It's in the DNA

If you don't like 'soul music', don't waste your time!!!
As you probably know from previous posts, this guy, Lachy Doley, is one of my favorite ROCK organist. What I didn't know was that his brother is a 'killer' rock/blues pianist. Can you imagine growing up in that household. Wow!
As usual, listen with good speakers (or headphones).

chas

I simply love it!
Tnx Chas.

Big plus here!


R.

Thanks Chas, great start to the day! Love these guys!

If you get a chance, listen to some more of Lachy's stuff (gimme some lovin, I'm a man, etc.). Not only is he a fantastic musician (fastest hands in the organ world) but so are his bandmates, especially his drummer who is absolute 'killer'. And don't let those Amish-looking backup singers fool you; one of them is Mahalia Barnes, herself a very talented and well-known blues singer. They haven't quite made it to the very top YET, but mark my words, THEY WILL.

chas

Doesn't really excite me, but as you stated, I guess it's in the genes.

All the best,

Gary

Hey Gary, 'different strokes for different folks' AND I RESPECT THAT. Glad to see you're feeling strong enough to post. Hang in there. Remember, "The darkest hour is just before dawn".

chas

Fantastic playing/singing! It really doesn't get better than that!

And yes, it most have been amazing growing up in that household. I am really intrigued! I imagine that they must have very musical parents, maybe something like the Marsalis family?

Sweet!

Thanks for posting this.

We still have the issue where embedded video doesn’t show up on iPad etc..

Would you mind posting the plain URL for the clip, Chas?

Sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz0FRIec...nnel=LachyDoley

chas

HOLY CRAP!! Wow-what a treat the ladies are easy on the eyes too.

I checked out his performances of "I'm A Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin." YUP it's in the DNA.

Speaking of treats, great to see you here, Steve. Hard to come by a friendly face these days. If you're still in touch with TonyMads, give him my fondest regards.

chas

Thanks, Chas! Yes, I'm in touch with TonyMads on a regular basis and will send your regards.

A friend of mine, who happens to be American and also was a professor at my college likes music like this as it is "ecstatic". In Russia we tend to think that we know American music because there's a lot of music with English words, but in fact we know mostly what is internationally promoted. As for more authentic country, or soul music, it's indeed more foreign for an average listener. Certainly, for a decent musician it's not hard to immitate any music, but it is still hard not to be fake. In the same time, as my friend explains, it seems that now musicians are very open-minded and different cultures can overlap quite well; while an average young listener is more focused on today's popular genres and doesn't really care about "old" music like Blues and if it has anything to do with his roots, etc. Maybe it's up to professionals to keep these genres alive rather than to specific cultures, as today we seem to live in one big uncertain culture; of course, there are some new borders, prejudices, music reflects it as weel, but I won't be discussing it here.

Great stuff. So much better than the music pushing on the public today. I'm glad there is a lot of musicians going for this style and others rather than the hit single formulas. Thanks

AMEN! Sadly, you rarely see it anywhere except in clubs and/or small boutique concerts. Hardly ever on radio, DJ playlists, or pop charts. The public seems to prefer the 'trend' to the 'art'. We've become so desensitized that we can't recognize real emotion even when it smacks us in the face. Oh well...

chas

I wonder what music their kids listen to will elicit the perennial ‘it’s got no soul compared to what I used to listen to!’ from today’s kids after they grow up? 😂

You live long enough, you get to hear the same complaints every few decades…

It's not a simple matter to discuss. At my home my parents never listened to Soviet music, so I had to discover it on my own. Trying to study songwriting I tried to listen different music and stay open-minded. I have to conclude that there were a lot of songs written by very talented composers and poets; I also have to admit that with their songs they tried to bring up some kindness in people, admiration, to unite soulful and intellectual. American popular music of that time is also sophisticated, songs like "Night and Day", "My Happy Valentine"; songs like "The Girl From Ipanema...", "My Way"; European music like ABBA, or Joe Dassin was popular worldwide; it was not particularly in trends when I was growing up, but it was always available; and while it was loved and accepted, it always contained something sophisticated inside, basically, it tried to meet certain ethical and aesthetic standards. Certainly, when all those songs appeared there was another mainstream with a lot of mediocre stuff, which just has been filtered out by time.

But it also important to consider that young people need some soundtrack for their lives, which would be of their own, like some kind of a marker. Music is very personal and psychological thing, and it is also a reflection of what's going on, so if it reflects some confusion, hatred and aggression, perhaps we shouldn't blame the songs, but to think of it as of communication.

Nevertheless, it looks now that a total freedom and rules of a free market don't always bring harmony. Actually, it's not a fact that such things exist; not a secret that there are monopolies, oligopolies, such as recording companies and now things like YouTube which have a lot of leverage.

At some point it's up to us (everyone) to promote, to impose music which we feel is valuable. If a person just relies on content which is suggested by a service, or which is considered to be "in trends", I believe that he will be fed, but won't be truly satisfied.

Sometimes what's popular is indeed quite good. I watched recent Star Wars franchise "Obi-Wan Kenobi", even if the story is simple, the music and the acting are charming. There's also a popular TV series "Stranger Things". In the same time, both these shows are in fact "retro" in one way or another; so these examples are controversial.

I think that today there is such a problem as informational overload; availability is no longer a problem, but making a choice - this is when it gets complicated.

If you feel that there's something wrong... I think you might be right, and it's not that you just aren't catching up with the trend. I think it is the reality we are dealing with regardless of our ages.

It is the job of current popular music to dismay and shock the previous couple of generations!

The thing we forget is that we mostly chose the cherished and respected music of OUR generation because it too shocked and dismayed our parents and grandparents (especially them!) at the time…

The Beatles? Trash…! Bob Dylan? A hack…! The Rolling Stones? Dirty criminals..!

Only time gives respectability. Who knows? One day the Beastie Boys will be considered classical music! Spock thought so… 😂

Totally disagree. The creation of music has not changed over the generations. Creative composers and performers are still writing Jazz, Pop, Folk, Classical, 'Broadway' (show tunes), Country, Blues, Opera, Latin, etc., etc., etc. The form may change slightly but the genre' is distinct. Given the SUBJECTIVE nature of music, who's to say whether the current form is better or worse than the previous form. Not me, not you. The purpose of music (for me, anyway) is to stimulate the mind and the emotions. If a certain piece of music does that for you, then it's done it's job. In the end, we like what we like and we PLAY what we like. If it happens to 'strike a chord' with some others, great, if not, so be it. "different strokes for different folks".

So, contrary to wanting to "shock" or "dismay" or parents and grandparents, I think we, to a large degree and in many instances, are actually influenced by the music we heard in our household growing up. I grew up listening to Billy Holliday and when I'm singing (in the shower - only), I find myself phrasing both melody and lyrics like I think she might have done. Actually, I think the worse thing we can do is generalize about music.....it's just too personal for 'one size (opinion) fits all'. Just my two cents worth (and that's with inflation).

chas

PS: NOT an attack; just another point of view.

Chas, I agree your assessment, 100%! My parents loved the music I performed and enjoyed listening to on the radio (No TV in Baltimore back till about 1946.) A while back, you talked about learning songs that were not 50 years old. In some instances, for many of us, a 50-year-old just might be something new to learn. Keep in mind that Margarettaville is just 5 years shy of being 50 years old.

I still enjoy listening to many of the somewhat newer songs, such as those on AGT and BGT, and just how well those performers perform them to a huge audience. Those kids can really sing and perform well, and ironically, more often than not, they utilize the same genres that we grew up listening to when we were teenagers.

I also enjoy listening to many of the very talented keyboard players on https://www.keyboardplayers.club/ who produce some of the most incredible music anyone could ever imaging using low end to moderately priced arranger keyboards. I rarely participate in the challenges these days, mainly due to health reasons.

All the best,

Gary

I’m with Diki on this one, generational change brings new popular music that by and large the parents do not understand and think it to be crap.
Existing types of music do not die out when new stuff comes along and continue to be performed and created, but you will rarely see them in the charts any more, in fact it is quite common for the younger ones to hate everything that their parents like as its not cool, of course as they grow older than just like their parents they expand their horizon, and thus become uncool to their kids. (In the olden days some households were strict by not allowing their kids to listen to any modern music of their time, but only what their parents liked)
Generational change is how the human race progresses in all forms of life, if they don’t then they would just stagnate and die out, therefore when it comes to music, if the parents like what the kids like (And vica versa) then we have a problem, as it means music has become stagnant with a total lack of innovation.

Bill

I think there are valid points on both sides and as long as we remember that these are only OPINIONS, and that NOBODY is right about EVERYTHING 100% of the time.

chas

"I think there are valid points on both sides and as long as we remember that these are only OPINIONS, and that NOBODY is right about EVERYTHING 100% of the time.
Chas."

Chas, You have just opened the road to peace.
Thanks a-whole-lot, John C.

Yes John, I'm a well-known peacemaker .

chas

I think there is a watershed that came about in the early 60s. Up until that point, maybe late 50s as well, music was not marketed directly to teenagers. We tend to forget that the end of the 50s and early 60s was the explosion in buying power of the teenage market, for clothes, records, record players etc.

As such, the previous music, the 30s and the 40s and even the mid 50s, it was looking for general acceptance across the entire public. But the explosion in buying power of the teenage demographic brought about records that were created and marketed directly at JUST them. And it is about this time that teenagers started to like music most of their parents strongly disapproved of.

I think there is also a strong difference between families that were musicians, with children that played music, to the average family when nobody played music, they only listened to it. You generally find a wider acceptance of new stuff when you have already gone through several decades of learning new styles. The general public, on the other hand…!

To a certain extent, my comment was a bit of hyperbole, but from a general perspective, I think there is a nugget of truth in it. To the average teenager, if what they liked simultaneously pissed off their elders, win – win! 🤯

We all had different experiences with our families, but look at the big picture, and certain trends seem to become more apparent. Like I said, for those who grew up in the 40s and early 50s, they grew up under a very different circumstances to how later generations did, and that is what I think I was commenting on.

With a nod and a wink, of course!

We sometimes chide ourselves for sometimes straying away from topics not directly related to the creation of MUSIC. However, oftentimes these topics (or diversions) often provoke the most interest as evidenced by the number of responses. Although the main focus of the forum should always be primarily about music, I think occasional forays into (related) psycho/social discussions does add a little 'spice' to the forum and gives us a chance to know 'the person' a little better. Take JohnC, who vividly remembers the War of 1812 , but refuses to be a 'grumpy old man' and still likes and utilizes modern technology; or Gary, who by his account, performed open-heart surgery on a patient on a sunfish-class sailboat in the middle of a nor'easter (no word on whether the pationt survived). The point is, not every post has to be about the latest, greatest, undiscovered feature on the Genos (you should have read the manual ), or this fantastic registration you happened upon just by hitting some random buttons (no clue what their function was ).

Heck, I don't even know what THIS post is about; just some random thoughts while procrastinating to avoid starting a hated weekly chore (NO, it's not showering ).

chas