Apparently we like a fuss here on AGF

[bil]

Originally Posted by reeve21

I'm going to give you a reply just for being nice.

I also want to point out, with reference to another heated thread going on right now, that the vast majority of well known and unknown "professional musicians" I have ever approached with my stupid questions and bumbling accolades have been very gracious.

Regarding your question, you would be surprised what older folks like to listen too. Some octogenarians will only listen to Sinatra, etc., and that is cool. My 81 year old mother, on the other hand, raised 4 boys in the 70's. She is a huge Neil Young fan, and one of her current favorite bands is 3 Doors Down-- because one of my brothers is friendly with them. She loves Bon Jovi, me not so much. She even dragged my dad to see the Rolling Stones (yes, it was comped and in a skybox, but still, they went). I was hoping she would invite me but no luck

Thanks for the thread. Nice to hear some good news!

So true. I'm 60. I never gave Sinatra a thought, other than knowing he exists. A few years ago, a friend of my son's in his early 20's turned me on to him and I'm hooked. Greatest hits is a good place to start, but go straight to Watertown for some great obscure stuff. The man had a set of pipes on him.

[woodbox]

Hi all, OP here.

Well, I have certainly enjoyed the responses here.
Some are quite sincere, some mildly amusing, some made me laugh right out loud!
Good stuff.

In answer to the inquires from Purfle Haze and ChrisE early in the thread:
The song that brought happy reminiscent tears to the older woman was an old Sam Cook song, "Bring it on Home to Me".
I'm not sure what her story is, but something about that song took her back to her teenage years, and some bitter sweet feelings.
It seemed she was glad to be reminded of a younger time, even with some sadness attached to it.
Her name was Mary.

Overall, I think my favorite response/post in this thread so far is from cotton:

"I've learned that each of us has more influence than we might have imagined. For instance, a single negative post can spark an explosion of negativity that shows up in multiple threads. On the other hand, positive, encouraging posts can also be contagious, though they seem to me to be less so. It takes far more happy threads to counter the effect of one unhappy one. Still, it's worth the effort."

A line from one of my songs says:
"A wise man will tell ya, you reap what you sow.
What you feed and water, is going to grow."

Thank you all for receiving and responding to this thread in the spirit intended.

woodbox

[BlRdgMtns]

What's ascap

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by BlRdgMtns

What's ascap

Seat of your pants

[SpruceTop]

Unlike normal people, AGF members--like Repo Man--seek confrontation!

[Glennwillow]

Hi woodbox,

I noticed years ago that negativity and cynicism tend to get more attention in just about all aspects of life, not just here on the AGF.

I don't know why that is. Sometimes I find myself going in that direction -- that is, toward's cynicism -- but when I do, I just don't like myself very well. So I straighten up. I try to remain positive.

At the same time, I did find that thread about performance rights organizations (PRO: ASCAP, BMI, etc) quite interesting since my wife and I were longtime members of ASCAP when we were in the professional music business. If I had anything useful to contribute to that thread, I would have provided it. My problem is, I see all too clearly both sides of the issue and I have no answers for what the PRO are doing that is affecting and shutting down OPEN MICS.

- Glenn

[vintageom]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Hi woodbox,

I noticed years ago that negativity and cynicism tend to get more attention in just about all aspects of life, not just here on the AGF.

I don't know why that is. Sometimes I find myself going in that direction -- that is, toward's cynicism -- but when I do, I just don't like myself very well. So I straighten up. I try to remain positive.

- Glenn

Careful Glenn, your maturity is showing!! Your posts over the years are telling of the fine person that you are. If I ever get to meet you, I would be honored to shake your hand.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by vintageom

Careful Glenn, your maturity is showing!! Your posts over the years are telling of the fine person that you are. If I ever get to meet you, I would be honored to shake your hand.

I Second That!

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I noticed years ago that negativity and cynicism tend to get more attention in just about all aspects of life, not just here on the AGF.

I don't know why that is. ...

The dark side has entertainment value, I think, and that may just be human nature. In the early 17th century, English poet John Milton penned his epic work, Paradise Lost, about the war in heaven and the casting out of Satan and his cohorts into the fiery furnace of hell. Milton intended the sections that took place in heaven to be the most elevating, but the 'problem' was, and always has been, that readers found the sections dealing with Satan, hell and the temptation to be the most gripping and moving parts of the poem. Somehow, Milton couldn't describe heavenly peace in such a way as to interest readers, but when he turned his attention to the fallen angels, his muse went into overdrive.

If we go beyond poetry and think about fiction or movies we like, do we want peace and tranquility or blood, guts, and anguish? A film about Jimi Hendrix, who lived a short and turbulent life will always stir up more interest, I think, than one on Chet Atkins, who died in old age and enjoyed, as far as I know, a long marriage and a happy family.


It seems that all too often that whether we like it or not, the description and depiction of success, peace and tranquility is boring. A story on the news about a winning school, a retiring and beloved policeman, or a mentoring success pales into blandness alongside the violent break-in, the road-rage shooting, or the boating disaster. Here on the AGF, a thread initiated by a disaffected member ceremoniously leaving the forum and an accusation of negativity on the forum will generate far more interest than one on a successful son or daughter, a new beginning or an inspiring act. Someone just marveled at the negativity thread running into its 10th or 12th page. I don't find that surprising at all; it would be more surprising to have a thread on good works in the community run for so long.

[ombudsman]

Originally Posted by ewalling

If we go beyond poetry and think about fiction or movies we like, do we want peace and tranquility or blood, guts, and anguish? A film about Jimi Hendrix, who lived a short and turbulent life will always stir up more interest, I think, than one on Chet Atkins, who died in old age and enjoyed, as far as I know, a long marriage and a happy family.


It seems that all too often that whether we like it or not, the description and depiction of success, peace and tranquility is boring.

I pretty much agree but I think it's more than what is seen as boring/interesting. It's how the story plays to the subjectivity of the audience viewpoint. Success breeds resentment. Very few people want to hear about a person that is more successful than themselves, unless it is told from some angle that allows them to feel superior anyway, like a harsh or comical exploration of the flaws of that person.

We're a bit more forgiving of dead people. We don't have to compete with them anymore.

On the other hand, tales of people who are worse off than us (whether in material or other ways) are very popular. We love to feel superior and hate to feel inferior.

I'm not saying all storytelling of this type is biased. It would be malpractice to tell the story of Jimi Hendrix without showing that he destroyed himself at a young age despite having what many, many people wanted.

[Wadcutter]

Originally Posted by DHillshafer

Well, what sense is that when everybody already knows Martins are better than Taylors?
Lol, I jest.

That' right. It's settled science.

[M19]

Originally Posted by ewalling

The dark side has entertainment value, I think, and that may just be human nature. In the early 17th century, English poet John Milton penned his epic work, Paradise Lost, about the war in heaven and the casting out of Satan and his cohorts into the fiery furnace of hell. Milton intended the sections that took place in heaven to be the most elevating, but the 'problem' was, and always has been, that readers found the sections dealing with Satan, hell and the temptation to be the most gripping and moving parts of the poem. Somehow, Milton couldn't describe heavenly peace in such a way as to interest readers, but when he turned his attention to the fallen angels, his muse went into overdrive.

If we go beyond poetry and think about fiction or movies we like, do we want peace and tranquility or blood, guts, and anguish? A film about Jimi Hendrix, who lived a short and turbulent life will always stir up more interest, I think, than one on Chet Atkins, who died in old age and enjoyed, as far as I know, a long marriage and a happy family.


It seems that all too often that whether we like it or not, the description and depiction of success, peace and tranquility is boring. A story on the news about a winning school, a retiring and beloved policeman, or a mentoring success pales into blandness alongside the violent break-in, the road-rage shooting, or the boating disaster. Here on the AGF, a thread initiated by a disaffected member ceremoniously leaving the forum and an accusation of negativity on the forum will generate far more interest than one on a successful son or daughter, a new beginning or an inspiring act. Someone just marveled at the negativity thread running into its 10th or 12th page. I don't find that surprising at all; it would be more surprising to have a thread on good works in the community run for so long.

If it bleeds, it leads.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by ewalling

The dark side has entertainment value, I think, and that may just be human nature. In the early 17th century, English poet John Milton penned his epic work, Paradise Lost, about the war in heaven and the casting out of Satan and his cohorts into the fiery furnace of hell. Milton intended the sections that took place in heaven to be the most elevating, but the 'problem' was, and always has been, that readers found the sections dealing with Satan, hell and the temptation to be the most gripping and moving parts of the poem. Somehow, Milton couldn't describe heavenly peace in such a way as to interest readers, but when he turned his attention to the fallen angels, his muse went into overdrive.

If we go beyond poetry and think about fiction or movies we like, do we want peace and tranquility or blood, guts, and anguish? A film about Jimi Hendrix, who lived a short and turbulent life will always stir up more interest, I think, than one on Chet Atkins, who died in old age and enjoyed, as far as I know, a long marriage and a happy family.


It seems that all too often that whether we like it or not, the description and depiction of success, peace and tranquility is boring. A story on the news about a winning school, a retiring and beloved policeman, or a mentoring success pales into blandness alongside the violent break-in, the road-rage shooting, or the boating disaster. Here on the AGF, a thread initiated by a disaffected member ceremoniously leaving the forum and an accusation of negativity on the forum will generate far more interest than one on a successful son or daughter, a new beginning or an inspiring act. Someone just marveled at the negativity thread running into its 10th or 12th page. I don't find that surprising at all; it would be more surprising to have a thread on good works in the community run for so long.

Man, Ed, that is some heavy stuff, but I know you are probably right. While I have read Milton's "Paradise Lost," I did not know the background on how his readers liked the stories of Satan and hell better than that of paradise. How fascinating.

Originally Posted by ombudsman

I pretty much agree but I think it's more than what is seen as boring/interesting. It's how the story plays to the subjectivity of the audience viewpoint. Success breeds resentment. Very few people want to hear about a person that is more successful than themselves, unless it is told from some angle that allows them to feel superior anyway, like a harsh or comical exploration of the flaws of that person.

We're a bit more forgiving of dead people. We don't have to compete with them anymore.

On the other hand, tales of people who are worse off than us (whether in material or other ways) are very popular. We love to feel superior and hate to feel inferior.

I'm not saying all storytelling of this type is biased. It would be malpractice to tell the story of Jimi Hendrix without showing that he destroyed himself at a young age despite having what many, many people wanted.

Wow, this is even more sobering, but probably true also. What a very interesting observation.

Now, a story about Chet Atkins and his struggle for recognition from his own father that did not come until just before his father's death, that would make for an interesting movie, don't you think? (This is a part of Chet's background I once heard discussed by Tommy Emmanuel.)

I have thought over the years that there are some really smart people who contribute to the AGF. This is really a fascinating discussion.

- Glenn

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by drive-south

So your mom likes Bon Jovi more than she likes you?

Hah, good one! I'll have to ask her😊

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by M19

If it bleeds, it leads.

I can't bear to watch the local news. Car crashes and fires, and a murder if it is a "good" news day. 🆖