Aging Boomers will remember the Whole Earth Catalog from the 1970's. In The Last Whole Earth Catalog there was a great article by Danny Sugerman , ex-manager of the Doors (if I recall correctly) about the pitfalls of managing rock bands. He advised prospective band managers to consider that bands became popular because they made decent music that was in time and in tune and NOT because it fit the tastes of a prospective manager. He warned against judging music on the basis of what amounted to differences in values rather musical merit.
I took that to heart and began to discover the difference between good music and music that expressed values I believed in. Often they showed up together, but not always.
Case in point: Bob Dylan
Here was an amazing lyricist and songwriter who was forgiven for the sound of his voice because he expressed values certain people held dear. This becomes all the more interesting because he was booed offstage at the Newport Folk Festival when he "went electric" and was seen as a traitor to his original fan base, who had felt him to be a folk singer / poet in the traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
I listened to the radio quite a bit in those days. In retrospect I find that quite a few of my musical preferences were governed by whether or not I could "own" a particular song through the ability to sing it (Beach Boys tunes), play it (Gloria by Them), dance to it (Young Rascals tunes) or identify with the attitude (The Rolling Stones) or the perspective (The Beatles).
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Next Installment: Childhood Musical Influences
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