The transcendence of music and its ability to bridge generational gaps is where it’s beauty lies. The Michael Jacksons, Princes and Whitney Houstons are no longer participants in this physical existence that we call life, but their names are never far removed from discussions about cultural impact and unparalleled musicianship. However, contrary to popular belief, the 70’s and 80’s consisted of more than just a handful of artists, I know, I couldn’t believe it either! It was actually a vibrant, melting pot of youthful effervescence and the emergence of blurred of the lines which brought androgyny to the forefront. It was probably one of the bravest times in music as artists sought to do anything to stand-out from their contemporaries because sounding or looking the same as someone else just wasn’t going to cut it. You had to be DIFFERENT.
I’ve frequently been called an “old soul” or “grandad” but it feels fraudulent to embrace these labels without actually, you know, learning about old stuff. It’s a wonder then that I don’t know much about the music from this time apart from the fact that it was influential in shaping the music that I listen to today. In all honesty, I’m probably being a little bit harsh on myself, as someone who was born in 1995 I probably know as much about this era as I should, but as someone who writes about music for a living, well, for a personal blog, and I don’t exclusively write about music I also write about sport, film, tel… let’s try that again… *clears throat* as someone who writes about music from time to time (nailed it!), I could probably try to learn some more.
‘Before Bluetooth’ is going to be an exploratory series where I delve into the deepest depths of the record of collections that were probably responsible for setting the ambience during the nine months I spent submerged in placenta (a bit too graphic? Wouldn’t be the first time). I’ll be listening to artists I’ve vaguely heard of, albums I’ve been told are classics, one hit wonders and songs that I remember playing in the house growing up, all in an attempt to try to see what all the hype was about. I’ll share my findings (and naivety) along the way and add to this post so that there’s an index of each artist, song and album covered.
Let’s Go!
Disclaimer: For those of you unfamiliar with my process, please do not expect these posts to be regular or consistent because that is simply a standard that we don’t adhere to here at Barzino’s Blog; besides you’ve had a whole 40 years to listen to some these songs, I’m sure you can wait a bit longer.
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