Tag: music
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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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Poly Styrene & the X-Ray Spex That See Through Bondage
Could a young woman change punk and inspire Riot Grrls? Would misdiagnosis of mental health derail her? Would she inspire someone to say up yours to bondage? If we are talking about Poly Styrene, the answer is definitively yes! I Am a Cliché Not a lot of you will know who Poly Styrene is, keep…
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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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Dolores O’Riordan and the Need to Survive
Raise a glass to former lead singer of The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan this St Patrick’s Day! In the article is an award winning photograph I did with a model shortly after Dolores’ passing and remains one of my best selling pieces at art shows I present at. It was a labor of love and honor…
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Debbie Harry and the Value of Blondie’s Deal
Is Debbie Harry a fierce inspiration to women, fashion, and music? Was her road hard? Do even the strongest and smartest women fall prey to predators to make dreams comes true because there is no other path? Would a young man with a camera make the right choice? In the matter of Debbie Harry, a…
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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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Holding on to Hope in Cold War Games
Were we on the eve of destruction? Was it a land of confusion fueled by the politics of dancing? When two tribes go to war is the beat and the box office epic? Yes! After a decade of detent thawing the cold war, the 80’s would begin with President Carter halting the SALT II nuclear…
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Comments
I read this article yesterday morning before work and it really struck me. Like, to tears… I hate to say…
First, thank you! Second...wow. Third. I was a few month away from 50 before I took boundaries and self care…