[falis]

No one younger than a certain age ever believes this, but there was a time when Rod Stewart was a great singer. His work with the Small Faces and Jeff Beck, as well as the solo work before (or just after) "Ev'ry Picture" is worth the listen.

I'm older than that certain age, and agree with you. But my wife is not, so old Rod and gang tend to be headphone music around here.

- Ed

 

[Happy Camper]

I was in the right place at the right time. 50s-60s-70s of all genres.

 

[bigshot]

I'm of the age to remember Rod the Mod in his "prime". He surrounded himself with great musicians, but he should never have been a singer. His voice is severely limited and painful to listen to. He did however, wear very amusing trousers.

 

[wind016]

The grass is always greener on the other side. If it wasn't for the big disaster in Japan, I would have said Japan a few months ago. Japan's standard of living was so high compared to San Francisco. The people are polite and everything is quality over quantity. I will still visit regardless of the radiation fears and I hope they recover.

 

 

[rroseperry]

Stewart's voice was never melodious, but for the style of rock that he was doing, it was perfect. And he could put a song across, which is not all that common a talent.
 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

We'll forgive Scotland for Rod Stewart then.

He was born here, but that is about it. Just like Angus Young and David Byrne.
 

 

[tru blu]

Quote:

Stewart's voice was never melodious, but for the style of rock that he was doing, it was perfect. And he could put a song across, which is not all that common a talent.
 

Precisely…at the turn of the '70s, he was a fantastic (and soulful) singer and interpreter. Later on, chasing hits got him into trouble even when he managed to succeed in scoring them. He's had to cut deals with Bob Dylan and the Brazilian funk innovator Jorge Ben over copyright lawsuits, for "Forever Young" and "D'Ya Think I'm Sexy", respectively.
 

 

[falis]

I'm of the age to remember Rod the Mod in his "prime". He surrounded himself with great musicians, but he should never have been a singer. His voice is severely limited and painful to listen to. He did however, wear very amusing trousers.

I had several Puerto Rican friends at college who were "manly men" in the accustomed Latino style of the day. Anyway, they went to see Faces in 1970 and were all disappointed when they got back because "they were prancing around the stage like a bunch of gay boys"! It was pretty funny given the bunch of hellraisers that band was. But it was all A-OK when we went to see Carlos and the boys a month later.

(Um yeah, right place, right time, cheaper than a dime)!

- Ed

 

[Vikingatheart]

 
Quote:

Who has time to think about Grados when you are plundering a village?
 


 

Exactly my thinking! While Grados are great, there isn't anything better than some good 'ole pillagin' and plunderin'! 

 

[AudioTroll]

yes! think I would be a pretty good hunter/gatherer...back to basics..

but when I remeber,NO ELECTRICITY!!! = nu amp,no headphone no "music"...I think I was born in the right time and palce after all

 

[corrosive_nf]

Manchester, England late 70's mid 80's.

 

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

I have to agree with the state of education. It used to be a lot better. A local junk/book store has been a rich source for me lately.

One point in particular is a 1956 Popular Mechanics book of projects for boys that I picked up. This was geared for kids around 10-16 50 years back and it's sophisticated compared to what's around today. There are radio and telephone projects on a level comparable to a CMoy build, as well as a bunch of stuff that would freak out today's parents. Not least the taxidermy, but also things like rafts, treehouses, and motor-driven go-karts. The cultural difference is striking. This was a mass-market book, but it's full of real adventure for kids with a little help from their fathers. We'd be better off if children were still encouraged to build and experiment.

Another great book I found is a 1950s book about basic audio. It actually has schematics and walks you through all the basic circuits. 50 years ago, people commonly built their own gear.

You can't help but notice how far the culture has fallen. I've also found excellent books about farming at home, construction, and much else. It used to be common to know these sorts of things. I don't want to rant, but it's sad how commercialism has replaced doing things yourself. I feel lucky that I was able to take electronics in high school (no longer offered there) and grew up with woodwork and a ham who built his own gear. I've also learned a bit about wrenching on cars and motorcycles from a good friend, but he's a bit of a throwback, too.

it's a matter of policy choices.
 
to follow up on my earlier data point about education expenditures CUT IN HALF SINCE 1980 in California (the state that Uncle Erik recently abandoned, but I remain here for now) -
 
in that same time period, California built 33 prisons.
 
in the 132 years before 1980, California built a grand total of 12 (twelve) prisons.
 
policy choices. they have real consequences. now the share of the state budget that goes to prisons is larger than that going to higher education. in 1980 it was the other way around.
 
look at the newspapers this week, covering California prison unions and private contractors building correctional institutions. it's not at all hard to figure out.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I completely agree with the educational meltdown and the rise of the prison industrial complex - not good.

However, I've noticed a cultural shift, too. For a variety of reasons, many people don't seem to have projects or work on things any longer. Growing up, every adult male I knew had some sort of workbench or workshop. I'd mow the neighbor's lawn for spending money, and the mower needed occasional maintenance. But there was a bench with tools and we'd get it running again. My father has a bench, my grandfather did, and I had a terrific uncle with a full electronics shop. So did the father of a childhood friend.

It seems most people today are consumed by electronic media. The internet, movies, TV, videogames, etc. Those aren't necessarily bad, but you don't find too many working on things in their spare time. It's too bad. I had and still have a lot of fun tinkering and building things. My refrigerator started making a terrible noise last week, so I pulled it out and spent a couple hours figuring out the problem and then fixing it.

I could have called the repairman and put another Blu-Ray on the TV, but I'm glad I didn't.

I'd also put some blame on planned obsolescence and current corporate strategies to make everything proprietary, so you either have to take something in for repair or buy a new one.

 

[Cassiopeia]

Well, I almost only listen to american-produced music. Sure that some of the artists were born in some other country, but still.
 
BTW I live in Denmark and speak english everyday. Would it do me anything to live in USA .... NO

 

[Mkubota1]

Quote:

However, I've noticed a cultural shift, too. For a variety of reasons, many people don't seem to have projects or work on things any longer. Growing up, every adult male I knew had some sort of workbench or workshop. I'd mow the neighbor's lawn for spending money, and the mower needed occasional maintenance. But there was a bench with tools and we'd get it running again. My father has a bench, my grandfather did, and I had a terrific uncle with a full electronics shop. So did the father of a childhood friend.

When I was growing up, I used to be able to buy a model (car, plane, ship, etc.) at the corner drugstore and at every toy store.  Now they are only available at hobby shops and a few independent toy stores.  Admittedly when I was putting together models I would more often than not try to get the thing done in a day; so the glued parts barely had time to set and I would use one thick coat of paint instead of many thin ones- and thus would get permanent fingerprints on the glossy surfaces.  So while I produced very few perfect models, it did teach me the importance of things like planning, patience, and resourcefulness (when you screwed up and had to somehow fix something with what you had left).  It's no wonder people nowadays look at you like you're some sort of rocket scientist just because you can change the air filter in your car or clean your laptop screen.