A Personal History: The Beatles

Growing up with a hardcore fan like my mom in the house, it never even occurred to me that liking The Beatles was not something everyone did, until college age, when I befriended my first true Beatles hater.

I don't remember a first experience with the band in particular, but I do know that I was mainly looped in by the one-shot Rupert cartoon (Rupert and the Frog Song) that Paul McCartney voiced.

But I do have other distinct memories, such as being allowed (once in a while) to play my mom's picture discs on my record player, and watching Help! in my mom's bed when I had a cold. 

The Beatles really caught on for me when I was in high school though. I was in full-blown Monkees mode, and The Beatles just seemed to be the next natural progression. A friend of mine "loaned" me The Beatles #1 CD, and I played it over and over again in my $10 portable CD player (including one time during my art class, which resulted in the loss of all my participation points for the day, even though I did ask her first). I watched Help! and A Hard Day's Night to my heart's content, plastered pictures and 90s trading cards of The Beatles (mainly George Harrison) all over my room, giving them near-equal shares of space with The Monkees and Monty Python stuff. I spent nearly $30 of allowance money on an ill-fitting shirt off of Ebay. I begged my mom to let me keep her Beatles albums, and failing that, rented them all from the library and added them to the rotation of discs for my portable CD player.

There's a more complicated part of this story where I met a bunch of people through a vaguely related website, but that's another matter.

This isn't really an incredibly coherent history, primarily because The Beatles are woven into my personal history. Whatever people say about their musicality, or how they're over-rated, The Beatles have made me happy, and made millions of other people happy. I think that alone makes them worthwhile.

The Beatles left to right: Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison.

Recommended Tracks:

And Your Bird Can Sing

Here Comes The Sun

I'll Follow The Sun

Love You To

Nowhere Man

A Personal History: Buddy Holly

Going back to my early childhood, I would have to cite Buddy Holly as the reason I probably got into classic pop/rock. Before I knew who The Monkees were or listened to any Beatles, I was listening to Buddy Holly. How so? A tiny, one-shot cartoon called Dixie's Diner.

Dixie's Diner was a series of toys and what I assume was supposed to be a TV show pilot that were highly collectible in the early 90s. I got to play with the diner and characters once in a while if I was really good, but the cartoon was available to watch any time.

Dixie's Diner was set in an idealized 1950s, with pool sharks, street racing, and rock-and-roll music played on the Jukebox. The characters had to solve their financial problems by winning a "dance-off" - to the music of Buddy Holly.

In a sense, I think the plot was almost based around Buddy Holly's songs. One of the characters was even named "Peggy Sue." But I fell in love with the music. As I got older, I think I wanted to watch the cartoon more so that I could hear the Buddy Holly songs than for the cartoon itself (although to be fair, it wasn't a bad cartoon). My parents had a cassette of Buddy Holly songs that they played for me too, possibly to give the cartoon a rest.

There were years in which I didn't listen to Buddy Holly. I listened to The Sound of Music soundtrack and oldies stations. But eventually, I began to add Buddy Holly back into my listening diet. He was such a talented individual (along with The Crickets, I suppose). You can hear the influences of his music on the early Beatles all the way up to Vampire Weekend.

At this point in my life, I am amazed every time I realize that Holly was a fifties performer. Not only was the music a few years ahead of its time, it has a great deal of timelessness. I'm sure Buddy Holly's music will always be a part of my life.

 

Other Recommended Tracks:

Not Fade Away
Oh, Boy!
Heartbeat
That'll Be The Day
It's So Easy  

A Personal History: The Long Blondes

At some point during high school, I took up the hobby of Google image-searching my favorite celebrities. During a routine "Chrissie Hynde" search one evening, I came across a photo of The Long Blondes. I would be lying if I said I was not at all attracted to the aesthetic of the band. As a matter of fact, that was what made me look into them, despite the fact that they were not the droids I was looking for. They had shown up in my search because someone had suggested a similarity between the vocals of lead singer Kate Jackson and Chrissie Hynde. The comparison is quite reasonable. I watched the video for "Once and Never Again" and was instantly hooked. I loved the guitar parts and the general rock sound of their songs, along with the killer vocals and the catchy tunes. My love for the clever lyrics came only slightly later.

Not only did I rewatch the few official videos quite often in the coming weeks, but I purchased both albums as soon as humanly possible. I researched the band, and was very disappointed to learn that they had broken up only a month or two prior to my discovery (due to health-related issues of guitarist Dorian Cox). I continued to listen to the group in excess. Years later, I am still very fond of them. And I still draw fashion inspiration (and envy) from Kate Jackson.

The Long Blondes left to right: Dorian Cox, Screech Louder, Kate Jackson, Emma Chaplin, and 

Reenie Hollis.

Where are they now? 

Since the break-up, Dorian Cox underwent treatment for his paralysis and has joined a new band called Milkteeth. Reenie Hollis and Screech Louder have formed The Bon Bon Club. Kate Jackson is reportedly working on a solo album under the name "Madame Ray."

Other Recommended Tracks:

Swallow Tattoo 

My Heart is Out of Bounds

The Couples 

Weekend Without Makeup

I'm Going to Hell

A Personal History: Death Cab For Cutie

When I was fourteen years old, I was convinced that any "modern" music was not worth my time. The chief reason for this was that I'd not actually listened to any modern music, save for a few manufactured pop songs I'd heard on the radio. To be fair though, there was also a lot of narrow-mindedness on my part. I insisted that the 60s were the only worthwhile era (save for They Might Be Giants and some crazy 80s music). I also had an obsession with Monty Python (particularly Eric Idle), which led me to Do Not Adjust Your Set, a series I've mentioned in the past. From there, I discovered The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a group I was allowed to like, because they were from the 60s. Somewhere in that same year, I discovered that there was a group that shared a name with one of their songs. Naturally, I was intrigued. I remember googling the band name and thinking that they just looked so modern! I wasn't sure I could take it. At least, I couldn't discover a new band on my own anyway. I added Death Cab For Cutie to my list of bands I needed song recommendations for, along with The Foo Fighters.

There was someone I knew on Livejournal (my social networking site of choice in my early teens), who shared a lot of my interests and also liked Death Cab For Cutie, so I asked her which songs I should start on. She suggested "Marching Bands of Manhattan" and "Crooked Teeth," both of which I listened to and fell immediately in love with.

 

This may have been the photo I found when I first googled them, but I'm not positive. Look how 

frighteningly "modern" they are. Left to Right: Nick Harmer, Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, Jason McGerr.

So at this point, I bought Plans second hand at the now out-of-business local record store and listened to it through. I liked it. Death Cab For Cutie became my gateway drug to other modern music. I will grudgingly admit though, that apart from Plans, I had only heard a handful of other Death Cab songs by the time Narrow Stairs came out in 2008. But Narrow Stairs rapidly became one of my favorite albums of all time. I must have listened to it a hundred times that summer. When I found out Death Cab were going to be playing an hour away, with opening act Tegan and Sara, I decided I had to go. 

Up until November of 2008, I had been to two shows, both at children's festivals: They Might Be Giants and Micky Dolenz. I couldn't drive and none of my friends really shared my musical interests. But I had a job and money to spend on tickets and I was determined to go.

I did go, and it was amazing. Just as Death Cab introduced me to the fact that modern music could be things apart from sucky, they also introduced me to how awesome a live show experience can be (with all due respect to They Might Be Giants and Micky Dolenz. They did great shows too, but this was different). 

 Death Cab For Cutie in Columbus, Ohio 2008.

Since that concert, Death Cab have become absolutely one of my favorite bands for reasons too numerous for me to not exploit in other blog posts. I even got to see them again this year, and they managed to live up to the wonderful memories of them that I had. Death Cab For Cutie are a great band that have helped form me as a person and will hopefully continue to shape me in the future.

Other Recommended Tracks:

I Was Once a Loyal Lover 

Monday Morning

Long Division 

What Sarah Said

I Will Possess Your Heart