzy, swinging number by Peggy Lee to illustrate the kind of music that has shaped my current musical tastes. It's a great tune.
Peggy Lee--"I Love Being Here With You" mp3 off Six Feet Under Soundtrack Vol. 1 (buy)
Next week the podcast turns to thoughts of Halloween, so the theme will be "Scary Hits." Ooh, I'm scared already!
p.s. It goes without saying that some day I'd love to know how my musical tastes end up influencing my own kids!
I'd love to know that, too, although I do know what my older son loves to
listen to, and he got a lot of it from me. I'd love to have the kids of
CP'ers intro songs of ours, but so many of them are not parents!
wasn't that a lovely podcast? i even enjoyed the liberace, although i can
easily see how repeated playings of that song would have driven you up the
wall!
That's funny, I was thinking about "Dad Rock" this week and wrote a post
inspired by it. I keep meaning to get onboard with the Contrast Podcast.
One of these days.
oh afm, you really must do it! just ask agnes, it's tons of fun. and
addictive! speaking of "dad rock," just the other day i was trying to
explain to my husband what i thought it meant, so it'll be interesting to
read you take on it. maybe then i'll have him read it!
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