AgingGayfully® "The Music That Shaped Our Lives"

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to aging gayfully. We're about adventure, leisure, travel, being a citizen of the world, traveling to destinations and being a part of the global community as we age and prosper in body, mind and spirit. [00:00:29] Speaker B: Welcome to aging gayfully. I'm Josh. [00:00:32] Speaker A: Josh, it's good to see you. I'm Chris. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Chris, how have you been this week? [00:00:39] Speaker A: It's been a fun week in the aging gayfully world because we're still aging gayfully, each one day at a time. There you go. [00:00:50] Speaker B: Love that. Love that. Yeah, it's been a. It's been a weird week, but. But I did get to go out some this week. Amanda and I went out and went to a pub on Wednesday or Thursday night. And then last night, which was Saturday night actually, not night mid evening, we went to a 50th birthday party at a friend's bar. So my friend Jacob and his wife turned 50 and Jacob owns a bar. And you want to get to know people who own bars because they throw parties at their bar and they give you all the free drinks and they provide all the food is glorious. So this is what we've done. [00:01:36] Speaker A: You know, I've always said that it's good to know. It's good to have friends in two places. It's good to know your bartender and even better if the bartender owns the bar. And it's good to know your pharmacist so that the pharmacist could help fix anything that you. [00:01:56] Speaker B: Very good, Very good. [00:01:58] Speaker A: You know, the mixologist to the pharmacist. That's right. [00:02:02] Speaker B: My friend Michael Malley, nice, nice Irish gentleman, told me this story. His dad taught him at a very early age that when you move into a new place, you need to, first thing find your pub. Right? That's the most important thing, is to find your pub. And when you find your pub, the first time you go in there, you chat up the bartender, you find out where you want to sit, you have your beverage, you order only one beverage, and you tip your bartender $20. He said, from then on out, the bartender will remember you and will take care of you. [00:02:42] Speaker A: That's an important tip. [00:02:44] Speaker B: Yeah. So I always trust Irish people when they tell me about how to treat. [00:02:50] Speaker A: I get that one too. Yeah. [00:02:54] Speaker B: So there you go. Yeah, that one, that little tip there was from for free from my friend, professor Michael Malley. [00:03:02] Speaker A: We need to have him on the show. [00:03:04] Speaker B: We. Oh, my gosh, he's such a. He's such an interesting bloke. And he is. He's kind of like, you know, Jeff Goldblum. [00:03:14] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Jeff Goldblum from St. Louis. Yeah. [00:03:17] Speaker B: Oh, very interesting. Didn't know that. You know, Jeff Goldblum has a very distinctive way about being Jeff Goldblum. [00:03:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:23] Speaker B: And Michael Malley has a very distinctive way about being Michael Malley. So I'd love to have him on. [00:03:29] Speaker A: It's funny, I remember the first time I saw Jeff Goldblum in a movie, but now I can't think of the name of the movie, but I'm sure it'll come because Glenn Close was in the movie. Oh, God, it's, you know, it's 30 some odd years ago. It was a classic. Kevin Klein was in the movie. [00:03:53] Speaker B: Oh, in one movie. [00:03:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. There was a. Let me. Let me shift my. Let me shift my look to my big screen here and the Big Chill. That's it. Yeah. And you know who got the. You know who else is in the Big Chill? Even though the only thing. The only part that he was shown. Shown was when they were stitching up his. Well, pretending. Stitching up the. His wrist because he had slid his wrist. Kevin Costner. He never got an appearance. He, you know, he got. I think he got a credit. But that was one of his first movies also, so. [00:04:37] Speaker B: Wow. [00:04:38] Speaker A: Well, this is, you know, we're going to go. We're going to do music today, but we need to do movies. [00:04:43] Speaker B: This is a good transition, though, because it's causing us to think back and movies from the 80s. And what I'd like to do is just look at the different eras of music that we have experienced and kind of talk about what music meant to us. Maybe there are specific songs, maybe there are specific bands and just see where that conversation takes us. Because the reality is, music, I believe, is very, very powerful. [00:05:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:13] Speaker B: And it can take us to. [00:05:15] Speaker A: Takes us to. Yeah, it takes us. It both takes us internally and externally. And it connects. It. It connects people in ways that you wouldn't believe. [00:05:30] Speaker B: So I want to start with an era I didn't actually live through. But it's a song that is one of my special songs and it is from 1967. I was born in 1971, but the song is from 1967. Can't take my eyes off you by Frankie Valli. [00:05:50] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:05:51] Speaker B: There is just something about that song. I don't know if it's the build up. I don't know if it's the. It's the horns. That song just sends me. It very much reminds me of being a young kid in the 70s. And that's probably where I first heard. Is Such a great, great and joyful song. And the message is just such a. Such a great message of. Of love and longing and. And can't take my eyes off you. Frankie Valli. That is my song. That's representative of the 60s. [00:06:24] Speaker A: Did you ever see Jersey Boys? [00:06:26] Speaker B: I did, I did. [00:06:28] Speaker A: I mean, every song. I mean, is. Is there a. Is there a Frankie Valli song that we don't like? I don't think so. [00:06:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I can't think of one. I can't think of one. But. But that's definitely that one. And. Oh, my gosh, don't make me think now. There's another one of his that just really, really sends me too. So anyway, no, that's. That's my first song and that's definitely takes me to a place. [00:06:53] Speaker A: Yeah, so in that era, which I. Since I'm about a few years older than you, when I think of music at that, in that period of time, I often think of my sister Jerry, because, okay, out of all my siblings, I was around her the most. And I. I mean, I just gotta go with Diana Ross and the Supremes. [00:07:19] Speaker B: Oh, very nice. Yeah, very nice. [00:07:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:23] Speaker B: Motown in general. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember Diana Ross and the Supremes was like. And when Diana Ross, I think, is in her 80, 82, there was a special on. Not too long ago about her, and she was. She was moving and singing and ding dinging and dancing and she. She was looking great. But I, you know, when I think of the 60s, I think of. I think of Motown and I think of Diana Ross and the Supremes and. Yeah. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Yeah, Motown is great. There's so. So many classic pop and rock songs come from that era and juxtapose that with the fact that those artists weren't necessarily given the respect that they deserved because they were black and they were part of a. You know. And yet you had white culture consuming their art, but they still didn't have an equal place in society, you know, which, you know, there's also parallel of that and the gay compute community by. By far. You look at youth culture and, you know, youth slang and all these things where they've blatantly taken from the gay community and. And been like, oh, you know, this is. I don't know. I don't know where this came from. We just. This is. This is how we like to talk. Well, okay, yeah, you've taken it from the gay community, you've taken it from drag culture. There's a lot of that these days of just taking from that. So I resonate With Motown because of that as well, you know, and my wish that these. These artists had been treated in a way that was equal to how their art was consumed. [00:09:15] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:09:19] Speaker B: So. But that's all I have for the 60s, because I actually wasn't alive for the 60s, so. [00:09:24] Speaker A: Well, I got your back. [00:09:28] Speaker B: Do you. What is the first connection with. What year were you born, by the way? [00:09:34] Speaker A: 57. [00:09:35] Speaker B: Okay, so your first connection with music in. In a way that seemed meaningful to you as a kid? Do you. Do you remember a time where all of a sudden you're like, oh, music is cool, or, oh, I love this song? [00:09:48] Speaker A: Well, you know, other than thinking about my sister Jerry and her, you know, she had this desire. She wanted to be. She wanted to be a singer in a band. And of course, our father forbid it. You know, you can't do those types of things. But, you know, since she was kind of entrusted with my care, most evenings while they were out. Speaking of bars, they owned a bar for a period of time, you know, she would drag me wherever her band practice was. So I was always present with her when, you know, she was rehearsing and practicing. And. But when I think about that, it. You know, I just. Even to this day, it's. It always comes back to what I mentioned earlier, the Supremes. That was my first indication of. Of music. And then, you know, you get into the 70s, and of course, you're starting to get into cassettes and eight tracks and. And all that. You know, I think it's funny. I saw. I saw a T shirt the other day. It had a cassette. The cassette was on the front of it. And then through the. There was a pencil. Through the. Through the little. What do you. What would you call those little two holes that they connect? Well, whatever. But the. And then underneath it says, yes, I'm old enough to remember these. Do you know what? These are so good. [00:11:37] Speaker B: So good. Yeah. So the 70s, obviously. I was born in 71. So near the end of the 70s, I really started to become aware of popular music because I hung out a lot at my neighbor's house because they would take care of me, and they had college kids in the house at that point. So, you know, I became aware of all of these things. And I remember eight tracks, which. I never understood how they worked. Okay, what do you mean there's eight tracks in here? But there's one. There's only one tape in there. I didn't get that. But. But the. The song that stuck with me during the 70s, and that is one of my Favorites is even today is Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road. [00:12:24] Speaker A: Goodbye. [00:12:26] Speaker B: And in general, you know, I, I early on became aware of Elton John. And, you know, it's funny because I'm a kid there and I see Elton John maybe, you know, in a magazine or maybe on. On tv, and he dressed so stylishly and so outlandishly that, you know, I thought he was just another Muppet, you know, because I loved the Muppet show back then, too. So I was just like, look at this character off Sesame street here. And he sings and he sings. But that song is such a great song about, you know, yearning for a simple life. And of course, using the metaphor, the yellow Brick Road and everything that connected with me as a kid because I was aware of it. So Elton John in general, to me, is very 70s. And that song specifically, I still listen to it today, and I love it. [00:13:18] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know, you, you, you. You mentioned earlier, you know, what triggered music for me. And then I, you know, I was sitting here thinking about it, and I remember now, you know, like, in the early 70s, there was a TV show. I think it was the early 70s. Well, sometimes in the 70s it was the, you know, the Monkeys had a TV show. [00:13:42] Speaker B: Oh, sure. Oh, yeah, love that. [00:13:45] Speaker A: I mean, it was on. It was on Monday nights, you know, and then there was always, you know, a song associated with it. And then, you know, the Partridge Family. I mean, we're kind of digging into, you know, 70s type of genre, but that would be those. If there was something that triggered interest in music, it would be through television shows. And then thinking about the 70s. For me, it's kind of like, oh, well, I was very fortunate to work as an usher at the St. Louis Arena. So some of the concerts that I would see in this. In the 70s, I sat through two sessions of Bob Dylan. In the 70s, the fragrance and the. In the arena was quite intense, I'm sure. [00:14:45] Speaker B: Yes. [00:14:46] Speaker A: Yeah. And then you. One of the best concerts I saw in the seventies was Elton John. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:14:56] Speaker B: Well, it's interesting, too, because I feel like now we can just access any music we want and we have. [00:15:02] Speaker A: Right. [00:15:02] Speaker B: We can get, we can get, you know, on streaming services. We can watch YouTube and see things. You can't. You almost can't get away with it. But back then, discoverability was very, very different and difficult. And a lot of the bands from the, from the late 70s or musical acts, you know, I became aware of from. I mentioned the Muppet show earlier, but the Muppet show actually had a musical guest every week. [00:15:29] Speaker A: Every week. [00:15:30] Speaker B: And they were just contemporary current pop stars like. Like Elton John or. I remember Alice Cooper was weirdly on the Muppet show at one point. And so, like, that's how kids were becoming aware. You know, if they didn't have siblings that listened to these radio stations or had these eight tracks or whatever, then they were finding it in these other ways that maybe were a little bit unexpected. It was always. It's always a gem to be able to look back and say, oh, I became aware of Alice Cooper, the metal singer on the Muppet Show. An episode of the Muppet Show. To me, that's. That's always fun to say. Kids will never have that experience today where. Because everything is so available and so saturated, where you find something and it feels so happenstance to almost be faded. Right. Just to be. You know, it was the will of the fates. And that's just a lovely feeling. [00:16:31] Speaker A: It. You know, another TV show that really accentuated musicians and they. They just had their 50th anniversary with Saturday Night Live. [00:16:42] Speaker B: Oh, sure. Of course. I never stayed up that late, but sure. [00:16:46] Speaker A: Yeah, they always. Every week they featured a musician or a band. So. [00:16:56] Speaker B: And you had, like, Soul Train and you had, you know, American Bandstand for when that was on, which I never experienced that, but I did catch the Soul Train reruns in the afternoons when I came home from school. [00:17:11] Speaker A: Soul Train and American Bandstand. Goodness. [00:17:15] Speaker B: All right, so let's. Let's look now at the 80s, because that's really when I started to really appreciate and come into music. And for me, the 80s was all about, like, Brit pop, Brit electronic music or like. So the. The one that I'm thinking of right now, it's not actually British, they're Norwegian. Is Take on Me by Aha. To me, that is the quintessential 80s song. [00:17:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:43] Speaker B: I don't know if you're familiar with it. [00:17:45] Speaker A: I'm familiar with. [00:17:47] Speaker B: I have an 80s playlist, and I always. That's always first on it. Now, interestingly, the reason why I fell in love with that song is because the music video was so artistic and so interesting. It was drunk. It was composed in such a way that. That you thought that the lead singer had fallen into a kind of a cartoon world. And the concept was so out there for that time. And so this is when, for me, as a kid, video really started to influence what I listened to. [00:18:21] Speaker A: Well, you. [00:18:22] Speaker B: Because MTV had come out, so you're. [00:18:24] Speaker A: You just took the words right out of my mouth. Think about mtv, what it was when it started and what it is now, it's like, you know, MTV played such a big role in. In getting people interested in the music and those. [00:18:45] Speaker B: MTV still exist. [00:18:47] Speaker A: I think it does. I mean, I think I see it on my channel, but it's not like there's. It's not like it was. [00:18:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:54] Speaker A: You know, so it was all music. And of course, if you listened, if you don't. If you have Sirius XM, they have. They have stations for the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. And you. I think it's this. Some of those stations you'll. You'll hit here. Three of the four DJs, video DJs, from Mark Goodman. I can't think of all their names. Why can't I think of all their names? But. But it's cool to kind of get. Listen to some of those channels on SiriusXM because you hear the video DJs and they're. It's kind of like. It's like you're like in a time lapse. [00:19:37] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, kind of. I remember like Nina Blackwood. [00:19:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:44] Speaker B: Downtown. Julie Brown. [00:19:47] Speaker A: Right. [00:19:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Some. Some of these folks. Daisy. Daisy Fuentes was on there. [00:19:52] Speaker A: Yeah. But you know, the kind of. The 80s for me, you know, I look at a whole bunch of groups and songs. Journey is probably my favorite. [00:20:05] Speaker B: Oh, sure, sure. [00:20:07] Speaker A: You know, we can't forget about saying something about the Beatles and Paul McCarthy and McCartney. And I think one of the best concerts I had ever seen was at busch Stadium in St. Louis. The old Busch Stadium. Paul McCartney and wings. [00:20:26] Speaker B: Oh, sure. Yeah. [00:20:26] Speaker A: Oh, my God. That was like. It was. That was like one of the. That was the best. I think that was probably the best concert I had ever been to because it was entertaining. Well, Bette Midler's concert was pretty entertaining too. But, but, you know, the 80s for me. I was also bowling. Yeah. At the time. And there were some motivational songs that I'd listened to. [00:20:53] Speaker B: They're like, what? [00:20:54] Speaker A: Well, I pulled it up right now. Bob Seeger. Just his, his lyrics and his, his raspy voice. [00:21:08] Speaker B: Sure. [00:21:09] Speaker A: And some of his songs, I. And I. Of course, I'm. I can't name the ones right off the top of my head. But I would listen to. I would listen to him before I would go start a session on when we bowled. And it's like, you know, it's just kind of loosened you up. You got you. You got you ready to, to rock and roll. Rather rock and bowl. I just, I just, I just came up with that. Josh, now, come on. [00:21:46] Speaker B: I'm Certain that there are several bowling alleys across the Midwest that are called Rock and Bowl. [00:21:51] Speaker A: Rock and Bowl, Yeah. So, you know, I look at that. And then I liked a lot of the Australian groups too. [00:22:01] Speaker B: Oh, there was more than one Australian group? Because the only one I can think of is Men at Work. [00:22:07] Speaker A: Well, you got Little River Band. [00:22:09] Speaker B: Oh, they were Australian, I'm pretty sure. Oh, see, I'm gonna have to look that up now. [00:22:18] Speaker A: I thought they were Australian, but, you. [00:22:20] Speaker B: Know, they might be. I don't know. Yep. Melbourne, Australia. There you go. Did not know that. That's interesting. Yeah. Like I said, I enjoyed Men at Work, which was the only Australian band that I was aware of. And, oh, also, I guess the Bee Gees. They're from Australia, aren't they? [00:22:35] Speaker A: Bee Gees? [00:22:36] Speaker B: Are they from Australia? [00:22:38] Speaker A: We did a Bee Gees concert too. [00:22:40] Speaker B: Oh, very good. [00:22:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:41] Speaker B: See, now I have to check my math because I. I thought they were from Australia, but. But maybe they weren't. Let's see, they were Isle of Man. No, Manchester, England. Why did I think that they were Australian? Oh, in 1958, they moved to Australia. Okay, so there you go. So I guess they are Australian via Britain. [00:23:08] Speaker A: Take it easy on me Take it easy on me Little River Band, you know, because it kind of takes you back to the. At least for me, it takes me back to the era when I listened to these songs. What was I doing then? Yeah, and, you know, it's kind of coming full circle now. Now I listen to Sirius xm. Oh, all the instrumentals. And all the instrumentals. Now, are these songs from the seventies? [00:23:42] Speaker B: Oh, very good. Like the. Like the elevator version? [00:23:46] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it's all. It's all the. Yeah, it's all the l. It's like. Well, I can. I can sing. I can sing the words to myself because all the melody is there. [00:23:57] Speaker B: So Elevator karaoke. Very good. It's just singing along with the music. [00:24:02] Speaker A: Were you. Were you into Kiss? [00:24:06] Speaker B: Not so much. [00:24:08] Speaker A: You know, they were real big when I was in high school in the 70s, but I never really got in. [00:24:15] Speaker B: I didn't get into rock music until I was an adult. When I was a kid, it was like kids music, 70s kind of easy listening type of music because that's what my dad listened to. And. And then, you know, when I was adult, I kind of got more into the rock stuff. [00:24:32] Speaker A: Well, heavy metal really didn't. Wasn't the. Hadn't experienced heavy metal, I think, until the. To the 80s. I don't think it was part of the 70s. [00:24:43] Speaker B: Yeah. The 70s definitely had hard rock, which is a little bit different, but now. [00:24:49] Speaker A: And they, now they, they. You. It doesn't compare that hard rock doesn't compare to anything? [00:24:56] Speaker B: Oh, no, absolutely not. Absolutely. Metal bands, I think of the stuff that I listened to back then, I thought it was. Is hard. And it would, it would legit be playing at Publix now as I'm shopping for my grapes and my, you know, whatever. So. All right, so let's, let's end our session here. I think on the 90s, my 90s music memory actually has nothing to do with 90s music, but it was probably one of the most formative experiences I had in music and being an adult. And that is in the very early 90s, I was offered a chance to go see the Three Tenors. They appeared in Miami. Someone had a ticket that they couldn't use. And I don't know, I don't know what caused me. I think just because it was like, okay, this is a big cultural event. I am not at all into this type of music, but I think that this is so unique that I would regret later if I didn't go. So I went kind of with an open mind, kind of with a. I don't know if I'm going to enjoy this. And I was blown away. And that really started my deep appreciation for classical music and particularly hearing tenors sing, which is now, you know, I'll sit down, if I need to sit down and work, I'll put on classical music, and then that'll be my, my soundtrack to make sure that I stay on task. [00:26:24] Speaker A: You know, classical music is the root of all music. I mean, that's what, that's, that was the beginning of music. [00:26:36] Speaker B: So what's your experience with classical music? [00:26:40] Speaker A: I, you know, I, I could sit and listen to symphonies, orchestra, opera. You know, it's kind of like that soothing, you know, for me, and I certainly do Beethoven and Mozart. I think a good, healthy dose of that music really helps settle the mind and remind you where music comes from. And you see, and I've, I think I've, I've heard Paul McCartney talk about this. You know, how, you know that that's. When you listen to that, it gets your creative juices flowing. And I, you know, I, I, I think we all have. I don't think anybody could say they never wanted to be a singer, are a musician, but everybody has different talents and skills. But when you, you know, you recognize the roots of it, it all comes back to classical music. [00:27:54] Speaker B: You know, it's funny too, because there are so many classical songs that I heard growing up that I didn't know that I was hearing because they were just around, whether in commercials or, you know, however else you'd pick it up. I, I, I started on a classical music playlist that, that I got from Apple Music. In other words, I didn't, I didn't put it together. And I would hear a song and be like, oh, yeah, of course I know that. And I'd look at the title and artists and realize I've never known where this came from. I just knew that this was kind of a music that was always in my background. So that, that's kind of neat. And the other thing is, I think that, that kids are primed to appreciate classical music if they consume movies, because a lot of times the soundtrack to movies is orchestral. You know, your, your classical, orchestral makeup. And so that's when you go to. [00:28:53] Speaker A: A classical, to the theater and they have a lot and they have a, you know, an orchestra and when you go see a, a play or a performance, I mean, it just live music, it's a turn on. [00:29:10] Speaker B: It really is. It really is. Now I will also put a plug in there for the fact that research has shown that classical music particularly has a very positive impact on cognitive health and emotional well being. So I'm going to plug that in there just so that we feel like we've really, really made a difference with this show as opp Opposed to just sitting around gassing about these songs. You know, music is powerful and it takes us two places, like you said. And it can also take us through places as we're going through difficult times. There you go. What I want to know out there, dear listener and watcher, what music you love? What music did you grow up with? What music took you through a difficult time? [00:30:00] Speaker A: How can they have what's your go to song? [00:30:02] Speaker B: That's right. How can they let us know that? [00:30:04] Speaker A: They can let us know that by putting a comment in the section on YouTube or they can email us at. Yes, I am@aging gayly.com Yes, I am at Aging Day gayfully.com yes. [00:30:24] Speaker B: And we should also age gayfully day. Dinner every day. [00:30:32] Speaker A: Every day. [00:30:34] Speaker B: All right, folks, so until next time, I've been Josh. That's been Chris. And please keep yourself safe and love each other. Sam.