Then and now
I wrote a draft for a huge post focusing on Ukraine’s history and on NATO. It’s probably going to be a two-parter. Instead of racing to get the first part up here for the weekend, I’ve decided to postpone that until next week.
Instead, here’s something that makes me happy.
You guessed it – the Bee Gees.
Having some fun with Billy Joel in 2001:
O, tempus fugit. That was thirty-four years after this:
In 1974:
In 1989, a simple acoustic version while seated:
These were all live performances, although that 1967 one may be lip-synced, which was common at the time because of studio limitations.
Bee Gees <3 To Love Somebody
This song, every time I listen, seizes my attention. It’s like hearing it for the first time, every time.
JimNorCal:
Agreed.
All these versions are also quite different, I think.
I would also have loved for Otis Redding to have recorded it. I think that it’s amazing that at ages 20 and 17 the Bee Gees were able to write a song that was just about perfect for him.
Zara A:
Hope you’re doing okay.
God bless you, dear Neo! I like your blog so much <3
A little pop music distraction in the face of astounding world troubles, much of which had its genesis in the 1960s when the Bee Gees were young songwriters. It was determined at that time that the young were the sources of wisdom despite many millennia of human history to the contrary, and American standards thus gradually unraveled into permissive hyperindividualism.
Married? No prob, just get a no-fault divorce.
You don’t want to be pregnant by some yo-yo you screwed while drunk a few weeks ago? There’s Planned Parenthood and its baby-suckers, which sell the human parts.
You want to try fentanyl? No prob, the border is wide open and dealers are everywhere. Just do it!
99.9% of teens mistake lust for love. That likely included the young BeeGees.
Leading to today’s “pop”, rap and hip-hop, which are 100% pure garbage, as shown by the all-black SuperBowl halftime “show”, except for Eminem, who was just noise.
I’ll stick to Bluegrass and Classical, thanks. Fortunately Sirius has channels devoted to those.
I’m the resident grumpy old man, and proud of it!
My comment failed to post. To H with it.
Cicero:
When a comment fails to post, you should let me know. It’s usually in the spam or trash folders. I found yours in the latter and took it out and now it’s visible. Most of the time I have no idea why every now and then a comment gets blocked that way, but I can usually fix it when it does.
In terms of your observation about the Bee Gees, they mostly wrote music about love. Romantic love. They became professional singers as children and grew up fast, each of them marrying for the first time at the age of around 19. That was after sowing some wild oats. All three married their second wives while still pretty young (I think Barry was something like 22 or 23) and they remained married for life to that person. They traveled with their families, for the most part, as well (that includes their parents, while they were alive). As far as I know, except for Robin, the other two brothers were very faithful to their second wives. Barry – the only survivor of the trio – has been happily married for over 50 years. The three were also fairly religious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRPILZS1hc8
Thanks, Neo.
Cicero, your comment put me in mind of an interview I listened to yesterday.
https://www.city-journal.org/10-blocks
The episode is “Filling A Vacuum”. The author wrote a book “The Dumbest Generation” about Millennials a decade or so ago. He now has an update of how things have turned out.
Chock full of facts and and deep explanations. How that generation has lost contact with wisdom gleaned by earlier generations.
It’s 25 min but if you decide to check, 2 or 3 min will tell you if it’s worth your time.
Cicero – if you’re open to being surprised, The Bee Gees will surprise you. They are, in fact, almost the opposite of the impression you have formed. Not defending them at all…and of course you’re entitled to your own opinion.
A year ago you couldn’t have paid my classical-loving husband to listen to any pop song, let alone The Bee Gees. He was a (conservative) college professor throughout the student radical years and, like you, lumped it all together and labeled it…how did you put it…”permissive hyperindividualism.”
But, partly due to Neo’s influence, he has come around to appreciate the Brothers
Gibb: their values (love, home, family), their strong work ethic, their longevity in the profession, the way they overcame big challenges. And yes, their beautiful love songs. He sings me little bits….
Quick example: if you can spare 3 minutes, give “Massachusetts” a listen. It was their first #1 song (Britain). My husband’s musical ear picked up that it’s the conservative answer to hippie anthems like “Are You Going to San Francisco?” When every other group was suggesting going off to “find yourself,” The Bee Gees were saying, “Go home….”
The Brothers never really voiced the Flower Power youth culture which you deplore. Their best songs were more timeless. Their major theme, Love, was more universal. They stood apart from other groups.
Unique…on many levels. They might surprise you!
Saw this Tweet and just wanted to make sure everyone getting all hot and bothered about Ukraine understands the stakes are maybe a little bigger than they imagine.
Lowkey
@Lowkey0nline
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11h
The decision to push almost 3 billion people (Russia, India & China) into trading with each other in currencies other than the dollar, will go down as one of the most short-sighted and self destructive policies in US history.
Mike
The decision to push almost 3 billion people (Russia, India & China) into trading with each other in currencies other than the dollar, will go down as one of the most short-sighted and self destructive policies in US history.
India is under sanctions?
MBunge: amen!
India, of course, will voluntarily join the new group and will also trade with dollars at times when it makes sense.
China, same.
But usage of the dollar based trading will subside. One guesses the trend will occur at first gradually then all at once.
Any country opposed to the US will join the new group. Any country who fears it could be a target of US/BigTech cancellation will hedge its bets. The most important thing to watch for at first: how much oil is bought using dollars vs other currencies.
Hi Neo.
Could you please tell us what online news sources you regularly read to keep generally up-to-date. (News, as distinct from commentary — for commentary I’ll read your blog. 😉
Thanks!
AppleBetty:
I usually start with a story someone linked, and then I’ll do a search for certain things in it that I question. For example, if the story quoted something in a speech, I search for the text of the speech to see if that’s what the person really said. If I read an assertion on the right, I try to find the counter-argument on the left if I think it’s something in question. If it’s legal, I look for the legal document or at least a summary of it (Legal Insurrection is good for that). I like certain people whom I’ve discovered to be relatively fair and honest over time, and not to apply double standards (although they may not be 100% consistent in that, someone who’s mostly consistent). I find Turley, Dershowitz, and Greenwald are often good (Andrew McCarthy used to be, but he dropped off the recommended list for me a while back). Victor Davis Hanson is usually reliable.
I also do historical research outside of newspapers, at historical sites or even sometimes at Wiki, which for history is sometimes quite good with the facts.
I find, strangely enough, that British papers are often quite good at reporting crimes in America and terrorist attacks in America.
neo: Thank you very much!!!