"Oldies" is not a genre!

It has recently come to my attention that some people do not know the rules of music conversation. You see, one of the greatest catalysts for dialogue is music. After all, who doesn't like music? The question is never whether or not you like music, rather what kind of music you like.

(Note: If your answer is "I don't really like music.": I congratulate you for having the courage to expose that lameness that ensures you go through life with as little joy as possible. Fair or not, you will be judged on that statement, so give it some thought.)

My favourite answer is "House" or "Trance". Not because there is not some great music being stolen....er, uh... created... in that genre, but if that is what you put on at home, it is a pretty good indicator of exactly what point you are at in your life, and it doesn't really further the conversation, does it? That type of music is as fleeting as Susan Boyle's fame. How many times can you refer to a song's "really cool beat"? To be fair though, it has it's rightful place in the clubs and can draw you in under the right circumstances.

The term "Oldies but goodies" was actually coined by a radio jock named Art Laboe in the mid-50s in reference to the "good music" that was around before that "Rock n' Roll drivel". You know. The music that would be around long after Rock n' Roll was dead.

Then in the 70s, those same kids (now adults)preferred those Rock n' Roll "Oldies" to the "noise" being produced by flash-in-the-pan types like Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Who, Dylan and other silly artists merely perpetuating a mindless fad that was sure to disappear at any moment due to it's lack of substance. After all how can 5 part harmonies and lyrics like Pink Floyd's "Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies. Tongue-tied and twisted Just an earth-bound misfit, Ice is forming on the tips of my wings. Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything." ever be expected to compete with the poetry of Perry Como's "Hot Diggity, Dog Diggity, ooh what you do to me."? Substance indeed!
Ah, the oldies but goodies!

First of all, the term "Goodies" has a whole different connotation in the current Hip-Hop landscape, and an "Oldie" is anyone who doesn't know that.
My niece thinks the first Black Eyed Peas CD is a "Classic oldie" and she eventually might be right, but I assure you that it is currently neither!

I recently had a conversation in an office with a young lady who, upon hearing that I was a long-time DJ, excitedly told me about a club she goes to every week for what is know as "Way-Back Wednesdays". Her friends join her as they muse over the sweet old days.... OF THE 90s!!!! I suddenly felt too old to muster the strength to smack her with my bag-full of 45s! Her, and the callow bunch that run that promotion. I won't even bore you with the details of "Retro Thursdays" which plays 80s music all night long.
The Motown label is an outstanding example of good branding. So great a brand that it is commonly referred to as a genre unto itself, and while that may just be the case, it doesn't include much of the talent attributed to it. For example, the following acts were never a part of Motown...ever!

Aretha Franklin
Ray Charles
Jackie Wilson
Percy Sledge
Wilson Pickett
Sam & Dave
Otis Redding
Sam Cooke

Get the picture?
Ask anyone under 30 to name 10 Motown artists and they'll use at least 3 of the above without ever approaching 10.
Still, for those of us who know, Motown pretty much IS a genre. It had it's own style: Slightly overproduced soul music, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.
Note: A fitting tribute is Raphael Saadiq's last release, The Way I See It, containing new songs that you would swear were old Motown standards. Hey, if you didn't know, now ya know! Check it out.

So here are the acceptable designations for genres relating to musical eras:

Big Band
Crooners
Rock-a-billy
Psychedelic Rock
Motown
(Note:As a genre, it refers primarily to Motown's hey-days which were the 60s and 70s.)
Disco 70s (Included Soul, R&B and anything by Stevie, Barry, Rev. Green, Teddy, etc.)
Classic Rock 70s
80s New Wave
80s Rock
80s Hair bands
80s Funk
90s Grunge
90s R&B
90s House

Everything else is simply Pop.

In case you noticed, it's not that there was no Soul in the 80s. It's just that it was barely a genre. After the death of Marvin gaye in '83, the closest we came to good soul in the 80s was the watered down sound of Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and DeBarge. Freddie Jackson seemed to be paving the way for the R&B style of the 90s when suddenly came Anita Baker and her Diva-ness Whitney Houston. Anita came and went, but Whitney changed the landscape of her genre forever. You can thank her for the fact that every song's original melody is bypassed for 5 minutes of gratuitous vocal acrobatics designed to show off the singer's vociferousness rather than letting us hear the @#$%*@# song!!

So go on and enjoy the nostalgic sounds of the early millenium.

'Twas a simpler time, no?