Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
–Robert Frost
I went to a holiday choir concert yesterday, and one of the pieces sung was “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. I hadn’t realized there was a melody someone had written for this classic poem. It was lovely and also melancholy.
In researching some of the possible symbolism of the poem, I found a lot of theories, many based in psychology and mythology. One was regarding what winter represents. It’s a time of year when the days are colder and shorter, and (at least in many places) trees and plants have shed their leaves and gone dormant until spring or have died. It is a time of year for reflection, hibernation, and quiet. It can be a lonely and sad time of year for many. As a psychologist, I know many people (both in my clientele and in my personal life) who experience seasonal depression linked to the lack of daylight and limitations on outdoor activity in the late fall and winter. Some also find the holidays challenging if they are from families that don’t get along or are distant, if they have lost people close to them, or for many other reasons.
Winter also has some more joyful or hopeful associations, such as the fun of playing in the snow as a child, the wonder of a quiet and sparkly night after the snow has fallen, and the magic of holiday celebrations when the holidays are pleasant and meaningful. Stepping back to view the cycles of the year in a more holistic way can remind us that everything is impermanent, and although winter can be seen as bringing death, it can also be seen as bringing the preparation for new life: Winter can represent the pregnant pause between harvest and a lush spring, when things are getting ready to germinate and creativity is brewing.
“The dark wood” often represents the unconscious in Jungian or Freudian psychology. When a story involves going into a dark wood, this often means that the protagonist must face a challenge or learn a lesson before they can re-emerge into the light of everyday life. Perhaps Frost’s hero is reflecting on his life and finding the meaning and motivation to face what he must before he is ready to move forward. The fact that the horse “must think it queer” may allude to the protagonist typically living a more pragmatic life, not pausing to introspect very often, but simply doing what he must and avoiding going deep into his emotional, spiritual, psychological life. If the horse represents work and duty, self-reflection may seem a luxury that cannot be entertained often.
A darker meaning to Frost’s poem is that the narrator is tired of living and is contemplating suicide–the dark and quiet woods may represent a fantasy of his going to sleep forever and leaving the struggles of his life behind. What keeps him going is the realization that he has obligations in his life that he must honor; the time for death is not now.
Examining these potential meanings of the poem made me think that it was not necessarily a sunny and joyous choice to include this as a song in a holiday concert. But on the other hand, the holidays can be a time to contemplate what is meaningful to us and to sit with our whole range of thoughts and feelings.
Still from “The Killing Moon” video, Echo and the Bunnymen, 1984.
Today, one of my favorite songs, “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen, was playing on Spotify. Something about that song just feels so right. It hits me in a way that is hard to describe–it makes me feel both relaxed and stimulated all at once. Noticing the feeling that this song, plus other songs I love, gives me made me wonder about the psychology of our favorite songs: Why do we love the songs we do?
Lucky for me, researchers of the University of Michigan researched why we can listen to our favorite songs over and over without getting bored. The researchers had 204 participants fill out a questionnaire about their experience with favorite songs. About 86% of people studied reported listening to their favorite song daily or several times a week. 43% of those who listened to it each day said they played it at least three times a day, and 60% listened to the song several times in a row. Interestingly, when people said that the song generated mixed emotions, “a bittersweet feeling,” they played the song more.
Image by Vu Huang.
These psychologists explained that we listen to certain songs repeatedly because they activate the reward system in our brain, releasing dopamine and generating a kind of addictive process. Since certain songs make us feel good, we want to listen to them again and again. In a different study at McGill University, researchers found that when we know a song very well, an intense discharge of dopamine occurs in our brain when we anticipate certain parts of the song. And, a study conducted at the Wake Forest School of Medicine showed that our brain reacts as a whole to a favorite song; this does not happen when we listen to music we do not like. Well-loved songs make our brain light up all over, showing greater connectivity. An area that is particularly active when we listen to our fave tunes is the precuneus, an area of the upper parietal lobe that is related to episodic memory, visuospatial processing, reflections on oneself, and self-consciousness.
I find all this so interesting. It just goes to show that favorite songs stimulate a very different brain process than other tunes. But, whether or not you care about why this happens, I’m sure you’ll agree that the feeling we get from our best-loved music is pretty cool.
References
Conrad, F., et al. (2018). Extreme re-listening: Songs people love . . . and continue to love. Psychology of Music.
Delgado, J. Why do we listen repeatedly to our favorite songs? Accessed at https://psychology-spot.com/favorite-song-favorite-music/ on December 12, 2021.
Salimpoor, V. N., et al. (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipating and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience, 14, 257–262.
Wilkins, R. W. et. Al. (2014) Network Science and the Effects of Music Preference on Functional Brain Connectivity: From Beethoven to Eminem. Scientific Reports, 4, 6130.
I have started working in the office two days a week after a year and a half of working at home because of COVID-19. It’s weird being back in the office, even if it is only 2 out of 5 work days! But that’s not the point of this post. The point is, I was wondering about which famous artists and musicians were born in and/or have lived in San Francisco. I am aware of a few, but I realized I have never researched this question, and I am sure there are many more than I knew about.
One thing that sparked this question for me (and explains why I mentioned working in the office again) was when I was commuting home after work last week (I take the bus, and my stop is on Haight Street), I was standing in front of a shop window that has a jewelry display. Some of the necklaces in the window are on stands, and the shop owner had put large photos of Janis Joplin’s face on some of them. A 20-something woman and her friend walked by, and the woman sneered, “Hah–they put some random woman’s face on that necklace!!” Her friend laughed, and I wanted to slap my palm against my forehead, seeing two young people who didn’t recognize/know about Janis Joplin! As I said, this got me to thinking about famous people who have lived in SF. Janis was not from here (she was from Port Arthur, Texas), but she did live in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in the ’60s.
This post contains some I already knew of, and others I didn’t. I am learning about some of these famous San Franciscans right now, as I write this post! Learn along with me!
Bruce Lee
Most people don’t know that Bruce Lee, one of the most famous martial artists in history, was born in San Francisco’s famous Chinatown. He was born there in 1940. His parents were from Hong Kong and moved back there with Bruce when he was 3 months old.
Ansel Adams
Iconic landscape photographer and conservationist Ansel Adams was born in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco in 1902. His family also owned a house in the Sea Cliff neighborhood. Four-year-old Ansel Adams was injured in an aftershock of the great 1906 earthquake, breaking his nose when he was jolted into a wall.
Linda Ronstadt
Famous singer Linda Ronstadt was born in Arizona and lived in Los Angeles during her early career. She moved to San Francisco in the ’80s, then back to Tucson in the late ’90s, then back to San Francisco again in the early 2000s. When I was looking for an apartment in SF 2 years ago, I saw one that is across the street from where the singer now lives.
Danny Glover
Actor Danny Glover was born in San Francisco, attending school in the Richmond District. He also went to college at San Francisco State University.
Courtney Love
Grunge rock musician Courtney Love was born in San Francisco in 1964. She spent her early years in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, until moving to Oregon with her mother after her parents divorced in 1970. Love briefly moved back to San Francisco in the mid-’80s to pursue her music career and also attended the San Francisco Art Institute to study film and theater.
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg, known best as Rube Goldberg, a cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, was born in San Francisco in 1883. He is most famous for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets (“Goldberg machines”) performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways.
Wayne Thiebaud
“Three Machines” by Wayne Thiebaud, on display in the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. Thiebaud was born in SF in 1920.
Dorthea Lange
Iconic photographer Dorothea Lange was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, but moved to San Francisco in 1918. In 1945, she was invited by Ansel Adams to teach at the first fine art photography department at the California School of Fine Arts, now known as San Francisco Art Institute.
Margaret Cho
Comedian Margaret Cho was born in San Francisco in 1968 (same age as me!). She attended San Francisco State University.
There are so many others! Actors either born in or who lived in San Francisco include Lisa Bonet, Benjamin Bratt, Ellen DeGeneres, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Cheech Marin, Rob Schneider, Alicia Silverstone, Sharon Stone, Robin Williams, Ali Wong, and Natalie Wood. Isadora Duncan, the classic dancer, was born in San Francisco. Filmmakers who were either from or lived in SF include Francis Coppola, Sofia Coppola, George Lucas, and Wayne Wang. A lot of the musicians/bands attributed to San Francisco were not ones I had heard of, but I have heard of 4 Non Blondes, Tracy Chapman, The Charlatans, Counting Crows, Dead Kennedys, Faith No More, Flamin’ Groovies, Michael Franti, the Grateful Dead, Vince Guaraldi, Sammy Hagar, Chris Isaak, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Journey, Kronos Quartet, Huey Lewis, Johnny Mathis, Bobby McFerrin, the Melvins, Metallica, Moby, the Mummies, Graham Nash, Dan the Automator (Dan Nakamura), Liz Phair, Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, and Sid Vicious.
It’s such a creative city. Of course, the super-expensive cost of living is driving a lot of artists away from the Bay Area. It’s a shame that it’s tough for so many to make it here.
I recently watched the documentary Summer of Soul (… or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), directed by Ahmir (Questlove) Thompson, of Philadelphia band The Roots. Questlove is also a DJ, record producer, and author, among other things–the man seems to have endless talent and energy. If you haven’t seen Summer of Soul yet, do yourself a favor and watch it. (It can be seen in theaters and on Hulu.)
Summer of Soul is about the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, which consisted of a series of six outdoor summer concerts in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park), drawing more than 300,000 audience members. Singer Tony Lawrence organized the festival, and it was filmed by television producer Hal Tulchin. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s because the festival footage sat in a basement, largely unseen, until now. Was it just forgotten due to being overshadowed by Woodstock, which happened the same summer, or purposely hidden? Questlove intersperses interviews with concert footage that puts the music in the social and political context of the day and celebrates the power and joy of the performances.
“Me being a DJ is exactly what informed me on how to tell this story,” Questlove said in a virtual press conference for the film. “This isn’t the only story out there. Probably the most shocking thing that I’ve learned in the last month is that there’s about six to seven others. Maybe this film can be an entry, sort of a sea change for these stories to finally get out [and] really for us to acknowledge that … one of the first-ever Black festivals is important to our history.”
You will be treated to never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, and more. The festival celebrated African American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity. The documentary was released to rave reviews at Sundance, where it won both the grand jury prize and audience award and subsequently sold for more than $12 million, the biggest price tag for a documentary in Sundance’s history.
For me, the music brought back memories of my childhood in the early 1970s. As a white child growing up in rural Pennsylvania, I didn’t understand much about what was going on in America at the time, nor did I grasp the cultural significance of the music. Today, I see this music and these memories from a different perspective. It’s wonderful that Questlove made this film, which shines a long-overdue light on a groundbreaking musical event and celebrates Black history and culture.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, I, like most of you, I’m sure, didn’t get to see any live shows. Yes, I did go to two outdoor block parties where there were some local musicians performing, and there was that time I happened upon a jazz band playing outside by Ocean Beach. But no stadium concerts, no rock shows in small clubs, no festivals. I’ve missed going to shows. True, as I have gotten older, my energy levels have not been the same, and my tolerance for tall men standing in front of me (which ALWAYS seems to happen when I am at general admission shows) has gotten much lower. That said, I still love to hear live music. I miss the atmosphere, the anticipation when you’re waiting for the band to start, the thrill when the singer starts to belt out your favorite song, the other fans.
Shonen Knife at the Uptown, Oakland, November 2009.Brian Jonestown Massacre, Fox Theater, Oakland, May 2014.King Khan and the Shrines at the Burger Boogaloo Festival, Oakland, June 2016.
Recently, I bought tickets for some shows in the fall. It was an exciting feeling thinking about being out at shows again. Hopefully, the pandemic is indeed under control and we can move forward toward “normal life,” whatever that will now be. In the spirit of anticipation for going out to see bands, I was looking back at a list I’ve been updating over the years–a list of bands I’ve seen in my lifetime. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, and I have not been 100% consistent in including only fairly well-known, signed bands (as opposed to unsigned local bands). But, it’s still a fairly complete list of my history with live music. It’s always a fun trip down memory lane when I reminisce about these shows! Can you tell I’m a music fan?
1982–1986: High School (Living in N.E. PA)
Beach Boys, The (a university in Scranton or Wilkes-Barre?)
Cheap Trick (a university in Scranton or Wilkes-Barre?)
Jacksons, The (Victory Tour, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
1986–1990: College (Living in Philadelphia)
B-52s, The (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Big Audio Dynamite (Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia)
Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band (Human Rights Now! Tour for Amnesty International, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Meadowlands, NY)
Cure, The (The Spectrum, Philadelphia)
David Bowie (The Spectrum, Philadelphia)—two nights in a row!
Depeche Mode (The Spectrum, Philadelphia?)
Fishbone (Irvine Auditorium, U of Penn, Philadelphia)
Hooters, The (Univ. of Penn campus, Philadelphia)
Indigo Girls (Univ. of Penn campus, Philadelphia)
Joan Jett (Univ. of Penn campus, Philadelphia)
Miles Davis (Kirby Theater, Wilkes-Barre, PA)
New Order (Irvine Auditorium, U of Penn, Philadelphia)—Dec 1986 (see obsessive transcript of bootleg tapes of maybe every New Order show, including this one, at http://www.new-order.net/no/gigs/nogigs.html)
Peter Gabriel (Human Rights Now! Tour for Amnesty International, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
Siouxsie and the Banshees (Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)—not 100% sure I really saw this show, but I have a vague memory I did
Sting (Human Rights Now! Tour for Amnesty International, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
Sting (Nothing Like the Sun Tour, The Spectrum, Philadelphia)—two nights in a row!
Tracy Chapman (Human Rights Now! Tour for Amnesty International, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
U2 (Joshua Tree tour; JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
Youssou N’Dour (Human Rights Now! Tour for Amnesty International, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)
Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers (Irvine Auditorium, U of Penn, Philadelphia)
Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
1990–2005 (Living in Philadelphia Post College)
All Mighty Senators (The Casbah, Philadelphia)
Ani DiFranco (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Beastie Boys (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Beck (Lollapalooza 1995, Randall’s Island, New York City)
Beth Orton (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Billy Bragg (Penns Landing, Philadelphia)
Black Crowes, The (Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (TLA, Philadelphia)
Blackalicious (Electric Factory, Philadelphia)
Blur (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Bonnie Raitt (Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia?)
Brand New Heavies (Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Breeders, The (North Star Bar, Philadelphia)
Bright Eyes (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Buckwheat Zydeco (Penns Landing, Philadelphia)
Cake (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Chemical Brothers (Electric Factory, Philadelphia)
Chemical Brothers (somewhere in NYC)
Cracker (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Cypress Hill (Lollapalooza 1995, Randall’s Island, New York City)
Damned, The (Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Dead Milkmen (Clark Park, Philadelphia)
Dilated Peoples (Electric Factory, Philadelphia)
DJ Krush (outdoor party, Center City Philadelphia)
Earth, Wind & Fire (Spectrum, Philadelphia)
Elastica (Lollapalooza 1995, Randall’s Island, New York City)
Electric Eel Shock (Khyber, Philadelphia)
Elliott Smith (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Franz Ferdinand (TLA, Philadelphia)
Friggs, The (Upstairs at Nicks, Philadelphia)
George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars (Robin Hood Dell, Philadelphia)
George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars (Electric Factory, Philadelphia)
Gin Blossoms, The (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Hole (Lollapalooza 1995, Randall’s Island, New York City)
Holly Golightly (Khyber, Philadelphia)
Hot Hot Heat (TLA, Philadelphia)
Interpol (TLA, Philadelphia)
Jenn Trynan (JC Dobbs, Philadelphia)
Josh Wink (Fluid, Philadelphia)
Killers, The (TLA, Philadelphia)
King Britt (Fluid, Philadelphia)
Laurie Anderson (Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia)
Lenny Kravitz (Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ)
L7 (JC Dobbs, Philadelphia)
Le Tigre (The Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Lisa Loeb (private party, Mountain Lakes, NJ)
Live (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Liz Phair (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Los Straightjackets (The Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Louis XIV (TLA, Philadelphia)
Low Road, The (North Star Bar, Philadelphia)
LTJ Bukem (The Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Maroon Five (TLA, Philadelphia)
Mekons, The (Khyber, Philadelphia)
Michael Tolcher (TLA, Philadelphia)
Murmurs, The (JC Dobbs, Philadelphia)
My Morning Jacket (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Neville Brothers, The (Penns Landing, Philadelphia)
New Pornographers, The (TLA, Philadelphia)
Pixies, The (Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ)
Public Enemy (Electric Factory, Philadelphia)
Radiohead (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Rufus Wainwright (TLA, Philadelphia)
Sade (Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ)
Sleater-Kinney (Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Sonic Youth (Lollapalooza 1995, Randall’s Island, New York City)
Sonic Youth (Festival Pier, Philadelphia)
Southern Culture on the Skids (North Star Bar, Philadelphia)
Spin Doctors (Mann Music Center, Philadelphia)
Spiritualized (Field Day 2003, New York City)
Stereo Total (The Fire, Philadelphia)
Stereolab (Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Team Dresch (The Casbah? Philadelphia)
Thermals, The (Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia)
Underworld (Field Day 2003, New York City)
U2 (PopMart tour; Franklin Field, Philadelphia)
Wilco (Festival Pier, Philadelphia)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Penns Landing, Philadelphia)
2005–2010: Grad School (Living in Oakland)
Air (Fox Theater, Oakland)
Arturo Sandoval (and other jazz greats; Yoshi’s, Oakland, CA)
Boozoo Bajou (1751 Fulton, San Francisco)
Brian Jonestown Massacre, The (Independent, San Francisco)
British Sea Power (Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco)
Cheb i Sabbah (Mezzanine, San Francisco)
Cliks, The (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
Cyndi Lauper (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
Death Cab for Cutie (Paramount Theater, Oakland)
Debbie Harry (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
Dilettantes, The (Café Du Nord, San Francisco)
DJ Krush (Mighty, San Francisco)
Dolly Parton (Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 2005)
Dresden Dolls, The (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
Emmylou Harris (Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 2005)
Erasure (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
G. Love & Special Sauce (Warfield, San Francisco)
Gossip, The (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs (Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco)
Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs (Café Du Nord, San Francisco)
Indigo Girls (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
King Britt (Burning Man 2005, Black Rock Desert, Nevada)
King Britt (1751 Fulton, San Francisco)
King Khan & The Shrines (Bimbos, San Francisco)
Les Nubiens (Stern Grove, San Francisco)
Miss Kitten (Mezzanine, San Francisco)
Mother Hips, The (Café Du Nord, San Francisco)
National, The (The Filmore, San Francisco)
Nitzer Ebb (Slims, San Francisco)
Paul Oakenfold (Burning Man, Black Rock Desert, Nevada), August 2006
Polysics (opening for Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco)
RJD2 (U CA Berkeley campus, Berkeley)
Rykarda Parasol (Café Du Nord, San Francisco)
Shins, The (Paramount Theater, Oakland)
Shonen Knife (Uptown, Oakland)
Lonnie Smith (Herbst Theater, San Francisco)
Stereolab (Independent, San Francisco)
Rufus Wainwright (True Colors for Gay Rights tour, Greek Theater, Berkeley), June 2007
We Are Scientists (Independent, San Francisco)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Filmore, San Francisco)
Yellowjackets, The (Yoshi’s, Oakland)
Yo La Tengo (Palace of Fine Arts Theater, San Francisco)
2010–2012: Living in Humboldt County
Apples in Stereo (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Esperanza Spalding (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Jake Shimabukaru (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Maceo Parker (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Mason Jennings (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Neko Case (Stern Grove, San Francisco)
Patti Smith (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
Shook Twins (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
They Might Be Giants (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)
2012–2019: Living in Santa Cruz
Afrofunk Experience (Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA)
Aimee Mann (Rio Theater, Santa Cruz, CA)
Arcade Fire (Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA)
Bad Light, The (opening for Black Mountain at The Atrium at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA)
Band of Orcs (The Atrium at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA)
Beats Antique (The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA)
Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite (The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA)
Black Mountain (The Atrium at the Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA)
Black Uhuru (Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, CA)
Brian Jonestown Massacre, The (Fox Theater, Oakland, CA)
Brian Jonestown Massacre, The (Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco, CA)
Some of my friends have been getting together every Friday night for years to have a “listening party.” Each party has a theme (e.g., time, overthrow of the king, murder, gratitude), and all the participants come ready with ideas of songs, artists, or albums that fit (sometimes loosely) the theme. The host acts as DJ, giving each person a turn to suggest a song, which he plays.
In these days of COVID, the party is held through Zoom. It’s still a lot of fun. I wasn’t one of the old-timers of this party, just attending here and there, but lately I’ve been going each week. Zoom gives me a chance to participate when normally it would be hard to, since I’ve moved away from the town where most of these friends live. It’s a fun way to keep in touch, relax on a Friday evening, share music I like with friends, and hear different music.
In noticing the various genres that each friend likes, I was pondering why we tend to gravitate toward certain types of music. Like most things, there isn’t just one reason. It’s a fascinating topic: How does our individual psychology mesh with culture, society, and experience to shape our musical preferences?
How We Think Shapes Our Music Preferences A study of more than 4,000 participants led by Cambridge University psychologist David Greenberg and colleagues found a correlation between people’s thinking styles and musical preferences. The study divided the subjects into three categories: empathizers (Type E), who focus on people’s thoughts and emotions; systemizers (Type S), who focus on rules and systems; and balanced types (Type B), who focus equally on both areas. (What type do you think you are? I think I am Type B.)
In the study, Greenberg and colleagues reviewed the results of the interviews and found that Type E thinkers tended to like low-energy songs with emotional depth, including sad songs, and genres like soft rock and singer-songwriters. Type S thinkers tended to prefer more intense and structured music like heavy metal or avant-garde classical music. Type B personalities tended to display a broader range of preferences than either of the other types.
Photo by Mickel Emad.
Prior research suggests that listening to sad music can stimulate the pituitary gland to produce prolactin, which induces calmness and relaxation and is also related to empathy. This is probably more true for Type E people, who may have a larger than average hypothalamic region in the brain, the area governing the pituitary. Other studies show that listening to mellow music can stimulate the production of the hormone oxytocin, which promotes feelings of love, social bonding, well-being, and calm.
In Type S personalities, evidence suggests that the areas of the brain that regulate analytic thought (the cingulate and dorsal medial prefrontal areas) are larger. Type S people were shown to pay more attention to the structure and patterns of music, as well as instrumentation, rather than the emotions.
How Personality Type Factors In There is also research examining the link between personality types and music genre preferences. One study used the Five Factor Model of analyzing personality types (the qualities are conscientiousness, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, and neuroticism) to see if it fit with music choice. The study found that people who are more open to new experiences liked a wider variety of music, and tended to be drawn to classical music, blues, jazz, and folk music. People in this category tend to be emotional, imaginative, and artistically sensitive, as well as intellectually curious. Extraverts tended to like popular music. An earlier, similar, study also found that extroverts often are drawn to higher-energy and rhythmic music.
One Canadian study found that certain personality traits relate to musical taste in adolescents: Young people with lower self-esteem and a higher sense of alienation were more drawn to “heavy” music, and those who tended to focus on rule-following and have trouble being independent preferred “light” music. Adolescents who felt relatively secure and confident tended to have more eclectic musical preferences.
Additional Factors in Musical Preference Gender plays a role in why we like certain music. According to some research, female gender is associated with a more emotional response to music and a tendency to prefer pop. Male gender is correlated with liking exaggerated bass in music.
Age is an additional factor. Not surprisingly, young people are often more open to new music and more likely to listen to what’s contemporary, compared with older people, who often are drawn to music they liked when they were younger. Musical tastes also change over the lifespan.
History, Culture, and Experience Also Affect Music Taste We don’t exist in a vacuum. Our thinking and personality styles are in part shaped by genetics but also by environment. This includes our family, peers, and larger culture and community. For instance, psychology research shows that people are drawn to the familiar. Thus, some of our musical taste is shaped by what we hear as children and young adults.
A 2016 study published in Nature found that hundreds of years’ of learned behavior factor into why we prefer certain styles of music. This study looked specifically at music with consonant intervals (e.g., using octaves) versus that which is dissonant (e.g., using tritones). Consonant intervals generally sound brighter and feel more “resolved.” Dissonant intervals, on the other hand, tend to sound harsher and unfinished. People from Western cultures strongly prefer consonant music. The study found that people from non-Western cultures with no exposure to Western music equally enjoyed consonant and dissonant music. This research disproved the previously believed theory that preference for consonant music is biologically determined and universal. Thus, over time, our culture shapes what sounds pleasing and familiar to us.
We are also drawn to certain genres because of what it says to and about us; for example, we may listen to music from our racial or ethnic culture or the geographical region where we grew up. According to some studies, music preferences are also influenced by how an individual wants to be perceived–the music a person chooses is a form of self-expression and a reflection of conscious and unconscious identity traits. This was found to be more true for males than for people of other genders. Thus, we are drawn to music that represents something we relate to, such as intelligence (e.g., classical music, jazz), rebellion (e.g., heavy metal, countercultural folk music, punk), or a certain subculture (e.g., rockabilly, bluegrass, goth).
Images from James Mollison’s book The Disciples, a visual study of musical subcultures. Top: Missy Elliott fans. Middle: The Cure fans. Bottom: Sex Pistols fans. Artist website: https://www.jamesmollison.com/.
Music choice is also personal–we associate certain songs or bands with a memory or a person. For instance, maybe our first love was into a particular band. We may begin listening to that band as a way to get closer to our partner, but eventually, we grow to love the band–even after the relationship is over. Haven’t you ever heard a song start playing that reminds you of high school dances or your twenties or a favorite vacation and instantly start to feel good?
It’s fascinating to think about all of these factors. In the end, though, why we listen to what we listen to may not matter a whole lot. It’s the experience and richness of music that we care about, regardless of how we got there.
Hello, dear readers! Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote a post. The past couple of months have been a whirlwind, as I did a little traveling, accepted a new job in San Francisco, moved, and started the job. With so much transition happening, I am feeling both energized and uprooted. Everything is new and strange. I am having to “redo” just about every part of my life: commuting via mass transit, putting my home together, altering my social life, finding my new dance community, dealing with city parking, learning new procedures and routines at work … With all this change, I find myself reflecting on the past.
So, you get yet another “soundtrack” post! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now: I am not sure anyone but myself enjoys my musical musings, but it brings me joy and comfort to reminisce, so humor me. This post covers favorite songs and bands from my mid-30s to now, which takes us from the mid-2000s to the present.
In the mid-2000s, I was starting another big life transition: I had decided to change careers and apply to graduate school in psychology. I felt that starting grad school presented the opportunity to move to the West Coast, something I thought would be a fun adventure. When I moved to California in 2005 to attend grad school in San Francisco, I figured I’d live in California a few years and then move back East once I had graduated. Well, 14 years later, I am still in California! Go figure.
The mid-2000s were a time of diverse trends in music, and my tastes were also diverse. One genre I continued to like was “lounge,” electronica, and DJ music, particularly RJD2, DJ Krush, Gorillaz, and DJ Shadow. Some of it was good for actual lounging, and some for dancing.
Postmodern virtual band Gorillaz is made up of animated characters and was created by Blur lead singer, Damon Albarn, and artist Jamie Hewlett. The Gorillaz album “Demon Days,” containing the song “Dirty Harry” came out in 2005.
Although it came out in 2001, I was still listening to Krush’s album “Zen” in the mid-2000s.
I was still into indie rock and Britpop, post-punk, and garage rock. Being in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid- to late 2000s gave me access to a lot of great live shows and exposure to some more obscure garage rock bands a grad school friend was into. I discovered two bands during that time that are still favorites: Brian Jonestown Massacre and King Khan (real name, Arish Ahmad Khan). BJM was formed in San Francisco in 1990. I saw them perform several times in the 2000s; although I love their music, their live shows are spotty and unpredictable, sometimes marred by fist fights or verbal altercations between band founder Anton Newcombe and other band or audience members. The last show I saw, just last year in 2018, was not good–Anton seemed high (he’s struggled off and on with addiction) and was pretty out of it, barely able to perform. The band only played 6 songs before throwing in the towel.
King Khan is a high-energy performer whose music combines funk, garage rock, and other genres. He’s had several bands/projects, including King Khan and BBQ Show, King Khan and the Shrines, and Almighty Defenders. I’ve seen him perform a few times, and it’s always fun and a bit raunchy.
BJM never enjoyed a lot of mainstream fame, but if they had a “hit song,” it was probably “Nevertheless,” released in 2001.
A live performance by King Khan and the Shrines in 2008. This performance is a bit more sedate than many: There are often crazy costumes, antics, and lots of energy.
Lots of indie and garage rock, some of which I started listening to in the ’90s, was still on my playlist through the 2000s (e.g., Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, Holly Golightly, The Black Keys, The Raveonettes). I also continued to love Radiohead. I still listen to a lot of this music today. Some other favorite bands/artists that recorded in the 2000s (or that I discovered at that time) were Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, The Raconteurs, and The Beta Band. My memory of exactly when I got into which bands is a little rusty now!
A favorite Shins song from 2003.
A Black Keys video from 2006.
One of my favorite Yeah Yeah Yeah songs, “Gold Lion,” from 2006.
“Steady as She Goes” by The Raconteurs in 2008.
An artist I always associate with my grad school years (2005 to 2010) is José González. I love his beautiful, moody guitar-heavy music and really got into it during that period. I also started listening more to some country and alt-country, such as Dolly Parton’s bluegrass album “Little Sparrow,” as well as Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, and “Van Lear Rose,” Loretta Lynn’s album produced by Jack White. I also added bands such as Bon Iver, Wolf Parade, Broken Bells, Iron and Wine, and British Sea Power to my library.
A live performance of one my favorite José González songs, “Heartbeats.” Recorded by González in 2003, performance in 2010. (The original was an electronic song by The Knife.)
I also have to include this video, another cover, since the original of “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” by Joy Division, is one of my favorite songs of all time. I love González’s version, too.
In the late ’00s and early 2010s, my musical tastes stayed pretty similar, heavy on garage and post-punk rock, with a bunch of other random stuff thrown in. I also had fun exploring older music, such as classic country and rockabilly (Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, Roger Miller, Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, Ersel Hickey, Johnny Horton) and funk and R&B (The Bar-Kays, Taj Mahal, James Brown, The Mighty Dogcatchers, Robert Jay, The Stovall Sisters, Wilson Pickett, Detroit Sex Machines).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXcIX39J81s
The Detroit Sex Machines–still sounds great today! (recorded around 1970)
A country/rockabilly classic, “Dang Me,” by Roger Miller (1964).
Don’t The Mighty Dogcatchers make you want to dance? (1973)
That brings us up to just a few years ago. What I have been listening to in the mid- to late 2010s has been pretty random: A large sampling of stuff old and new from my iTunes library. Artists I have discovered in the recent past (some of them new, some just new to me) include Ray LaMontagne (yeah, he’s been around a while, but I didn’t really like him all that much until his 2014 album “Supernova,” which I love), Rayland Baxter, Amen Dunes, The Allah-Las, Baby Woodrose, Black Mountain, The Black Angels, Beats Antique, Dan Auerbach, Leon Bridges, The Limiñanas, Stephen Marley, Toro y Moi, and a whole bunch of bellydance and bellydance-friendly music (due to my dance habit!). A few fave artists/bands for bellydance are Solace, Issam Houshan, and Raquy & The Cavemen.
Retro cool sounds from The Limiñanas.
The Allah-Las are slick.
Getting mellow with Rayland Baxter.
A fun and challenging song for American Tribal Style (ATS) bellydance.
There’s much more I could share, but I’m getting tired, so I will end here for now. I hope you have enjoyed the music!
Hello, readers! It’s another “soundtrack” post. As I’ve said before, I am not sure how many of you, if any, enjoy these posts, but I love putting them together, so indulge me once again as I delve into the music that I liked in my post-college days. I’m focusing on my early 20s to mid-30s, so the time period is the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.
Right after college, when I was in my early 20s, I was living with my boyfriend/soon-to-be-fiancé. We were both influenced by hip hop, R&B/soul, grunge, singer-songwriter, and “college rock” (with closely related genres “modern rock,” “alternative rock,” and “indie rock”).
My love of dance music in college continued, morphing into a love for hip hop and R&B/soul. A few of my faves in the early to mid-90s were Deee-Lite, Arrested Development, Digable Planets, Jamiroquai, Soul II Soul, and De La Soul. And, living in Philadelphia, it was impossible not to like Will Smith’s “Summertime.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzoEK545j64
“Groove Is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite, 1990.
“Tennessee” by Arrested Development, 1992.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, “Summertime,” 1991, filmed in Philadelphia, both musicians’ hometown.
“A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays'” by De La Soul with Q-Tip, 1991.
Although Jamiroquai’s hit “Virtual Insanity” was mid-’90s, not early ’90s, I add it here because the style kinda fits, and the video is cool.
Another mid-’90s R&B dance favorite is “Scream” by Michael and Janet Jackson. Love the song, but love the video even more!
A very different genre, which I also loved in my 20s, was grunge. The music, and the culture and aesthetic of grunge, were big influences. The biggies, of course, were Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice in Chains. Nirvana was by far my favorite, and I was devastated by Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994.
Nirvana’s classic grunge anthem, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” 1991.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS91knuzoOA
Disturbing grunge song “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam, 1991.
I was equally into alternative rock. The Pennsylvania band Live was a fave. I was very into “Lightening Crashes,” although later that song got kind of ruined for me by some bad personal experiences I won’t go into here. Thus, I include a different Live video, “I Alone,” which I also loved. I pretty much wore out my copy of the band’s Throwing Copper CD. Can’t say the dance moves and hairstyles in the video hold up too well today!
“I Alone” by Live, 1994.
In my 30s, after my divorce, I started to get more into hip hop and electronic music. A Tribe Called Quest and Q-Tip’s early solo stuff were hip hop favorites, along with Public Enemy, Black Sheep, and The Pharcyde. My top electronic loves were The Chemical Brothers, Portishead, Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, and The Wiseguys. I also liked all of Del tha Funky Homosapien’s projects: his solo stuff, Deltron 3030, and Gorillaz (he was a guest performer).
A Tribe Called Quest’s 1992 hit “Scenario.” This one always got the dance floor jumping when Philly DJ Cozmic Cat (now in Toronto) was spinning at the 700 Club.
The Chemical Brothers had some very trippy and creative videos, including this one for “The Test,” 2003. While not one of my favorite Chemical Brothers songs, it was one of my favorite of their videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWQQYZ8vck
Fatboy Slim, “Sunset (Bird of Prey),” 2000.
The frenetic “Firestarter” by the Prodigy, 1997.
Whether you want it or not, dear readers, I’ll post some more “soundtrack” columns to bring us from the ’90s to the present. I hope you enjoyed some of these videos!
Whether you are religious or not, the documentary Amazing Grace will touch your soul. The film shows a two-night live gospel performance that Aretha Franklin did in 1972 in Watts’ New Temple Missionary Baptist Church. Even as a non-religious person, I could not argue with a statement made by Aretha’s father, Reverend Franklin, that her voice was a gift from God. And, what a gift!
When Aretha did this performance, she was already a superstar, with 11 number one singles and five Grammys. With this show and live album, she returned to her roots a gospel singer. (The Grammy-winning album also became the biggest selling disc of Aretha’s entire recording career as well as the highest selling live gospel music album of all time.) Aretha sang with the incredible Southern California Community Choir (directed by Alexander Hamilton) and gospel legend Reverend James Cleveland. On both nights of filming, the church was packed with people, including a few celebrities such as gospel superstar Clara Ward, who was a primary influence on Aretha Franklin. Ward was introduced by Cleveland and given a seat of honor in the front row. The audience on night two also included Mick Jagger and Ron Wood, who sat anonymously in the back and clapped along with the rest of the fans.
Aretha Franklin singing with the Southern California Community Choir. Rev. Cleveland is behind Franklin and to her right. Still from the movie Amazing Grace.
Although the show occurred and was filmed in 1972, the movie was not put together for many years and was not released until late 2018. This is because the live footage, shot by Sydney Pollack and his crew, couldn’t be synced with sound due to a major technical mistake. So, the footage sat in a vault for 35 years before producer Alan Elliott decided to take a stab at making it movie-ready. With Pollack’s death in 2008 and legal delays, it took another 11 years for the film to be finished.
The History of Gospel Music
The friend who saw Amazing Grace with me noted how gospel is at the root of many forms of American music, yet the majority of influential gospel musicians never got much fame or fortune. Gospel has its origins in the music of Africans who were brought to North America as slaves and indentured servants in the 1600s: Africans’ emphasis on call and response, improvisation, polyrhythms, and percussion formed the basis of gospel (among other forms of music). George Leile established the First African Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia, the oldest Black church in North America, in 1777. However, as early as the late 1600s, Africans were being converted to Christianity, and many were fond of British Christian hymns (especially those written by Isaac Watts).
By the 1800s, African American innovation in religious music began to distinguish itself in the forms of spirituals, shouts, lined-hymns, and anthems. After slavery was abolished in America, The Fisk Jubilee Singers (organized as a fundraising effort for Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee) went on an international tour and became the first African American religious singing group to become well known.
The early 1900s saw the birth of religious revivals, whose energetic music was key to the development of gospel music. Early gospel stars included Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1930s and ’40s and Mahalia Jackson and groups like Swan Silvertones, the Caravans, and the Original Gospel Harmonettes in the 1940s through the ’60s (The Golden Age of Gospel). Perhaps the most important group in popularizing gospel outside of churches was the Clara Ward Singers.
Mahalia Jackson, 1962, photographed by Carl Van Vechten.
Clara Ward, 1970.
“Oh Happy Day” was recorded in 1967 by the Northern California State Youth Choir (later dubbed the Edwin Hawkins Singers). This song almost single-handedly created the genre of contemporary gospel. Key figures in this movement included Walter Hawkins, Tramaine Hawkins, Andraé Crouch and the Disciples, the Winans, and the Clark Sisters. Reverend James Cleveland and Mattie Moss Clark helped give rise to the movement by their tireless work composing, arranging, and recording for large choirs.
The Psychology of Music
Many have written on the psychological impact music has on our emotions and well-being. Some research has shown that the structure of music can effect how we interpret and feel about messages in the lyrics (Seidel & Prinz, 2013; Sinclair et al., 2007). Researchers have also found that listening to religious music can improve the mental health of older adults (Bradshaw et al., 2015). It seems that the structure, lyrics, and cultural and spiritual associations of music all have a great impact on our psychology. As neurologist Oliver Sacks wrote,
“Humans are uniquely able to produce and enjoy music—very few other animals can do so. But not only is music one of the fundamental ways we bond with each other, it literally shapes our brains. Perhaps this is so because musical activity involves many parts of the brain (emotional, motor, and cognitive areas), even more than we use for our other great human achievement, language.”
Final Thoughts
Music is a powerful form of expression that taps into our emotions and can stir our soul. If you love music, love Aretha Franklin, love gospel, or just want to be inspired and moved, you should definitely see Amazing Grace. It’s an experience.
References
This post references the USC Libraries Digital Library website for its Gospel Music History Archive, including a timeline of the history of gospel.
Bradshaw, M., et al. (2015). Listening to religious music and mental health in later life. The Gerontologist, Volume 55, Issue 6, December 2015, Pages 961–971.
Seidel A., Prinz J. (2013). Sound morality: irritating and icky noises amplify judgments in divergent moral domains. Cognition 127, 1–5.
Sinclair R., Lovsin T., Moore S. (2007). Mood state, issue involvement, and argument strength on responses to persuasive appeals. Psychol. Rep. 101, 739–753.
OK, readers, my “Soundtrack” series continues. I attended college from 1986 to 1990, and this post highlights some of my favorite songs from that time, as well as some songs that were influential to me during college.
Me (center) with two of my college pals freshman year (1986–1987), Lisa and Adam.
New Musical Influences
In the fall of 1986, I left my small town in northeast Pennsylvania to attend college in the big city of Philadelphia. Surprisingly, although I was a fairly sheltered teen, I adapted to urban life pretty quickly. One exciting thing about starting school at the University of Pennsylvania and being in a city was that I met people from all over the country (and world), who were more ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse than I’d been used to. That said, a large number of the fellow frosh I met at Penn were from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Many were from Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Although I liked a lot of the same music as my peers, those from urban and suburban locales who were able to see live music in city clubs often had a wider range of tastes than me.
One of my frosh dorm-mates who grew up in the New York City area was into some bands I didn’t know too well. He introduced me to bands like The Specials, The English Beat, and General Public. I also remember that he was in love with Spandau Ballet’s “True,” which had come out in 1983 but was still well-loved in 1986 when we started college.
Like many of my peers, I was in love with General Public’s song “Tenderness,” which had come out in 1984, a couple years before my freshman year. (R.I.P. Ranking Roger.) I had probably heard the song before college, but I remember listening to it a lot during my early Penn days. I got a copy of The English Beat’s 1983 greatest hits album What Is Beat? around that time and must have worn it out playing it so often. All their hits were amazing, but “Mirror in the Bathroom” was a top fave.
Rock Influences
My freshman roommate had very different musical tastes than I did. To be honest, at the time, I didn’t really like much of the vinyl she spinned in our little dorm room. But, some of it did grow on me. One of her all-time favorite bands was The Allman Brothers. At the time, the Allmans seemed old-fashioned and not cool enough to me–I wasn’t much into classic rock. I can now appreciate great songs like “Layla” (released in 1970). I can also appreciate how my roommate stayed true to herself and her music loves. I was a lot more easily influenced by what my friends were listening to.
My sophomore year in college, I started dating the man I’d later marry (and even later, divorce). He also loved music that didn’t really do it for me. His fave band was Steely Dan (as well as Donald Fagen’s solo work). I tolerated listening to this music because I loved my boyfriend and wanted to be open minded about music I hadn’t listened to before, but I can’t say I ever really got into Steely Dan. I did love the fact that my ex was a musician himself. He played keyboards in several bands during college and sometimes sang. He had a surprisingly deep voice for a not-very-tall strawberry-blonde German. One of my ex’s best-loved Steely Dan songs was “Josie.” The music is pretty good if you like mellow rock, but I always thought the lyrics were rather silly. You can judge for yourself.
Major Faves
Freshman year, I got really into U2’s album The Unforgettable Fire. Although this album had come out in 1984, I hadn’t listened to it all the way through before. (I’d heard the singles, “Pride” and “The Unforgettable Fire” on MTV.) I hadn’t yet developed my obsession with U2. One of my freshman hallmates got me into this album: I’d hang out in his room chatting or studying, and he’d play the The Unforgettable Fire cassette on auto-repeat. Oh, Bono, you were so cool and also so full of yourself (see 2:34, for example).
In March of my freshman year, U2 released The Joshua Tree album, which was critically acclaimed and also massively popular. “With or Without You” was one of my all-time favorite songs from college. I was quite pleased with Bono’s ponytail and leather vest in the video as well. Watching the video now makes me realize that Bono was never a great dancer. But, the musical crescendo at 3:04 may be one of the best of all times! Admit it, you belted this out in the shower, car, and alone in your room. U2 remained one of my favorite bands through the ’80s and ’90s. I still like a lot of their music, although I have to admit I don’t play it too often.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSdTa9kaiQ
Early in college, I also started to get really into The Cure and Depeche Mode. One of my all-time favorite songs by The Cure was “Just Like Heaven” from the 1987 Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album. Lisa, one of my college best friends, and I would listen to that song over and over again.
I can’t remember now if Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me or The Head on the Door was my first Cure album. It was probably one or the other, since both came out in the mid-’80s, and that’s when I remember really getting into The Cure’s music. I collected many of their other albums my first few years at Penn. “In Between Days” from The Head on the Door was another favorite song of theirs.
Another fave song that always got me and Lisa dancing was Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.” (Although the song came out in 1981, we were super into it in 1985 and 1986, probably because we had another D.M. album, Black Celebration, which had just come out, on heavy rotation.) “Just Can’t Get Enough” and Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It to My Heart” were our top dance songs. Every time “Tell It to My Heart” came on the radio, we started squealing and dancing.
Lisa and I had so much fun dancing together at frat parties freshman year (“Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes, released in 1983, was always a crowd-pleaser) and at Korean Cultural Club parties frosh and sophomore years (Lisa, a Korean-American, was a member; at these parties, we always loved “Happy Song” by Baby’s Gang, from 1984, the appeal of which was that the lyrics and laughing child were so dumb). We also danced a lot in our room when we lived together sophomore and junior years. Depeche Mode’s name (which means “fashion update” in French) was fitting–they were a stylish band! But, Taylor Dayne, what the f is going on with your hair in that video?!?
Lisa and I were also both obsessed with New Order. We had so many faves. One was “Bizarre Love Triangle.” Another was “Blue Monday.” I loved all their songs and probably had all their albums. It was so disappointing to see them live on campus at U Penn’s Irvine Auditorium: They barely spoke to the audience and seemed surly and pissed off. Not sure if this was typical for them–I don’t remember seeing them perform any other time.
Short-Lived Faves
Another album that was very popular with me and many of my college friends freshman year was Singles–45’s and Under by Squeeze. Although that “greatest hits” album had come out in 1982, the reformation of the band in 1985 and release of a new album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, also in 1985 had brought them a resurgence in popularity in the mid-’80s. I had the Singles album and played it over and over. I loved many tracks by Squeeze (such as “Tempted,” “Annie, Get Your Gun,” and “Pulling Muscles”), but “Black Coffee in Bed” (released in 1982) was one fave. However, unlike U2, Squeeze was a passing fancy.
Another band I briefly loved was Crowded House. Their hits “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong” (both from 1986) were faves. You can hear some of the same influences in their songs as in Squeeze (organs, soul, new wave).
Although it had come out 6 months to a year before I started college, I got Mike + the Mechanics’ cassette Mike + The Mechanics my freshman year at Penn, and this was also on heavy rotation in my boombox. The song All I Need Is a Miracle, unlike U2’s hits, doesn’t really hold up for me today.
Around the same time I listened to Mike + the Mechanics, I got the album Play Deep by The Outfield, another heavy-rotation cassette that was a transient fave. Can’t really remember now which song I liked the best, but it may have been “Say It Isn’t So.” Geez, this album kinda sucked, now that I listen to some of these songs again.
Late College Faves
I continued liking New Wave and alternative music later in college, but I also got more into R&B, dance music, rock, and pop. Some of my favorite artists and bands in the late ’80s to early 1990 were fairly musically respectable, such as David Bowie, Sting, Janet Jackson, Prince, the B-52’s, Tracy Chapman, and U2. Others now make me cringe (e.g., Milli Vanilli). I also got into the Grateful Dead and The Sugarcubes, two bands I learned about from one of my close friends. A few favorite songs from this era were “Desire” by U2 (1988), “Nasty” and “Control” by Janet Jackson, “Love Shack” by the B-52’s, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, and “Tomorrow People” by Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers. “Birthday” may or may not have been one of my favorite Sugarcubes songs, but I do enjoy the video. Sadly, I did indeed have Milli Vanilli’s album Girl You Know It’s True and was a big fan of both their music and their model-handsome looks (they were models and dancers, not singers, after all). It wasn’t just me: M.V. was extremely popular until the whole lip-syncing scandal occurred.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zoA0L2u-JQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edmDN11BxCY
Throughout college, I continued to like dancing and dance music. Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance,” Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam,” De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I,” Madonna’s “Vogue,” and Prince’s “Alphabet Street” were some fave dance grooves.
Live Shows
College was also a time I started to be able to see more live bands. Living in a major city for the first time, I got to go to concerts around Philadelphia (at venues such as The Spectrum, JFK Stadium, The Mann Music Center, and The Chestnut Cabaret), as well as a few on campus. Favorite live shows from that era included U2, Big Audio Dynamite, New Order (despite their afore-mentioned bad attitude), Sting, Ziggy Marley, David Bowie, The Cure, and Depeche Mode.
I could go on, but that’s enough for today! You all may be tired of these “Soundtrack” posts, but, like an amateur guitar soloist, I enjoy this navel-gazing and metaphoric noodling, so I may continue with a post-college music post (or two). Stay tuned.
