This is a Blog site created by Bob Reed (in Florida) for folks who live--or used to live--in Marcus, Iowa. Its purpose is to exchange notes, news, remembrances, and thoughts about life in and about Marcus, or news about one's family, friends or acquaintances.
Monday, October 03, 2005
October 2005 discussion
This discussion thread is closed. You may click below to read and catch up, but go to the current thread to continue the conversation.
For all interested in the Holy Name School Reunion next August we are about to send some more information on this. We have a list of Motels and some of the things that we have planned. Hope to get this out in the next week.
Thanks Julie for the plug. You sure have some good idea's. Glad we talked when you were home. Also on the Marcusiowa.com web site we will keep all those on the net up to date. Kara Spieler is setting this up for us. That is Jeff Spieler's wife and Merle and Linda Hoyt Spieler's son.
With harvest and some of my travels we have gotten a little behind.
I appreciate your taking the lead on this. Even though I didn't attend the Catholic school I promise I will do my part to make it a successful reunion......specifically I will see that my mom's yard is groomed and that the trees are all trimmed nicely in preparation of the festivities.
Can't wait to come home and see the celebration!!!!!
After Iowa State wins to pay off your debt at the Family Table you will have to hurry because the rumor is that is will be closing the end of the month.
Is the reunion going to coincide with the Marcus Fair weekend? Will you guys be having a formal skit/show much like the performance done at the Marcus High School during the Bi-Centennial celebration? Would love to see a really neat choral/band performance done at the fairgrounds out on the baseball diamond made up of for Holy Name Grads..........set a stage up and let the performers do a show so the audience can sit in the stands and enjoy the performance!!!!
Just found this site and thought I would try it out while I'm killing time @ work. I was told they are moving the Family Table building and all to Ida Grove. I heard the city bought the land and am not sure what they plan to do with it.
Get an issue of the Cherokee Chronicle Times for Oct. 3, 2005. There is a front page story about the new truck stop, etc. that will be built at the junction of Hwy. 3 and 143. It will be called Marcus Junction.
I have heard that rumor as well. I will have to read the paper tomorrow and see. Originally the rumor had it that they were going to move the family table out there to the new truck stop area. But I heard this week that they are moving it all to Ida Grove. Seems kind of a long ways to move a building.
I have heard that it will be a truck stop with a motel and restaurant all in one spot. I also heard that they were thinking about puting a few campsites out there on the corner as well. There are rumors flying like wildfire around town. I'm not sure who is thinking about doing all of this, but I have also heard that it will be open by next spring. I know it can not be done in that amount of time, so I am starting to think it's just rumors. If I see the mayor I will ask him or Rod Ogren. One of them would know.
Yes, you can collect your bet a 'coke' anywhere in town. Old Pan Head, J.B.'s. Marcus Bowl or the Pizza Ranch. Did not get to listen to the game but I did follow it on the internet at work. When you fumble you usually lose. I think I heard that the Bears had lot 37? road games in a row. Who you say the Law of Averages was in their favor?
Anyway Congrats to you Kurt.
Let me know when you are in town. Ok..
Jack
Now Phil,
Yes, the Holy Name Class Reunion will be during the Marcus Fair. Seems like that is a very good time to have one of these. We get to see a lot of former Marcusites.
It is true I was spotted by two Baylor fans driving innocently down the street in Ames Iowa following Iowa State's loss to Baylor. Well, the truth is Baylor played a great game and deserved to win. However, the Iowa State Band again showed it is one of the finest in the country. Brian Drefke, grandson of Max & Nancy and daughter of Donna was a part of the band. We were reallay glad to see the Drefke band tradition being carried on. Ryan Galles, son of former Marcusites Fran & Roxanne Schmillen Galles, is also a member of the band. His hs teacher at Remsen Union is former MMC musical standout Craig Anderson. Steve Smith.
What’s happened to the standards—the ones that lie in the part of our hearts where old songs dwell? I don’t wish to wallow in the molasses of nostalgia, but where are songs like “As Time Goes By” and “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’ll Be Seeing You”? And “Night and Day” and “September Song” and so many others?
In the Marcus of the ’40s, we sang the standards often. We gathered around a piano, longing to be somewhere over the rainbow. Or we congregated on Main Street, standing on the corner watching all the girls go by, hoping that one of them would begin our beguine. Now those wonderful lyrics and melodies are mostly gone.
Sure, some exist in cabaret land. They are performed by older practitioners who warble to a diminishing number of parishioners, who worship the sentiments and structure of carefully crafted lyrics and beautiful melodies. And some reside in some new CD collections by aficionados of the delicate blend of melodic stories. But why aren’t they writing ’em like that any more?
For the last fifty years, popular music has relied on heavy rhythm and repetitive lyrics that are so banal, they boggle the mind. I want to hold your hand—but again and again and again? I don’t want to have someone scream at me over and over that we will! we will! rock you!
And then there’s that extreme version of today’s pop music—hip hop—the lyrics of which are understandable only to those who are under thirteen years of age. And there’s that other genre—shouldn’t there be a “c” in front of the word “rap”?
New material in the “standard” tradition is seldom encountered. The traditional construction of a truly popular song is rarely heard. Sure, there have been occasional forays in Alford Lloyd Weber’s Puccini-like Broadway show tunes. And in Disney movies with songs like “Beauty and the Beast.” But that company doesn’t touch adult themes like confusion and sex.
So there are only some folks who are still bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. Few relate to summertime when the livin’ is easy. And no one remembers that “My Funny Valentine” referred to a character in a musical by Rodgers and Hart, not to Valentine’s Day.
What musicians and show folk call a standard evolved slowly through the years, beginning around 1900 when Viennese operettas came to our shores. Eventually the guys on Tin Pan Alley took the clothes off of The Merry Widow to find out why she was so merry.
And some thirty years later, their songs were broadcast on the new medium of radio. Tunes lifted from Broadway shows filled the airways. Close to 80 percent of the hits of the day from the ’20s to the ’50s were created for musicals on the Great White Way, according to some experts.
The big five—Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Porter, and Rogers—turned out hundreds of songs with delectable rhythms, imaginative lyrics, and inspiring melodies. They told complex, dramatic stories with wit and charm. They composed ballads that spoke to everyone with intricately rhymed words and beautiful melodies that sighed like the wind in the eaves. And they wrote with irony and loveliness about the human condition.
The typical A-A-B-A structure of a popular song became THE way to do it. There was a template. And even though the listeners didn’t consciously dissect it, the architecture of the pop song became as unconsciously familiar as their morning ablutions. And the most practiced of the writers and composers thought that if you couldn’t say it in thirty-two bars maybe you shouldn’t be saying it at all.
Everyone in the country heard and knew the songs. They were on “Your Hit Parade” on the radio. Musicologists say that between 1900 and 1950, some 300,000 songs were submitted for copyright and about 1,000 of those can now be considered standards.
They consider that a standard is one so beautifully crafted that both musicians and listeners are in accord with its artistry. Some were labeled “instant standards.”
Older folks know one when they hear one, for they have heard it often in their lives. Dozens of singers had their recorded versions of a song. Sheet music sales soared as many folks played them on the piano. When Max and I married, we merged not only our lives but also our sheet-music collections.
So what happened? The downward process probably began with the demise of the Big Bands in the late ’40s. And some say it can be summed up with four words—Elvis and The Beatles. They began composing their own material—and performing it exclusively.
The performer became the composer, lyricist, and the one who sang the song. Was it too much for one person? The numbers were deeply personal. Can you imagine anyone but Madonna singing “Material Girl”?
A new generation of garage bands sprang up in the ’60s with guitars and drums banging away. The guitar is pretty limited harmonically and is mostly driven by rhythm. The songs were usually three chords and out. Most of the groups seemed to vie to become the world’s worst rock band.
Are tomorrow’s standards being written today? Will some emerge fifty years from now as a standard? There are, of course, jazz, folk, and country standards like the delightful “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?” But are there rock standards?
If so, where is the “our song” of today—the one that says it all for two lovers in a lovely tune with memorable lyrics. The venerable “Embraceable You” was it for some. A pounding, rhythm-dominated number at jet-engine level just doesn’t cut it.
Perhaps it’s all part of a decline of general standards. We’ve let language deteriorate. The writers of song standards assumed a literacy in the public. A society that loved the written word loved intelligent songs.
When our kids were young, we despaired. They reluctantly turned down the volume of their competing record players, each one blasting out the latest from Blood, Sweat, and Earwax.
But now—amazingly—they tune into some of the old standards. Our late-forties son and his wife have an “our song” from the old days. “Isn’t It Romantic” was played when they took a turn around the floor as their first dance as husband and wife a few years ago. And the a cappella group that our 50-year-old son appears in sometimes sings about love letters straight from your heart.
Perhaps they and others have reached a stage in life where sentiment reigns and love is here to stay, is sweeping the country, is always. Perhaps, as the Disney composer Alan Menken recently noted, “I reached a certain age and I wanted a cigar; at a certain age you’re going to want a standard.”
So maybe there’s hope. I hope so. For who’s going to sing along softly in some girl’s ear when we’re dancing and you’re dangerously near me—cheek to cheek? In the Marcus of the ’40s, we knew those two songs by heart as we swayed together at the Youth Dances.
What will the shower singers of the future be bellowing—“She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah”? Oh my.
Irving Berlin must have been prescient when, in 1927, he wrote a beautiful lament titled “The Song Is Ended.” Will the melody linger on? Bob Reed
I did talk to Rod Ogren this past week and he also stated they were looking into putting some campsites out near the corner as well for those who drive there RV back to Iowa in the summer. For those of you worried about where to find breakfast while you are back, it sounds like the panhead is going to serve a breakfast buffet on Sunday mornings. And we (actually my wife Melinda) are planning to start opening for coffee and rolls during the week as soon as we re-open after our remodeling project. Hopefully we will only be closed for a week.
Bob Reed: I've said it before and I'll say it again. What a gift. The process of what starts in your gray matter ending up tapped out on your keyboard is the literary equivalent of the proverbial "catching lightning in a bottle".
My wife (in her 50's) would agree completely with you. She was raised on 40's and 50's music - her Dad a WWII vet,and mother, loved the music, loved to dance and it was always on the radio and in the air at her house growing up. She can name all the songs and recite all the performers without fail.
I enjoy that era's music as well. Additionally, for whatever reason, when I went off to college in the Chicago area in the mid-60's, I got hooked on the Motown sound. The richness of the tones, the pleading and personal nature of the message ("Bernadette... " - Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops; "What becomes of the brokenhearted..." -Jimmy Ruffin; "You know you make me want to shout..." Isley Brothers) and the way it moves me to the point of not being able to sit still when I hear it, converted me and made me a lifetime fan.
I know all on this blog may not see it as I do, but for the same reasons the Grambling and Florida A&M marching bands, for example, or a New Orleans funeral dirge, rocket right to my inner-rhythm soul and make me feel the sound, understand the emotion behind it and cause me to want to join, in a manner that much of the more "cerebral music" never does. I realize that a lot of it relates to driving bass sounds and rhythmic drumbeats, but drums and horns (topped off with great vocals) have always drawn me in.
Thanks for your latest. Did you submit that for publication somewhere? It's another example of your wonderful expressions that all can enjoy, especially those of us who appreciate the Marcus insight. Fred
Max and I will be in town on Monday, October 17 and Tuesday, October 18. We’d like you to be our guests at lunch on Tuesday at the Pan Head at 12:00 noon. We can get to know--or re-know--one another up close and personal. We can maybe talk about the blog and how it can be strengthened and improved.
Or anything else that comes to mind. A Marcus History Center? At the least, it might be a fun time to just chew the fat.
Hello people of Marcus...we do not have anything to contribute to the most recent discussions...but we have just heard of this website and found the postings from June about our dad Brian Hogue very entertaining. And yes, I heard he did turn 5 shades of red. Thanks for entertaining and we really like the Marcus Fair...we try to make it every year. Brian's daughter's Brenda, Debbie and Angie
Hi everyone--I found the blogs on how music has changed interesting. It seems in my youth we listened to what our parents selected. In other words, music was directed mainly towards a mature consumer. But in the late 40's a little thing called the "45" was invented. For 65 cents you could buy a small wax record with two songs. Some feel this was the first time in history when kids started to matter in the commercial world. The 45's were something the teenagers could afford and the music industry has been catering to their young minds (or ears) ever since. Us older ones don't seem to have much clout anymore and will probably have to wait a long time for another "Unchained Melody". Irv Deichmann
Your dad was one of the very BEST coaches to ever coach in Marcus in my opinion. What Brian and his staff did with the Marcus swim team for many summers was amazing. Brian took kids from all over town and show us a vision to unite as one and produced one of the best swim teams in Northwest Iowa.
Ask him about the likes of his many great divers that he had that had NO fear of the high diving board as well as the awesome swimmers Marcus produced under his leadership.
Last but not least ask him about the experience we had leaving Laurens, Iowa after we won the swim meet.........those boys that threw the rocks at our bus had their lives saved by the grace of Mayor Jack Dunn.......Jack Dunn and your father made sure that cooler heads prevailed.
Tell your dad hello and to sure and get on here sometime to bring us ALL up to speed as to where the Brian Hogue family is living and how they are doing.........most of all tell him thanks for believing in me and all of the kids of Marcus and showing us what it meant to be winners.........wished he had stayed around a few more summers!!!!!! Phil Dorr
Had misplaced the name of the web-site for posting a comment until my brother, Joe Means, in Fremont Nebraska just gave it to me again. I want to respond to Earl Ray's wondering where my "Grandfather Means" got the name of "Pickels" when I submitted a comment about my dad's 90th birthday celebration on September 24th, out here in California and that Jack Clarkson and Chuck Sand were surprise guests. He mentions that he use to be called "Butter". I will ask my dad, Lorne Means, about the origin of that name for his dad and get back to the blog on that. Good luck, Jack, on all the work that you are putting into the Giant All School Re-union that is planned for next August. Great to hear that it is planned at the same time as the fair. It just gives more incentive and adds to the festivities to have both events going on at the same time. Also would like to relay that I visited Hildred (Hiddy) Treinen Bailey last Wednesday in Carmichael, California near Sacramento. Hiddy had a stroke the end of September and is presently in a skilled nursing facility. We will all remember Hiddy and her family in our prayers.
One of the people in my office, who attended the game last weekend in Iowa City, said that Betty Knudson (Chuck) of Marcus was recognized at halftime as the "Mother of the Year" at the U. of I. Fred Dorr
I'm also a big fan of the FAMU Marching 100! It's one of the neatest things about living in Tallhassee. I work with Florida State University's annual arts festival and have quickly learned how passionate people can be about their individual musical preferences! Not surprisingly, patrons are always eager to tell us who they'd like to see on our stage.
Jennifer: Who have you booked for the festival in the recent past? I'd be curious. You live in the heart of so many wonderful music options - Country/W, Delta Blues, Gospel, "Georgia" Rock, R&B and on. (I lived in Athens, Georgia and later Tallahassee for a bit in the 70's and absolutely loved it. North Florida always felt like Iowa to me - with live oaks and Spanish Moss added.)
How long have you lived in Tallahassee? Has the kudzu from Georgia crept on down to north Florida yet?
My daughter went to the Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester, Tenn.) two summers ago with some friends. I'd never heard of it until she started talking about it. About 100 acts performed on 8 outdoor stages over a long weekend. Kind of this generation's Woodstock. The crazy fan behavior aside (I'm showing my age), it sounded like the music talent they had on tap made for a great time.
Good to hear from you. The Marcus-effect is spread far and wide. And I'm sure FSU's music and art festival is better for it.
Since I don't know you, Jennifer, I was wondering if you are Steve Smith's sister? ...Which would then make you a charter member of the First Family of Music in Marcus, right?
First to answer your question - Steve is my dad. I have been lucky enough to live in Tallahassee for a little over two years. I came here to pursue a graduate degree in the FSU College of Music and then got the arts presenting gig. This is my first year working for Seven Days of Opening Nights (our Festival), but in the past they have presented a diverse body of artists: Denyce Graves, the Boston Pops, Lyle Lovett, Alison Kraus and Bobby McFerrin to name a few. Last Monday evening we presented blues artist Buddy Guy to a packed auditorium. It sure is a great job!
Max and I have just arrived home from a return-to-Northwest-Iowa trip-—Sheldon, Cherokee, the Lakes, and—-of course—-Marcus. In every corner we were blessed with the wonderful peculiarities of Hawkeye speech.
This is not Minnesota or Nebraska or South Dakota talk. This is Iowa’s own idiom and we were reminded of it at every turn.
When we told someone that we were going someplace tomorrow, the response was “Oh ya are are ya?” (Didn’t we just tell you that?)
When we made a declarative statement such as “We went to Remsen on Thursday nights when we were young,” the response was “Oh-—O.K.” This is not an approval of your statement. It’s just an eager, polite response to another’s remark.
It’s an acknowledgement-—sorta’ like the Japanese “Hai,” which is loosely translated as “I hear you.” I guess they heard us a lot. Oh-—O.K.
Then there is “So . . .“ This is a word tacked on to a statement by somebody to imply that the statement is not really the finish of the topic. It indicates that a response would be welcome, because the speaker doesn’t HAVE a finish.
But the most common phrase heard during our stay was “You betcha.” It’s the usual response to “Thank you.” It resonates because Iowans are very polite. It has replaced “You’re welcome.”
We thanked a lot of folks for making our visit so great—gas station attendants, super market clerks, motel people, waiters, and our friends and relatives. Our reward was “You betcha.”
How wonderful to hear that again! How delightful to be reminded of that answer to a common courtesy.
Ok...Isn't it time for some Halloween memories? Anybody have any favorites? I recall my father telling me about people moving outhouses back about 3 feet from their original location...and somebody trying to use it late at night in the dark. Personally, one of my Halloween memories was from about 1960 or '61 when we had a costume parade down main street in Marcus. My mother made a robot costume for me out of a cardboard box, a paper sack and two pipe cleaners. I think I won $1.00. My older cousin Gayle Flanagan, who I believe was working at Farmers State Bank at the time, was one of the judges. You think that may be why I won? Kevin Flanagan
Halloween ... I was just cutting some jack'o'lanterns this evening outside ... finally a day when it wasn't raining and it's in the 60s!
Some memories...
As farm kids we weren't allowed to go into town to beg for treats, so we went over to our grandparents' farm in whatever costumes we pulled together. We always had halloween parties at Holy Name where we ate popcorn balls and candy corn.
I do remember some costume parades in town. It seems that the Marland showed a movie too? Or was that for Christmas? Hey, any Marland Theater memories out there? Do you remember any movies ... or did you just get in trouble with your friends in the dark ... uh-oh.
I remember one Halloween when I was still pretty young that we had a bumper crop of pumpkins. They were huge and there were many, many of them. It seems they were piled near the corn crib which wasn't too far from the road and I suppose this made them quite tempting, even though we didn't have much traffic past our place. Seems like the pile had dwindled quite a bit by the day after Halloween ... I'm sure some high school kids had a great time sneaking down a dark road to grab them and run.
Steve Smith here on the demise of music. I have devoted considerable time to learning and performing popular music since about 1960. The fact that there is no longer a singular top forty radio format does play a role in the state of things today. However societal changes have resulted in a very interesting blend of country, rockabilly, latin influence, jazz, and classical music. Just as there were marginal tunes blaring from the jukeboxes of the 40s there is plenty of marginal stuff today. But I would highly recommend a careful listen to the music produced by Stevie Wonder during the past 30 years. " A Time For Love" is his newest effort. You will not find the AABA song format but there is a wealth of musical expression and ideas present. My personal favorite composer since the mid 1970s is Pat Metheny. This guitarist has written hundreds of songs. Many have more complicated rhythms that the old standards but they are beautiful in many ways. To here the old standards in new and different ways I recommend the standard time cds of Wynton Marsalis. The finest music must be searched for now. The culture we are fed from television is strictly for the masses. Any Borders of Barnes & Noble has listening stations so you can check it out before buying. If you just want some standards check out Boz Scaggs, Diana Krall, and Jane Monheit. Listen to it before paying to be sure you have the type of music you want to listen to. These artists perform in different styles and it does vary from one cd to the next. Steve Smith.
For all interested in the Holy Name School Reunion next August we are about to send some more information on this. We have a list of Motels and some of the things that we have planned. Hope to get this out in the next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie for the plug. You sure have some good idea's. Glad we talked when you were home. Also on the Marcusiowa.com web site we will keep all those on the net up to date. Kara Spieler is setting this up for us. That is Jeff Spieler's wife and Merle and Linda Hoyt Spieler's son.
With harvest and some of my travels we have gotten a little behind.
Jack Clarkson
Marsha Drefke
and Committe
Jack and Marsha:
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your taking the lead on this. Even though I didn't attend the Catholic school I promise I will do my part to make it a successful reunion......specifically I will see that my mom's yard is groomed and that the trees are all trimmed nicely in preparation of the festivities.
Can't wait to come home and see the celebration!!!!!
Jack and Marsha:
ReplyDeleteThat was my post re my mom's yard........Phil Dorr
Phil,
ReplyDeleteAfter Iowa State wins to pay off your debt at the Family Table you will have to hurry because the rumor is that is will be closing the end of the month.
The coke will cost you only 75 cents.
Jack Clarkson
Phil & Kurt,
ReplyDeleteWhoops I got you two mixed up again. Sorry! So Kurt get your 75 cents ready.
Jack
Jack:
ReplyDeleteIs the reunion going to coincide with the Marcus Fair weekend?
Will you guys be having a formal skit/show much like the performance done at the Marcus High School during the Bi-Centennial celebration? Would love to see a really neat choral/band performance done at the fairgrounds out on the baseball diamond made up of for Holy Name Grads..........set a stage up and let the performers do a show so the audience can sit in the stands and enjoy the performance!!!!
Phil Dorr..........NOT Kurt-- Dorr!!!!
Just found this site and thought I would try it out while I'm killing time @ work. I was told they are moving the Family Table building and all to Ida Grove. I heard the city bought the land and am not sure what they plan to do with it.
ReplyDeleteRon Rosewall:
ReplyDeleteGet an issue of the Cherokee Chronicle Times for Oct. 3, 2005. There is a front page story about the new truck stop, etc. that will be built at the junction of Hwy. 3 and 143. It will be called Marcus Junction.
Pat Ducommun
I have heard that rumor as well. I will have to read the paper tomorrow and see. Originally the rumor had it that they were going to move the family table out there to the new truck stop area. But I heard this week that they are moving it all to Ida Grove. Seems kind of a long ways to move a building.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that it will be a truck stop with a motel and restaurant all in one spot. I also heard that they were thinking about puting a few campsites out there on the corner as well. There are rumors flying like wildfire around town. I'm not sure who is thinking about doing all of this, but I have also heard that it will be open by next spring. I know it can not be done in that amount of time, so I am starting to think it's just rumors. If I see the mayor I will ask him or Rod Ogren. One of them would know.
ReplyDeleteKurt,
ReplyDeleteYes, you can collect your bet a 'coke' anywhere in town. Old Pan Head, J.B.'s. Marcus Bowl or the Pizza Ranch. Did not get to listen to the game but I did follow it on the internet at work. When you fumble you usually lose. I think I heard that the Bears had lot 37? road games in a row. Who you say the Law of Averages was in their favor?
Anyway Congrats to you Kurt.
Let me know when you are in town. Ok..
Jack
Now Phil,
Yes, the Holy Name Class Reunion will be during the Marcus Fair. Seems like that is a very good time to have one of these. We get to see a lot of former Marcusites.
Jack Clarkson
It is true I was spotted by two Baylor fans driving innocently down the street in Ames Iowa following Iowa State's loss to Baylor. Well, the truth is Baylor played a great game and deserved to win. However, the Iowa State Band again showed it is one of the finest in the country. Brian Drefke, grandson of Max & Nancy and daughter of Donna was a part of the band. We were reallay glad to see the Drefke band tradition being carried on. Ryan Galles, son of former Marcusites Fran & Roxanne
ReplyDeleteSchmillen Galles, is also a member of the band. His hs teacher at Remsen Union is former MMC musical
standout Craig Anderson. Steve Smith.
WILL THE MELODY LINGER ON?
ReplyDeleteWhat’s happened to the standards—the ones that lie in the part of our hearts where old songs dwell? I don’t wish to wallow in the molasses of nostalgia, but where are songs like “As Time Goes By” and “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’ll Be Seeing You”? And “Night and Day” and “September Song” and so many others?
In the Marcus of the ’40s, we sang the standards often. We gathered around a piano, longing to be somewhere over the rainbow. Or we congregated on Main Street, standing on the corner watching all the girls go by, hoping that one of them would begin our beguine. Now those wonderful lyrics and melodies are mostly gone.
Sure, some exist in cabaret land. They are performed by older practitioners who warble to a diminishing number of parishioners, who worship the sentiments and structure of carefully crafted lyrics and beautiful melodies. And some reside in some new CD collections by aficionados of the delicate blend of melodic stories. But why aren’t they writing ’em like that any more?
For the last fifty years, popular music has relied on heavy rhythm and repetitive lyrics that are so banal, they boggle the mind. I want to hold your hand—but again and again and again? I don’t want to have someone scream at me over and over that we will! we will! rock you!
And then there’s that extreme version of today’s pop music—hip hop—the lyrics of which are understandable only to those who are under thirteen years of age. And there’s that other genre—shouldn’t there be a “c” in front of the word “rap”?
New material in the “standard” tradition is seldom encountered. The traditional construction of a truly popular song is rarely heard. Sure, there have been occasional forays in Alford Lloyd Weber’s Puccini-like Broadway show tunes. And in Disney movies with songs like “Beauty and the Beast.” But that company doesn’t touch adult themes like confusion and sex.
So there are only some folks who are still bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. Few relate to summertime when the livin’ is easy. And no one remembers that “My Funny Valentine” referred to a character in a musical by Rodgers and Hart, not to Valentine’s Day.
What musicians and show folk call a standard evolved slowly through the years, beginning around 1900 when Viennese operettas came to our shores. Eventually the guys on Tin Pan Alley took the clothes off of The Merry Widow to find out why she was so merry.
And some thirty years later, their songs were broadcast on the new medium of radio. Tunes lifted from Broadway shows filled the airways. Close to 80 percent of the hits of the day from the ’20s to the ’50s were created for musicals on the Great White Way, according to some experts.
The big five—Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Porter, and Rogers—turned out hundreds of songs with delectable rhythms, imaginative lyrics, and inspiring melodies. They told complex, dramatic stories with wit and charm. They composed ballads that spoke to everyone with intricately rhymed words and beautiful melodies that sighed like the wind in the eaves. And they wrote with irony and loveliness about the human condition.
The typical A-A-B-A structure of a popular song became THE way to do it. There was a template. And even though the listeners didn’t consciously dissect it, the architecture of the pop song became as unconsciously familiar as their morning ablutions. And the most practiced of the writers and composers thought that if you couldn’t say it in thirty-two bars maybe you shouldn’t be saying it at all.
Everyone in the country heard and knew the songs. They were on “Your Hit Parade” on the radio. Musicologists say that between 1900 and 1950, some 300,000 songs were submitted for copyright and about 1,000 of those can now be considered standards.
They consider that a standard is one so beautifully crafted that both musicians and listeners are in accord with its artistry. Some were labeled “instant standards.”
Older folks know one when they hear one, for they have heard it often in their lives. Dozens of singers had their recorded versions of a song. Sheet music sales soared as many folks played them on the piano. When Max and I married, we merged not only our lives but also our sheet-music collections.
So what happened? The downward process probably began with the demise of the Big Bands in the late ’40s. And some say it can be summed up with four words—Elvis and The Beatles. They began composing their own material—and performing it exclusively.
The performer became the composer, lyricist, and the one who sang the song. Was it too much for one person? The numbers were deeply personal. Can you imagine anyone but Madonna singing “Material Girl”?
A new generation of garage bands sprang up in the ’60s with guitars and drums banging away. The guitar is pretty limited harmonically and is mostly driven by rhythm. The songs were usually three chords and out. Most of the groups seemed to vie to become the world’s worst rock band.
Are tomorrow’s standards being written today? Will some emerge fifty years from now as a standard? There are, of course, jazz, folk, and country standards like the delightful “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?” But are there rock standards?
If so, where is the “our song” of today—the one that says it all for two lovers in a lovely tune with memorable lyrics. The venerable “Embraceable You” was it for some. A pounding, rhythm-dominated number at jet-engine level just doesn’t cut it.
Perhaps it’s all part of a decline of general standards. We’ve let language deteriorate. The writers of song standards assumed a literacy in the public. A society that loved the written word loved intelligent songs.
When our kids were young, we despaired. They reluctantly turned down the volume of their competing record players, each one blasting out the latest from Blood, Sweat, and Earwax.
But now—amazingly—they tune into some of the old standards. Our late-forties son and his wife have an “our song” from the old days. “Isn’t It Romantic” was played when they took a turn around the floor as their first dance as husband and wife a few years ago. And the a cappella group that our 50-year-old son appears in sometimes sings about love letters straight from your heart.
Perhaps they and others have reached a stage in life where sentiment reigns and love is here to stay, is sweeping the country, is always. Perhaps, as the Disney composer Alan Menken recently noted, “I reached a certain age and I wanted a cigar; at a certain age you’re going to want a standard.”
So maybe there’s hope. I hope so. For who’s going to sing along softly in some girl’s ear when we’re dancing and you’re dangerously near me—cheek to cheek? In the Marcus of the ’40s, we knew those two songs by heart as we swayed together at the Youth Dances.
What will the shower singers of the future be bellowing—“She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah”? Oh my.
Irving Berlin must have been prescient when, in 1927, he wrote a beautiful lament titled “The Song Is Ended.” Will the melody linger on? Bob Reed
I did talk to Rod Ogren this past week and he also stated they were looking into putting some campsites out near the corner as well for those who drive there RV back to Iowa in the summer. For those of you worried about where to find breakfast while you are back, it sounds like the panhead is going to serve a breakfast buffet on Sunday mornings. And we (actually my wife Melinda) are planning to start opening for coffee and rolls during the week as soon as we re-open after our remodeling project. Hopefully we will only be closed for a week.
ReplyDeleteBob Reed: I've said it before and I'll say it again. What a gift. The process of what starts in your gray matter ending up tapped out on your keyboard is the literary equivalent of the proverbial "catching lightning in a bottle".
ReplyDeleteMy wife (in her 50's) would agree completely with you. She was raised on 40's and 50's music - her Dad a WWII vet,and mother, loved the music, loved to dance and it was always on the radio and in the air at her house growing up. She can name all the songs and recite all the performers without fail.
I enjoy that era's music as well. Additionally, for whatever reason, when I went off to college in the Chicago area in the mid-60's, I got hooked on the Motown sound. The richness of the tones, the pleading and personal nature of the message ("Bernadette... " - Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops; "What becomes of the brokenhearted..." -Jimmy Ruffin; "You know you make me want to shout..." Isley Brothers) and the way it moves me to the point of not being able to sit still when I hear it, converted me and made me a lifetime fan.
I know all on this blog may not see it as I do, but for the same reasons the Grambling and Florida A&M marching bands, for example, or a New Orleans funeral dirge, rocket right to my inner-rhythm soul and make me feel the sound, understand the emotion behind it and cause me to want to join, in a manner that much of the more "cerebral music" never does. I realize that a lot of it relates to driving bass sounds and rhythmic drumbeats, but drums and horns (topped off with great vocals) have always drawn me in.
Thanks for your latest. Did you submit that for publication somewhere? It's another example of your wonderful expressions that all can enjoy, especially those of us who appreciate the Marcus insight. Fred
HEY local Marcus Bloggers!
ReplyDeleteMax and I will be in town on Monday, October 17 and Tuesday, October 18. We’d like you to be our guests at lunch on Tuesday at the Pan Head at 12:00 noon. We can get to know--or re-know--one another up close and personal. We can maybe talk about the blog and how it can be strengthened and improved.
Or anything else that comes to mind. A Marcus History Center? At the least, it might be a fun time to just chew the fat.
We hope you can join us!
Bob Reed
Hello people of Marcus...we do not have anything to contribute to the most recent discussions...but we have just heard of this website and found the postings from June about our dad Brian Hogue very entertaining. And yes, I heard he did turn 5 shades of red. Thanks for entertaining and we really like the Marcus Fair...we try to make it every year. Brian's daughter's Brenda, Debbie and Angie
ReplyDeleteHi everyone--I found the blogs on how music has changed interesting. It seems in my youth we listened to what our parents selected. In other words, music was directed mainly towards a mature consumer. But in the late 40's a little thing called the "45" was invented. For 65 cents you could buy a small wax record with two songs. Some feel this was the first time in history when kids started to matter in the commercial world. The 45's were something the teenagers could afford and the music industry has been catering to their young minds (or ears) ever since.
ReplyDeleteUs older ones don't seem to have much clout anymore and will probably have to wait a long time for another "Unchained Melody". Irv Deichmann
Hogue GIRLS:
ReplyDeleteYour dad was one of the very BEST coaches to ever coach in Marcus in my opinion. What Brian and his staff did with the Marcus swim team for many summers was amazing. Brian took kids from all over town and show us a vision to unite as one and produced one of the best swim teams in Northwest Iowa.
Ask him about the likes of his many great divers that he had that had NO fear of the high diving board as well as the awesome swimmers Marcus produced under his leadership.
Last but not least ask him about the experience we had leaving Laurens, Iowa after we won the swim meet.........those boys that threw the rocks at our bus had their lives saved by the grace of Mayor Jack Dunn.......Jack Dunn and your father made sure that cooler heads prevailed.
Tell your dad hello and to sure and get on here sometime to bring us ALL up to speed as to where the Brian Hogue family is living and how they are doing.........most of all tell him thanks for believing in me and all of the kids of Marcus and showing us what it meant to be winners.........wished he had stayed around a few more summers!!!!!!
Phil Dorr
From Anne Means Banister, Woodland, California
ReplyDeleteHad misplaced the name of the web-site for posting a comment until my brother, Joe Means, in Fremont Nebraska just gave it to me again. I want to respond to Earl Ray's wondering where my "Grandfather Means" got the name of "Pickels" when I submitted a comment about my dad's 90th birthday celebration on September 24th, out here in California and that Jack Clarkson and Chuck Sand were surprise guests. He mentions that he use to be called "Butter". I will ask my dad, Lorne Means, about the origin of that name for his dad and get back to the blog on that.
Good luck, Jack, on all the work that you are putting into the Giant All School Re-union that is planned for next August. Great to hear that it is planned at the same time as the fair. It just gives more incentive and adds to the festivities to have both events going on at the same time.
Also would like to relay that I visited Hildred (Hiddy) Treinen Bailey last Wednesday in Carmichael, California near Sacramento. Hiddy had a stroke the end of September and is presently in a skilled nursing facility. We will all remember Hiddy and her family in our prayers.
One of the people in my office, who attended the game last weekend in Iowa City, said that Betty Knudson (Chuck) of Marcus was recognized at halftime as the "Mother of the Year" at the U. of I. Fred Dorr
ReplyDeleteTo Fred Dorr:
ReplyDeleteI'm also a big fan of the FAMU Marching 100! It's one of the neatest things about living in Tallhassee. I work with Florida State University's annual arts festival and have quickly learned how passionate people can be about their individual musical preferences! Not surprisingly, patrons are always eager to tell us who they'd like to see on our stage.
Jennifer Smith Hoesing
Jennifer: Who have you booked for the festival in the recent past? I'd be curious. You live in the heart of so many wonderful music options - Country/W, Delta Blues, Gospel, "Georgia" Rock, R&B and on. (I lived in Athens, Georgia and later Tallahassee for a bit in the 70's and absolutely loved it. North Florida always felt like Iowa to me - with live oaks and Spanish Moss added.)
ReplyDeleteHow long have you lived in Tallahassee? Has the kudzu from Georgia crept on down to north Florida yet?
My daughter went to the Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester, Tenn.) two summers ago with some friends. I'd never heard of it until she started talking about it. About 100 acts performed on 8 outdoor stages over a long weekend. Kind of this generation's Woodstock. The crazy fan behavior aside (I'm showing my age), it sounded like the music talent they had on tap made for a great time.
Good to hear from you. The Marcus-effect is spread far and wide. And I'm sure FSU's music and art festival is better for it.
Since I don't know you, Jennifer, I was wondering if you are Steve Smith's sister? ...Which would then make you a charter member of the First Family of Music in Marcus, right?
Regards, Fred
June/DAD
ReplyDeleteHow much money are you needing for this project?
Phil Dorr
Hi Fred,
ReplyDeleteFirst to answer your question - Steve is my dad. I have been lucky enough to live in Tallahassee for a little over two years. I came here to pursue a graduate degree in the FSU College of Music and then got the arts presenting gig. This is my first year working for Seven Days of Opening Nights (our Festival), but in the past they have presented a diverse body of artists: Denyce Graves, the Boston Pops, Lyle Lovett, Alison Kraus and Bobby McFerrin to name a few. Last Monday evening we presented blues artist Buddy Guy to a packed auditorium. It sure is a great job!
Jennifer Smith Hoesing
IN THE LAND OF “YOU BETCHA”
ReplyDeleteMax and I have just arrived home from a return-to-Northwest-Iowa trip-—Sheldon, Cherokee, the Lakes, and—-of course—-Marcus. In every corner we were blessed with the wonderful peculiarities of Hawkeye speech.
This is not Minnesota or Nebraska or South Dakota talk. This is Iowa’s own idiom and we were reminded of it at every turn.
When we told someone that we were going someplace tomorrow, the response was “Oh ya are are ya?” (Didn’t we just tell you that?)
When we made a declarative statement such as “We went to Remsen on Thursday nights when we were young,” the response was “Oh-—O.K.” This is not an approval of your statement. It’s just an eager, polite response to another’s remark.
It’s an acknowledgement-—sorta’ like the Japanese “Hai,” which is loosely translated as “I hear you.” I guess they heard us a lot. Oh-—O.K.
Then there is “So . . .“ This is a word tacked on to a statement by somebody to imply that the statement is not really the finish of the topic. It indicates that a response would be welcome, because the speaker doesn’t HAVE a finish.
But the most common phrase heard during our stay was “You betcha.” It’s the usual response to “Thank you.” It resonates because Iowans are very polite. It has replaced “You’re welcome.”
We thanked a lot of folks for making our visit so great—gas station attendants, super market clerks, motel people, waiters, and our friends and relatives. Our reward was “You betcha.”
How wonderful to hear that again! How delightful to be reminded of that answer to a common courtesy.
On Iowa! You betcha!
Ok...Isn't it time for some Halloween memories? Anybody have any favorites? I recall my father telling me about people moving outhouses back about 3 feet from their original location...and somebody trying to use it late at night in the dark. Personally, one of my Halloween memories was from about 1960 or '61 when we had a costume parade down main street in Marcus. My mother made a robot costume for me out of a cardboard box, a paper sack and two pipe cleaners. I think I won $1.00. My older cousin Gayle Flanagan, who I believe was working at Farmers State Bank at the time, was one of the judges. You think that may be why I won?
ReplyDeleteKevin Flanagan
Halloween ... I was just cutting some jack'o'lanterns this evening outside ... finally a day when it wasn't raining and it's in the 60s!
ReplyDeleteSome memories...
As farm kids we weren't allowed to go into town to beg for treats, so we went over to our grandparents' farm in whatever costumes we pulled together. We always had halloween parties at Holy Name where we ate popcorn balls and candy corn.
I do remember some costume parades in town. It seems that the Marland showed a movie too? Or was that for Christmas? Hey, any Marland Theater memories out there? Do you remember any movies ... or did you just get in trouble with your friends in the dark ... uh-oh.
I remember one Halloween when I was still pretty young that we had a bumper crop of pumpkins. They were huge and there were many, many of them. It seems they were piled near the corn crib which wasn't too far from the road and I suppose this made them quite tempting, even though we didn't have much traffic past our place. Seems like the pile had dwindled quite a bit by the day after Halloween ... I'm sure some high school kids had a great time sneaking down a dark road to grab them and run.
Steve Smith here on the demise of music. I have devoted considerable time to learning and performing popular music since about 1960. The fact that there is no longer a singular top forty radio format does play a role in the state of things today. However societal changes have resulted in a very interesting blend of country, rockabilly, latin influence, jazz, and classical music. Just as there were marginal tunes blaring from the jukeboxes of the 40s there is plenty of marginal stuff today. But I would highly recommend a careful listen to the music produced by Stevie Wonder during the past 30 years. " A Time For Love" is his newest effort. You will not find the AABA song format but there is a wealth of musical expression and ideas present. My personal favorite composer since the mid 1970s is Pat Metheny. This guitarist has written hundreds of songs. Many have more complicated rhythms that the old standards but they are beautiful in many ways. To here the old standards in new and different ways I recommend the standard time cds of Wynton Marsalis. The finest music must be searched for now. The culture we are fed from television is strictly for the masses. Any Borders of Barnes & Noble has listening stations so you can check it out before buying. If you just want some standards check out
ReplyDeleteBoz Scaggs, Diana Krall, and Jane Monheit. Listen to it before paying to be sure you have the type of music you want to listen to. These artists perform in different styles and it does vary from one cd to the next. Steve Smith.