RomeoMike369's Blog

I just found out that I am not a "Baby Boomer" after all.  I just finished watching a lecture on KLCS called "The Silent Generation."  It was about those who were born too young to fight in WWII, and born before the end of WWII.  Since I was born in early 1945, this makes me a member of the Silent Generation, rather than a Baby Boomer.

What is amazing is description that is given of what the personality of a member of the Silent Generation is like.  It's no wonder that I like the love ballads of the 50's.

When I watch American Idol, or listen to many of the icons of our pop culture, what I hear is screaming, not singing, SCREAMING! It’s as if all the competition centers around who can wail the loudest and longest. The “song” is hard to understand as the words are elongated and screamed at you as if the “singer” has reached some high, unreachable note that only they can deliver. Not only are the lyrics unintelligible, but the cords are nauseating, and discomforting to listen to.

This was not and is still not the case with Jo Stafford. Her voice was perfect! Her intonation was perfect! The emotion that was conveyed and felt by the listener was unforgettable. When I was a kid growing up in the 50’s, I remember hearing “You Belong To Me” for the first time and falling in love with the song. It has been my favorite ever since, and I consider it a perfectly written and executed work of art. She, and other singers of her era such as Como, Crosby, and Munroe, evoke a time when we seemed more human than we are today. As a matter of fact, the movies produced prior to the development of the computer seemed to possess a better story line, and better acting. Much of the films today rely exclusively on the special 3D animation effects that are produced on a computer (story line be damned).

Jo Stafford died at the age of 90 in Century City. She was the voice listened to and loved by servicemen fighting in World War Two and Korea. The respect I have for that generation of Americans is untarnishable. I sometimes feel that I never belonged to the Baby Boom generation, but to the bygone era of Big Bands, Crooners, and love ballads. Today’s music doesn’t inspire me, and it doesn’t move me emotionally the way the music of yesteryear does. I have neither listen to nor really liked much of the music produced since the end of the 1980’s. However, I have all my favorites saved on my iPod, and these songs transport me back to a time and place that no longer exists.