Category: Music
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Toy Soldiers Fighting for Better Lives
Did an important song hit number 1 on this day in the 80s? Could a Latin Pop star tell a better story than a first lady? Was a song able to make an addicted teen pause? Martika and the song Toy Soldiers would be a hard yes. If I’m being honest, 1989 was a blur.…
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Gen X Music Was The Best Music For Gen X
Was the music of our generation the best? Does today’s music just not connect as well? Kind of. There’s a lot to unpack. When I was a teenager I got to constantly hear Boomers and the Silent Generation tell me that my music was simply noise. Unless that Boomer was Tipper Gore or a Minister,…
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Under The Radar: Shawan Rice
Susquehanna Soul I first encountered Rice’s music at a festival along Harrisburg’s Susquehanna River waterfront. At the time she was playing with a band under Shawan & The Wonton. I was just sipping a coffee in a folding chair, enjoy the shade of a hot Memorial Day weekend. The music began and I perked up.…
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My Purple Reign! A Tale From Tawnlandia!
No other era was influenced by Prince more than the 80s. Nine gold, platinum, or multiplatinum albums that included 1999 (1982), Purple Rain (1984), and Sign o’ the Times (1987). He masterminded albums by the Time, and Sheila E. and wrote hit songs for The Bangles, Madonna, Chaka Khan, Stevie Nicks, and more, shaping the…
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Delving into The Tortured Poets Department And Cowboy Carter
Tortured Poet’s Department Taylor Swift has broken the internet again with the release of Tortured Poet’s Department. The Swifties have brought the album into record breaking territory yet again and with that comes the hatred. Call it our collective “keyboard courage era” in which we hate in viral fashion. Like a virus, I’m thinking herpes…
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My Love Letter To Hip Hop
The Intro My family moved to the Cleveland area in 1983 and having moved into a racially mixed area on the southeast side I became aware of hip hop culture by my pre-teens. Our neighborhood was around the corner from Cleveland proper. It was a place full of young families, many were Black, that were…
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Confessions of Survival in a Post Kurt Cobain Life
Kurt Left and I Struggled Kurt Cobain died 30 years ago on April 5th from a suicide. I was 18 years old, a senior at St. Peter Chanel High School, a place I desperately wanted to leave. I hated high school; in fact, I hated school. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin ever,…
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Ami Alex: Busking Her Way to Success
Under The Radar Series by Jeremy Ritch One thing that annoys me is the attitude amongst many Gen Xers that there is no good new music anymore. The fact is not only is there great new music, every year, but there is a lot of fantastic artists flying under the radar still. Some of my…
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The Soundtrack of Your Life in a Walkman
Did a man make a wholly unimpressive device just to listen to his tunes on a plane? Did the lack of features worry engineers? Were Sony executives concerned about social isolation? Did the world change and did we all want one? In the matter of the Walkman, yes. Making Plane Trips Tolerable and Accidental Revolutions…
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St Patrick’s Day and the Music of Revolution
By Jeremy Ritch My official title with Gen X Watch is culture and music editor. So that is my focus, of course, but in those areas, the often-uncomfortable space of social and politics collide. With St. Patrick’s Day being upon us, I wanted to write about such a collision as an activist and a person…
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Comments
Good article, thank you for the information about it being made for women specifically. I wasn't aware of that
I was yesterday years old myself when I learned it. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.