Category: Music
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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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I Want My MTV to be Less Racist
Did MTV forever change how we consume music? Was MTV responsible for positive social change? Was there a racism problem that needed to be addressed? Yes. The Good August 1st of 1981 a new television station would air on cable television. MTV entered pop culture playing “Video Killed the Radio Star” by synth New Wave…
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Musical Discovery and the Crime of Gatekeeping
By Jeremy Ritch I’m a later Gen Xer born in 1975, but it still is my generation. For years the later members of this generation tended to feel just as much a part as the older members. That changed a bit when the much larger and closer to my age Millennial generation came to be…
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Comments
This is a really good one, Pat! I found it super relatable and the messaging is excellent. Thanks for this.
That means a lot! Thank you. While I wish you did not relate, I find beauty when people do. Makes…