Post #5490 by woofmutt on Fri, Aug 9, 2002 11:17 PM

Most punk style stuff had a retro aspect to it, and the punk aesthetic often included castoffs from previous eras, particulalrly if they were items considered to be kitschy or in bad taste. Many of the people who first began collecting mid century toys and thermoses and et cetera seem to have come from a punk background. I think there was a logical flow from owning some weird Tiki mugs to wondering what the whole former Polynesian pop scene was about (or owning some yellow cowboy boots and looking into old country music). Which reminds me, there's a scene in "Repo Man" where the group is at a bar and the apparently formerly hardcore band is doing a loungey sort of thing. Was the lounge thing already happening in LA when that movie was made or was it a joke that became a reality? (Of course Sid did his version of "My Way" some years before "Repo Man").

I've never really moved from one style of music to another, I've liked some of the stuff most of my life. My grandmother exposed me to Dean Martin and friends, my mom to Elvis, my dad to Hank Williams and pals, and I on my own liked elevator music...I'm a big fan of Muzac (and immitators) and it's another thing that is passing away as stores, restaurants, and elevator farmers go for the awful oldies mix...Made even more awful by the fact that most people know the words to 90% of the songs and think nothing of pushing a shopping cart around Sears singing along with the Beach Boys.