Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight is one of the greatest singers of all time. Period. I don’t care about the Super Bowl. Never have. Bread and circuses stuff. The only part I watched was the glorious Ms. Knight render the best version of “The Star Spangled Banner” I’ve had the good fortune to hear. Tearing-up from the start of her wonderful voice I still get the same reaction thinking about it the next day, and beyond! She stood up to the haters, and did what she felt was right. It was.
Now we have so-called “journalists” trying to bully her into their agenda. She is a proud American who clearly loves this country and won’t apologize for it.
America first heard Gladys Knight in 1952 when (at 7 years old) she won the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. Along with her brother, sister, and two cousins, Gladys Knight and the Pips were formed. They were highly successful, and Ms. Knight went on to a fantastic solo career as well.
I moved to Atlanta, Georgia (Ms. Knight’s home town) almost 35 years ago. Never have I been so proud to be a resident as I am today. I love America, Atlanta, and Gladys Knight! Thank you, Ms. Knight!
Conservatives Concede the Culture War
Conservatives conceded the culture war. It’s pathetic, but it’s hard to win a fight when you aren’t even engaged. It gets tedious to think that if you want to hear something from a conservative, it is some guy with a cowboy hat offering a safe, homogenized version of “country/pop” ooze.
In an article by Jasper Hamill-“Millennials Prefer Music From 20th Century Golden Age to the Pop of Today, Research Suggests”, he says: “Scientists tested a group of millennials on their ability to recognise hit records from different decades. The 643 participants, typically aged 18 to 25, maintained a steady memory of top tunes that came out between 1960 and 1999. In contrast, their memory of 21st-century songs from 2000 to 2015 – while higher overall – diminished rapidly over time. Lead researcher Dr Pascal Wallisch, from New York University in the US, said: ‘The 1960s to 1990s was a special time in music, reflected by a steady recognition of pieces of that era-even by today’s millennials.’ During this period songs reaching the top of the US Billboard charts were significantly more varied than they were between 2000 to 2015, or the 1940s and 1950s, said the scientists.” (Jasper Hamill).
Era of Annoying
In the era of annoying “millennial whoop“s, (I addressed this crap in a previous post), people are starving for new ideas of what a song should (or could) be. The golden age named in Mr. Hamill’s article (60’s-90’s) was far more adventurous than the superficial squeeze thrust upon the listener today. Perhaps that’s why people don’t listen. There’s nothing to challenge them or make them think. Why bother?
Conservatives seem to narrow their choices (it’s narrowed for them, thank you very much) to country/pop formulaic-red-neck y-sound-a-like fluff. There are a lot of us that like to think about what we listen to. That’s why you usually go back to hear something you can actually hold on to for more than just the time spent listening to it (if you make it that far).
It’s past time for conservatives to be given serious music choices. I don’t identify with that dude in a cowboy hat. Come on, let’s have some serious choices. I’m going to keep offering them, like it or not!
© 2019 J. Mark Witters Skyypilot.com