'Times Ain't Like They Used To Be: Early American Rural Music. Classic Recordings Of The 1920’s And 30's' Volumes 1 through 8, is a series released on the Yazoo label between 1997 and 2003.
These 8CDs are a treasure trove of fiddle tunes, rags, blues, banjo songs, religious selections and old ballads, most of which are excellent.
This is the origin of the genres known as "Roots Music" and "Americana". If you like those genres, you will absolutely adore, these 8 CDs.
Speaking of times ain't like they used to be, this week I had an appointment in midtown Manhattan. As I was checking in with the building's security, I noticed, and was surprised by, a few pay phones on the wall of a very modern building.
So for the freeload, post one (and only one) thing that we used to see everywhere, but these days not so much.
phone booths
ReplyDeleteTelegraph wires, and when the wind played with them, it created these wonderful sounds
ReplyDeletetrading stamps
ReplyDeleteI remember 'S&H Green Stamps' and 'Plaid Stamps', both of whom had redemption locations in downtown Brooklyn.
DeleteMy mom smoked Raleigh cigarets that included a coupon in each pack redeemable for merch—a lot of it smoking accessories such as the little clasp purse with matching lighter she kept ciggies in. I used to kid her that if she collected enough coupons, Raleigh would cover the cost of lung surgery. (Even now, dark humor continues to be a family trait.)
Deletetransistor radios
ReplyDeleteActually have become very popular in Spain, after the nationwide black out.
DeleteEverything old is new again! Vinyl, cassettes....
DeleteShoe shine stands.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, where some kafir polished bwana's boots
Deletewooden bus stop huts
ReplyDeleteYazzo records are a treat; thanks Babs.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, eric!
DeleteBookmobiles --Muzak McMusics
ReplyDeleteIndependent Music (records CD's etc) shops.
ReplyDeleteWidowed Italian women all dressed in black.
ReplyDeletePeople reading newspapers on public transportation.
ReplyDeleteSmoking, everywhere, all the time, like chimneys. Thanks Babs
ReplyDeleteAnon RF: Used book stores, record stores, dvd stores...
ReplyDeleteOld men in suits standing in groups at street corners smoking pipes.
ReplyDeleteMichael Jackson
ReplyDeleteAmerican cars. I'm struck when watching movies made as recent as the 1980s and the ubiquity of US cars on the street. That most def doesn't match what I see when tooling down the road these days.
ReplyDeleteAnd smoking, another thing that featured in EVERY movie, regardless of whether it was even pertinent to the story.
C in California
PS It'll be hard for you, Ms. Babs, to surpass this offering. I've a pretty big collection of this kind of stuff, with emphases on Jimmie Rodgers, the Blue Sky Boys, Uncle Dave Macon, the Carter Family, Mississippi John Hurt, Dock Boggs, and the Delmore Brothers. I'm very very much looking forward to diving into this! Thanks tons!
C in California
Enjoy, C!
DeleteWhat IS an American car these days? Nissan & Toyotas built in Mississippi, Mercedes built in Alabama, BMW built in South Carolina. Hondas built in Alabama, Ohio, or (like mine) in Mississippi. Chevies with "muy bueno" stickers on the "entertainment center." Dodges & Fords built in Ontario.
Delete/me cues up Dylan's "Union Sundown." ("What's made in the U.S.A. sure was a good idea 'til greed got in the way.)
Going for a ride, bugs smashing on the windshield.
ReplyDeleteLink 1
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/E3pXeFFPkU5
Link 2
https://workupload.com/file/Ppn58pTLg5C
Then there's:
Cigarette lighters and ashtrays in cars.
Mechanical credit card machines that took an imprint, then you had to sign.
Pagers a.k.a. "Beepers"
Road maps
35mm SLR cameras
Encyclopedias
Rolodex, address books and Filofaxes
Fax machines
Carbon copies
DeleteOverhead projectors
Letraset
The stores and kiosks where you could drop off film to be developed
CD players in cars
Even the Redbox machines where you could rent DVD's and BluRays seem to be gone
And yet, amazingly, the FAA acknowledges that many air traffic control systems still rely on floppy disks, paper flight strips, and Windows 95 tech from the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteNon smoking sections in the back of the planes which were a total joke...
ReplyDeleteAshtrays. 29¢ per gallon gasoline. "Church key" can openers. Big block V8 engines.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the collection, Babs. "Times Ain't Like They Used To Be" is an (extremely uncommon) CD by an ad hoc string band called Jericho Road Show that used to pop up in the Deep South, sponsored by National Guitars.
The mention of "church key" can openers reminds me that I was recently cleaning up after the flood water receded from a local creek. Among the silt and debris, I found a pull tab from an old soda or beer can. It must have been at the creek bottom for decades.
ReplyDeletePeace.
ReplyDeleteA better tomorrow.
ReplyDelete