Category: Generation X

The Sudden, Lucrative Gold Rush for Old Music by Andy Greene and Kory Grow

The Sudden, Lucrative Gold Rush for Old Music by Andy Greene and Kory Grow

The Sudden, Lucrative Gold Rush for Old Music

Excerpts:

As the giants of classic rock contemplate retirement, music execs are dreaming up increasingly bold new ways to eke value out of their brands, images, and back catalogs

June 8, 2021

….Up till now, living, breathing classic-rock icons like the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan haven’t had to worry much about tending to their respective flames. Touring, merch, and clever marketing of their catalogs have sustained them for well over six decades.

But the pandemic has kept them off the road for more than a year, and several of them are reaching an age where road work won’t be possible much longer. “Mick Jagger is 77,” Jampol says [Jampol has managed the estates of the Doors, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Tupac Shakur] “At some point you’ve got to go, ‘I’m going to enjoy my grandkids.’”

It’s at that point when a band or artist, and the team around them, faces a crucial question: How can the afterlife of a career in rock maintain, or even surpass, what that act achieved in their prime?

Continue reading “The Sudden, Lucrative Gold Rush for Old Music by Andy Greene and Kory Grow”

There’s A New Number One Classic Rock Song (July 2021)

There’s A New Number One Classic Rock Song (July 2021)

There’s A New Number One Classic Rock Song

The greatest rock and roll song of all time is not “Stairway to Heaven,” “Layla” or “Freebird.”

This Memorial Day Weekend, the Home of Rock and Roll conducted its annual countdown of the top 500 songs of all time. The countdown also coincided with the 45th anniversary of the first time WPDH signed on the air as a rock station in the Hudson Valley.

Joan Jett
Joan Jett

Through those four and half decades, the countdown has always been a sore spot with listeners and radio DJs tasked with compiling the list from thousands of requests, record sale charts, critical reviews and a strong “gut feeling.”

The running joke is that “Stairway to Heaven” is the undisputed greatest rock and roll song of all time and the countdown is just a formality as it ultimately leads to the epic Led Zeppelin tune once again claiming victory.

But that’s actually far from the truth.

Continue reading “There’s A New Number One Classic Rock Song (July 2021)”

Duran Duran’s “Rio” Turns 39 Years Old (2021)

Duran Duran’s “Rio” Turns 39 Years Old (2021)

Some sources are stating its 40th anniversary will be coming up, while other say it’s 39.

Duran Duran was really popular when I was in junior high school, and remained fairly popular up through my sophomore or junior year of high school.

While I did (and still do) love much of Duran Duran’s music, I was more of an A-ha fan back in the day (I had a big crush on lead singer Morten Harket).

I remember that the teen media back then were always trying to pit A-ha against Duran Duran, which I found strange, because even though A-ha was my favorite, I liked Duran Duran too.

Below, an assortment of links to articles about the album’s anniversary.

Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ LP Turns Almost Forty in 2021, as GenX Swoons

Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ At 39: Listen, Read—And Sip

Excerpts:

by Amanda Schuster

Duran Duran
Duran Duran in the 1980s

… This year, the band’s second, platinum-selling album, Rio, celebrates its 39th anniversary. It delivered massive hits such as “Hungry Like the Wolf”, “Save a Prayer” and “Rio” that still sound fresh and invigorating. The groundbreaking record also included brooding tracks like ”Lonely In Your Nightmare,” “The Chauffeur” and “New Religion”.

A new book by music journalist Annie Zaleski, Duran Duran’s Rio (33 ⅓ Book 156), details what brought this beloved record to life. Through research and interviews with current band members—Simon LeBon (lead vocals), Nick Rhodes (synthesizer), John Taylor (bass), Roger Taylor (drums)—plus departed guitarist Andy Taylor (suggested alternate band name: Unrelated Taylors), various studio musicians, video directors and other assorted players, a compelling behind the scenes story unfolds.

Continue reading “Duran Duran’s “Rio” Turns 39 Years Old (2021)”

Dirty Dancing: Video of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s Screen Test for Iconic Movie Resurfaces

Dirty Dancing: Video of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s Screen Test for Iconic Movie Resurfaces

Dirty Dancing: Video of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s Screen Test for Iconic Movie Resurfaces

by Clémence Michallon
June 14, 2021

A nostalgic clip of Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze’s screen test for Dirty Dancing has resurfaced.

The video was filmed during the development phase of the 1987 classic, presumably to gauge Swayze and Grey’s on-screen chemistry.

 The sequence was even the subject of a fact-check by Snopes over the weekend, which reached the conclusion that a popular online clip of the screen test appeared to be authentic.

Continue reading “Dirty Dancing: Video of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s Screen Test for Iconic Movie Resurfaces”

NYC in the ’80s Changed Music – and Launched Madonna, Run-DMC and More

NYC in the ’80s Changed Music – and Launched Madonna, Run-DMC and More

NYC in the ’80s Changed Music – and Launched Madonna, Run-DMC and More

Zachary Kussin
June 11, 2021

How did disco sound when it died? In 1980s New York, it disappeared in a melodic revolution of hip-hop beats and rock riffs that helped fuel the rise of contemporary music.

Now, a just-opened museum exhibit explores the peak years of this musical renaissance, which changed the local cultural landscape — and eventually found its way to a global stage.

“New York, New Music: 1980-1986,” on view at the Museum of the City of New York, shows visitors how it all happened — thanks to emerging genres, new collaborations and the power of television. Another factor: a slow transition out of the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, which meant that New York was still affordable.

“That allowed a lot of artists to be freely creative and not have to also worry about making music as a career — and so people could be a little more experimental,” said Sean Corcoran, 47, the exhibit’s curator. “In the end, what we see is a lot of meeting and sharing of ideas across different communities … we thought that was a very New York story.”

…The exhibit uses photos, video clips and more to focus on this era, highlighting 14 moments that changed music forever.
Continue reading “NYC in the ’80s Changed Music – and Launched Madonna, Run-DMC and More”

New York Post: “Cancel Culture is Out of Control – and Gen X is Our Only Hope” – and The Disappointing Gen X Reactions to the Editorial

New York Post: “Cancel Culture is Out of Control – and Gen X is Our Only Hope” – and the Disappointing Gen X Reactions to the Editorial 

So Matthew Hennessey wrote an editorial at New York Post about how and why Gen X should or can fight back against “cancel culture,” this editorial was picked up by Fox News, and this in turn found its way to social media, where many Gen X commented upon it.

As for me, I am a Gen Xer, and I do not support “cancel culture.”

I do not support what is a largely leftist phenomenon of intimidating or silencing dissenters into silence, getting them fired from their jobs, or getting them permanently bounced from Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube.

Cancel culture is out of control — and Gen X is our only hope

March 13, 2021
By Matthew Hennessey

First it was Huck Finn. Then it was JK Rowling. Last week it was “The Muppet Show.” This week it’s Dumbo. It’s only a matter of time before “Star Wars” gets canceled and you know it.

Will Gen X please stand up? I have something I want to say to you — to us.

We grew up in a country that didn’t ban books. We all agreed that witch hunts and blacklists were bad. Censorship was an outrage. The 1980s were not that long ago. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Continue reading “New York Post: “Cancel Culture is Out of Control – and Gen X is Our Only Hope” – and The Disappointing Gen X Reactions to the Editorial”

Funny And Too-Real Tweets About Gen X by Caroline Bologna

Funny And Too-Real Tweets About Gen X by Caroline Bologna

Funny And Too-Real Tweets About Gen X by Caroline Bologna

May 18, 2021

“I’m not going to look up why ‘Gen X’ is trending I’ll just assume it’s because we died.”

There’s been much ado about the differences between Generation Y (aka millennials) and Generation Z. But considerably less attention is paid to the folks who were born before them ― the oft-forgotten Generation X.

And Gen Xers might be just fine with that. At least many of the funny ones on Twitter seem to be. We’ve rounded up 45 hilarious and relatable tweets about Gen X. Enjoy!

[Here are just a few examples from their article; I won’t be sharing them all below]

Continue reading “Funny And Too-Real Tweets About Gen X by Caroline Bologna”

‘The Phil Collins Effect’: Older Pop Stars Given Hope by Former Genesis Singer’s Cultural Resurrection

‘The Phil Collins Effect’: Older Pop Stars Given Hope by Former Genesis Singer’s Cultural Resurrection

Before I get to the links and excerpts, I wanted to say how strange I find it that today’s teens and college kids apparently do not seek out older music!

When I was a teen in the 1980s, I would’ve given my right arm to have technology such as You Tube or Spotify, which would allow me to listen to all genres of music from any year FOR FREE.

But no! Back then, if I wanted to hear different genres, older music, and so on, I had to borrow the cassette tapes or vinyl albums of friends and family.

Buying a new album back then was around $9.00 or so, which to me at that time, was a lot of money.

But today’s kids don’t seem to be using You Tube and streaming services to sit and look up music from the 1940s onwards – they all seem to be listening to the non-melodic, entirely forgettable bilge that today’s 20-something bands and singers keep pumping out.

If you have the availability of something like You Tube, which allows you to look up and listen to many types of older bands and singers for free, why not use it?

‘The Phil Collins Effect’: Older pop stars given hope by former Genesis singer’s cultural resurrection

How Phil Collins became cool (no, really)

Why the Phil Collins Effect gives older stars hope 
by Mark Bridge
May 31, 2021

He was hailed in the Eighties as a breath of fresh air but derided in the Nineties as naff personified.

Phil Collins has found favour, however, with a younger generation of music lovers transfixed by the drum fill that lifts In The Air Tonight.

The rapid trajectories of the former Genesis drummer’s popularity have led academics to refer to the Phil Collins Effect (PCE) as a phenomenon worthy of study that can apply to other veteran recording artists.

‘The Phil Collins Effect’: Older Pop Stars Given Hope by Former Genesis Singer’s Cultural Resurrection

May 31, 2021

The “Phil Collins Effect” has been identified by academics after a return to popularity for the former Genesis drummer and frontman.

The highly-influential musician, who appears to attract equal levels of admiration and derision, became one of the best-selling artists of all time during a hugely successful solo career in the eighties.

Continue reading “‘The Phil Collins Effect’: Older Pop Stars Given Hope by Former Genesis Singer’s Cultural Resurrection”

House Has “Dirty Dancing”- Themed Halloween Decorations

House Has “Dirty Dancing”- Themed Halloween Decorations (2020)

October 31, 2020

As one Gen X’er to another, I salute you, sir!

You’ll Have the Time of Your Life Looking at This Dirty Dancing Halloween Lawn Decor

This house wins the internet with epic ‘Dirty Dancing’-themed Halloween decorations

by Laura Laughead, October 26, 2020

We’re having the time of our lives looking at these “Dirty Dancing”-inspired Halloween decorations… even if the skeletons reenacting the movie’s classic lift scene might not be.

Halloween Skeletons striking Dirty Dancing movie poses And we owe it all to Joseph Lee from Park Ridge, Illinois.

“I’m an ’80s kid… so I was like, ‘What are some of the [’80s movies] that everybody’s seen?'” Lee told “Good Morning America.”

Continue reading “House Has “Dirty Dancing”- Themed Halloween Decorations”

American Girl Doll Company Releases a 1980s Doll

American Girl Doll Company Releases a 1980s Doll

In some of the promotion or marketing for this doll, the American Girl Doll Company has referred to the 1980s as an “historic” time or decade – which doesn’t go over with a lot of Gen X very well.

American Girls Doll
American Girls Doll – 1980s Doll

 The 1980s were not that long ago.

It’s not as though the pyramids were built during the 1980s. We did have computers, phones, movies, cars, and television sets in the ’80s.

I remember in the early 2000s, driving to my job daily, listening to the Top 40 radio station D. J. start referring to 1980s songs they played as “golden oldies.” I couldn’t believe it then. I was thinking, “Is this station serious? The ’80s were only ten years ago, not 500 years ago…”

Anyway, here are some links about the 1980s themed doll:

There’s really a 1980s American Girl doll and she’s totally rad

Excerpts:

She comes with a mini Caboodle, Lip Smackers lip gloss and Care Bears pajamas.

…American Girl announced the launch of their latest doll on the TODAY show. Courtney Moore is a video game lover who spends her time playing Pac-Man inside the arcade at her local shopping mall, looks up to the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger and lives with her blended family.

Continue reading “American Girl Doll Company Releases a 1980s Doll”

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