The Jean’s Blog: Oldies: Pass the Fritos VI

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Oldies: Pass the Fritos VI – Part 2

Listening to oldies can make you feel, well, old. I have a friend the same age as me who in the past has expressed his displeasure at oldies music- or any music that is not current or of the moment- probably because for him life is too short to look back. Or, to be more precise, I think disdain for oldies music is based on fear that may exist because- whether we are conscious of it or not- listening to oldies- like visiting a hospital or a nursing home- forces us to confront our own mortality.

Jefferson Airplane

By contrast, contemporary music allows the listener to live in the here and now and avoid having to consider facts such as Spirit’s Randy California drowned in Hawaii in 1997 while rescuing his 12-year old son from a rip current; “To Know Him Is to Love Him” was inspired by the words on Phil Spector’s father’s tombstone; half the members of Jefferson Airplane’s classic ‘60s line up are deceased; and Dave Clark is still alive but was at the bedside of Freddie Mercury when the Queen singer died in 1991. Depending on how one looks at it, oldies can equal death or immortality; but the genre- like life- is not for the fearful or timid (who would probably be better off just listening to the latest Taylor Swift song).

As for the Jean, I have no fear of confronting or being reminded of my own mortality and find oldies music to be inspiring and life affirming. What’s more, for me it’s always fascinating to consider just how quickly and drastically popular music and tastes changed in such a short time span in the mid ‘60s when one minute the Beatles were singing “I Want to Hold your Hand” and the next JFK was murdered and within three years the hippie and psychedelic youth movements inspired by the Fab Four and Bob Dylan not only swept the Western world but had by the end of the decade become part of the mainstream. And some people say oldies music is boring! Here are some more of my favorites. Enjoy!

The Chocolate Watchband

01. The Fortunes – “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again” (1971)

02. Jefferson Airplane – “Come Up the Years” (1966)
03. Spirit – “Water Woman” (1968)
04. The Who – “Run Run Run” (1966)
05. The Cowsills – “Hair” (1969)
06. Spirit – “Like a Rolling Stone” (1975)
07. Spirit – “Taurus” (1968)
08. 1910 Fruitgum Company – “Indian Giver” (1969)
09. The Grass Roots – “I’d Wait a Million Years” (1969)
10. The Foundations – “Build Me Up Buttercup” (1968)
11. The Teddy Bears – “To Know Him Is to Love Him” (1958)
12. Jefferson Airplane – “Today” (1967)
13. The Dave Clark Five – “Any Way You Want It” (1964)
14. The Gants – “My Baby Don’t Care” (1965)
15. The Chocolate Watchband – “Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)” (1967)
16. The Chocolate Watchband – “Baby Blue” (1968)
17. Count Five – “Psychotic Reaction (Rarities Version)” (1966)
18. Blues Magoos – “One by One” (1966)
19. Kaleidoscope – “Please” (1967)
20. The Chocolate Watchband – “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” (1968)