Not Sold in Stores
I'm jet-lagged. A 3-hour time difference is not a very big deal, but I think I have a general lack of sleep compounding it. The flight home from Ohio was without event. Here I am now, back in our little apartment with a few suitcases to empty and an empty refrigerator to fill.
While in Marietta I watched a bit of television; I do every trip. Late on a Friday night I ran across paid programming for the new Time-Life 70s Music Explosion collection. I MUST HAVE THIS! You can say whatever you like about 70s FM & AM hits, but I love them with a vengance.
I also love Time-Life paid programming on late-night television. These ads are extremely effective; they've goaded me into buying the Country Classics collection and almost had me sold on Classic Soul Ballads. The 70s Music Explosion ad is hosted by Barry Williams, a.k.a. Greg Brady. Some perky co-host who was probably born in 1974 is on with him, saying things like "I love that song! Weren't the 70s great?" Dang, she must have a great memory of the world when she was 5 years old.
Ignore the Greg Brady and Nincompoop Girl segments--the best parts of these ads are the snippets of "performance" footage that play as the songs in the collection scroll across the screen. We see all manner of one-hit wonders lip-syncing in awful sequined jumpsuits in front of preposterous backgrounds...plus lots of gross, gross 70s guys with sick mullets and terrible facial hair. Bands like Pilot ("Magic") and Bread ("Baby I'm-A Want You," one song on the collection that I despise) and Player ("Baby Come Back"). It's fascinating to me. How did folks get suckered into loving this stuff when it was so hopelessly cheesy? Obviously it's the quality of the music. The two songs I'm really dying for are "Indiana Wants Me" and "Hitchin' a Ride." Both are pretty depressing songs when you listen to them, but they are dripping with that sunshine pop sound.
So, dear Santa, please bring me the 70s Music Explosion for Christmas. That's all I want, except for Classic Soul Ballads and the new Rhino girl groups box set. I know it's a worthy investment, because County Classics was *so* worth it. Life-changing, in fact. Time-Life puts together some mighty fine compilations, even if they are riddled with cliches. I got The Folk Years box set for free from my old job, and I am still nuts over it.
I think the fondness for 70s Music Explosion and The Folk Years traces back to the K-Tel and Sessions compilation LPS that my mom ordered from ads back in the day. I have three of them: Mellow Gold, Together, and Beautiful Music. Mom played them incessantly when I was younger, and they are responsible for this time-freeze pickle I'm in now. If I'm not a fan of the Go! Team or Franz Ferdinand, it's Mellow Gold's fault.
While in Marietta I watched a bit of television; I do every trip. Late on a Friday night I ran across paid programming for the new Time-Life 70s Music Explosion collection. I MUST HAVE THIS! You can say whatever you like about 70s FM & AM hits, but I love them with a vengance.
I also love Time-Life paid programming on late-night television. These ads are extremely effective; they've goaded me into buying the Country Classics collection and almost had me sold on Classic Soul Ballads. The 70s Music Explosion ad is hosted by Barry Williams, a.k.a. Greg Brady. Some perky co-host who was probably born in 1974 is on with him, saying things like "I love that song! Weren't the 70s great?" Dang, she must have a great memory of the world when she was 5 years old.
Ignore the Greg Brady and Nincompoop Girl segments--the best parts of these ads are the snippets of "performance" footage that play as the songs in the collection scroll across the screen. We see all manner of one-hit wonders lip-syncing in awful sequined jumpsuits in front of preposterous backgrounds...plus lots of gross, gross 70s guys with sick mullets and terrible facial hair. Bands like Pilot ("Magic") and Bread ("Baby I'm-A Want You," one song on the collection that I despise) and Player ("Baby Come Back"). It's fascinating to me. How did folks get suckered into loving this stuff when it was so hopelessly cheesy? Obviously it's the quality of the music. The two songs I'm really dying for are "Indiana Wants Me" and "Hitchin' a Ride." Both are pretty depressing songs when you listen to them, but they are dripping with that sunshine pop sound.
So, dear Santa, please bring me the 70s Music Explosion for Christmas. That's all I want, except for Classic Soul Ballads and the new Rhino girl groups box set. I know it's a worthy investment, because County Classics was *so* worth it. Life-changing, in fact. Time-Life puts together some mighty fine compilations, even if they are riddled with cliches. I got The Folk Years box set for free from my old job, and I am still nuts over it.
I think the fondness for 70s Music Explosion and The Folk Years traces back to the K-Tel and Sessions compilation LPS that my mom ordered from ads back in the day. I have three of them: Mellow Gold, Together, and Beautiful Music. Mom played them incessantly when I was younger, and they are responsible for this time-freeze pickle I'm in now. If I'm not a fan of the Go! Team or Franz Ferdinand, it's Mellow Gold's fault.
posted by Lefty at 11:49 AM
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