When I woke up this morning, it was raining ice. Then, it just started raining. Then it turned into big puffy snowflakes. Then it all stopped, the sun came out for a couple of hours and everything started melting, just in time for the temperature to drop and for everything to freeze again. It's truly winter right now and it truly sucks. The only good things i can say about this weather are this:
1. I know Central IL is not alone in dealing with this right now. The whole state...no...the whole midwest....no again...most of the country is dealing with an abundance of unfortunate winter weather this season. So, we're not alone.
2. This weather is not boring. Yes, it's cold and wet and uncomfortable. But it's not boring.
3. It's nearing the end of February. That means spring is close. We might see another 2 feet of snow and/or ice before it comes, but it's close. We're over the hump. I might just have my hands in some dirt in less than 2 months...I hope.
Thankfully, I didn't have to work today, because I get Presidents' Day off. So, the rain, ice and and snow came down, but I stayed in my warm little house.
To try and combat cabin fever, I decided to start a little research that I've been meaning to do for a while.
In 2012, on an epic road trip with our friend Jdo, my sweet husband bought me a really cool anniversary gift at Powell's in Portland. It's a book called Defining Moments in Music and it's a history of popular music, examining great "artists, albums, songs, performances and events that rocked the music world" (taken from the cover.) It's a lengthy tome, starting at the dawn of the 20th century with the birth of the phonograph. I've been reading a bit, here and there, and I'm currently reading about the release of "Little Deuce Coupe" by The Beach Boys in 1963. That's about 1/3 of the way through the book.
Anyway, I found myself, naturally, wanting to hear the songs and artists I've been reading about and today I finally started. There's a lot here, especially before the 1940's, that I'm just not very familiar with. So, I started looking some of this up. Some of the content so far has been difficult to find recordings of online. There's a lot of crap on the internet, and most of it doesn't concern itself with music from early 1900's.
I would like to share links to what I have found so far. I'll try and do this a little at a time. If you're reading this, please listen to what I've posted and leave a comment with your thoughts, if you would like. I'd like this music to remain relevant, and I think your posted comments will help!
The first "key song" in the book is "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder," written in 1900 by Arthur Gillespie and Herbert Dillea. This version was performed by Harry MacDonough. This song was chosen for its relevance because it was one of the early popular songs of the 20th century, coming from a musical called "The Floor Walkers." My, how times have changed. Let me know your thoughts.
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