{"id":3140,"date":"2012-12-22T10:58:40","date_gmt":"2012-12-22T15:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westwoodvalley.com\/?p=3140"},"modified":"2012-12-22T10:58:40","modified_gmt":"2012-12-22T15:58:40","slug":"my-musical-evolution-part-382-21st-century-some-stuff-i-picked-up-from-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrharrison.com\/musicalevolution\/2012\/12\/22\/my-musical-evolution-part-382-21st-century-some-stuff-i-picked-up-from-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"My Musical Evolution – Part 382 21st Century Some Stuff I Picked Up From Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rian<\/a>How convenient that one of the items in this post is Brian Setzer’s <\/em>Christmas albums.\u00a0 I have been fortunate to have had musical friends throughout most of my life. Maybe their interest in music is part of that bond. As you know, music appreciation has been a reasonably large part of my life at every stage of the game.\u00a0 I’m sure that mom’s early influence and access to her records were the foundation for that. What I find interesting yet hard to believe is that there are people out there that have no particular interest in music at all or at least not enough to be troubled with buying an album.<\/p>\n

A Musical Evolution<\/em> is more interesting as a team sport.\u00a0 This is most true when you find peers that you share common interests but also have interests outside the scope that you recognize.\u00a0 Economically it makes sense too. Sure, I played Columbia House Roulette<\/em> and got some winners but unless you have plenty of disposable income, it makes sense to share the burden with your peers. By that I mean letting your peers make recommendations.<\/p>\n

When I met Grant he was a 18 year old farm boy with a penchant for tri-folding his newsletters. After working with him for a number of years, we developed a Venn Diagram of music. There was plenty that we shared in common. There was plenty that I was able to introduce to him. There were also plenty for him to introduce to me.<\/p>\n

Brian Setzer is a good example. I knew who Brian Setzer was. I was listening to Stray Cats <\/em>back in The Academy Days.<\/em> I also knew that he went out on his own. In the early 1990’s I saw him on TV with his orchestra doing the coolest verion of the James Bond Theme<\/em> that I ever heard. I made a mental note to check that out further. When he began to Jump, Jive An’ Wail, <\/em> I picked that up. I didn’t know he did anything Christmasy. Grant showed me that.<\/p>\n

I’m partial to the classic crooner style Christmas songs. I despise American Idolized Contemporary Christmas songs. Yes, Yes, you can sing a bunch of additional notes just to prove what great vocal skills you have. Shut up!\u00a0 Brian Setzer escapes my wrath on this point because his Christmas magic is truly that. Big productions and interpretations of Christmas music that are fun to listen to but still seem to imply that war era nostalgia. Probably the big band nature of his orchestra. \u00a0I still prefer Perry Como but Brian Setzer sets a tone. I recommend just listening to Setzer’s Christmas albums together rather than try to shuffle them in with the Time-Life stuff.<\/p>\n

Grant was responsible for my adoption of a number of other artists over the years. There really isn’t any good way to be thoroughly inclusive so I’ll just ramble a few off the top of my head to get things going.<\/p>\n

Brian Setzer – Baby It’s Cold Outside<\/em>
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