My sister-in-law says I'm stuck in the middle of the 60s

[hyphenate]

because of some of the music I listen to. I told her some of the songs and bands I've become "aware" of recently, many of them from the 80s, and she keeps telling me that she was "there" when they actually happened, not discovering them 20 years later.

Well, pardon me! Just because I was in love with Mark Lindsay, the Monkees, John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, and such from the 1960s and early 70s, and then kind of shot straight to pop music of the 1980s, doesn't mean I've been completely out of touch!

I've become quite fond of classical, jazz and folk music in the meantime, and didn't go to clubs much to "soak up" the smoke-filled, high decibel music of the disco era or raves. So what if I "found" some music late?

Does that make me "behind-the-times" or is my SIL too snobby?

:)

[SeattleGirl]

1. SIL is too snobby.

If you liked Mozart, would she say you were "stuck" in the 1700's?? :rofl:

[DarkTirade]

3. Mozart? Man, you are behind the times... Beethoven's the new big thing!

:P

[SeattleGirl]

4. Sorry, but Beethoven is too much a part of that young set.

I much prefer the fuddy-duddies. :rofl:

[hyphenate]

5. I prefer Vivaldi, actually

and JS Bach, and DeBussy, and a few other white-wigged guys. When you hear about the tragedies that people like Beethoven and Mozart suffered, it's nice to see a family of composers managing to have kids and grandkids, and keep their hearing. ;)

[DarkTirade]

8. Not for me... I like the angsty ones.

Shostakovic FTW. :)

[Radio_Lady]

2. You are fulfilling your own life. You have your own tastes and experiences. Your SIL would be wise

to mind her own business.

What does it mean to be "behind the times"? Maybe I would be in the same category in my 69th year.

I grew up with the pop bands of the 1940s and 50s. I'm still discovering people who are long gone, and people who are still around but quite a bit older.

I did not adopt the 50s pop music at all. I didn't care for Elvis Presley. I thought he was nice looking, but didn't want to dance to his music at lunchtime in high school.

Like you, I loved classical music, jazz, and folk music through the 1950s and 1960s. When the Beatles came to New York City, I was working at CBS and it seemed to me that they were just very noisy. I did like Peter, Paul, and Mary -- Simon and Garfunkel -- and my husband and I were friends with Hines, Hines & Dad (Chick and Alma Hines, and sons Maurice and Gregory Hines). They were very talented tap dancers, and we went on to ask Greg if he'd be the godfather to our little girl, Linda. He said "yes," but fate would take him away much too soon.

In the 1970s, I was so busy with children and my own career that I remember only tuning to the classical station in Boston, WCRB, and jazz on (was it WBUR?).

My tastes in music were somewhat changed when I joined the Clairol Professional Products Division in 1983. Now I was in a sales career that took me along a path with young male and female hairdressers, and into their schools and salons. Usually, they had soft rock music playing, and I do recall getting really touched by 10,000 maniacs song about a father and the group Air Supply. I was terribly saddened by the death of the youngest member of the Bee-Gees.

So, today, I'm still pretty much into softer music, certainly nothing that will ruin my hearing! We like classical music, but there are some I still don't understand and don't bother to listen to. The jazz station here is run by a group of people who are volunteers, so their tastes and announcing abilities vary. Saturday afternoon we hear a lot of Frank Sinatra, and there are a couple of syndicated shows that I do like.

My sister-in-law? She had some opinions when I married her brother, but mostly, I'm the opinionated person and keep urging her to try it this way or that. A long time ago, I learned that trying to change somebody's life experience and outlook is pretty useless. All you can do with family is smile and take whatever you hear with a shaker full of salt.

I've found that this response will stop a judgmental conversation in its tracks:

"You know, you may be right. I'll give it some thought. Thanks for your comments."

Peace, love and happiness,

Radio Lady

[hyphenate]

7. Thanks.

I was born a couple of years too late to appreciate the Beatles, at least in their initial career (1956), but just about the right age to be in "love" with Mark Lindsay and Davy Jones.

I hated disco with a passion! It was just too stupid for me. John Denver "meant" something to me--a crusader, who cared about the planet, about animals, and all that "revolutionary" stuff of the 70s that some people were trying to ignore.

Believe it or not, muzak is what got me into classical music. I just loved listening to instrumental music because it was calming, and I didn't have to listen to vocals. It was an easy step to get into classical from there.

Soundtracks were another favorite. I worked for a studio at one time, and in the music business affairs area, so I got to listen to many of the soundtracks for the movies we made. I just enjoyed talking with some of the composers (though the one composer I enjoyed talking with on the phone most was Andrew Powell, who worked with the Alan Parsons Project, and composed the music for one of my favorite films, Ladyhawke. I was thrilled to talk with him, but I dared not say anything fannish!).

We grow in different directions, and even though my SIL is my age, we have had very different lives. I know this, but sometimes people say things which make your jaw drop, and you can't believe you actually heard them say that. We did have a debate about some of the people she enjoyed, and she likes Mariah Carey, and I told her that Carey was too shrill. I jokingly told her I have too many glass objects around to listen to Carey, but I think it went over her head!

I will listen to many different genre of music, but the only ones I actively don't care for are rap, disco and modern country. If you give me Jim Reeves, Ray Price or someone of a bygone era of country music, that's a little different.

But thanks again--it's nice to know other people aren't as "caught up in the times" as much as my SIL believes she is.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

6. Snobby SIL.

A large amount of the music I listen to came out before I was even born.