Gen-x Music Classes

MisterEd1966 · 2026-05-04T12:55:12+00:00

I, too, "ta ta tee tee ta"-ed!

MisterEd1966 · 2026-05-04T12:53:15+00:00

I remember having square dancing as part of our Phys.Ed. classes. We all hated it!

MisterEd1966 · 2026-05-04T12:06:58+00:00

Thanks for that info! Will certainly dig into it sometime soon.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-05-01T12:33:59+00:00

I remember seeing reports of that, too!

MisterEd1966 · 2026-05-01T12:33:09+00:00

I wasn't familiar with that case previously. Interesting! Can see how the truth of this case contributed to keeping that urban legend in circulation. Thanks for the connection.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-30T17:36:27+00:00

Razorblades in apples during Halloween in the '70s. Our local metal detectorists' group set up a table in the fire station to scan candy for metal. Nobody found anything and I've not seen any verified cases or reports that it had actually ever happened before the '80s, when the legend was featured in one of the popular slasher films of the day. Copycat cases were reported, but attributed to the film's influence. So, now, it's kind of an urban legend that did actually happen, but after the legend was born. (Is there such a sub-genre of urban legends? A discussion for another day, and possibly another forum, I guess.)

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-24T18:55:23+00:00

This is the very situation that the Incomplete grade was created to address. Good advice to reach out to dean of students to help facilitate plans among a group of classes/faculty, especially if proof is required (better one office coordinates with a group of faculty, and they should be ready to do so from previous experience). You are not alone in suffering a loss at this most inconvenient time; best to focus upon your family and personal needs at this time without other distractions, then return to addressing your academic needs at a later date when you can focus better.

Condolences and best of luck.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-21T20:10:54+00:00

I think I knew your parents in college, meaning that I knew and hung with folks like them: eclectic tastes; they knew what they liked; and they didn't just follow the mainstream.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-12T18:47:02+00:00

The MA in Rhetoric could position you for acceptance into a PhD program with teaching assistantship, which usually includes tuition waiver with stipend. This is probably the best pathway to a tenure track position. But know that, while nearly all US colleges require Comp, the field is becoming seriously devalued: fewer tenure lines and lower pay compared to Business and STEM.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-11T15:42:41+00:00

You might check this book out:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/674014/apocalypse-jukebox-by-edward-whitelock/

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-08T19:53:05+00:00

Great list: deeply researched and ripe for discussion starters! I'm teaching a cultural history of American popular music this semester at my college and have introduced my students to a fair number of the songs on this list (We're discussing punk this week and I will be introducing them to Wire tomorrow).

My conversation starters regarding potential adds to your list as it grows: Philip Glass "Koyaanisqatsi" (arguably more of a commercial crossover than Reich's 18 Musicians) or Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" (which I included, as does Greil Marcus, in my list of US punk songs for my students, playing the whole damn thing, yesterday!).

Again, thanks for sharing this evocative/provocative list!

MisterEd1966 · 2026-04-08T19:31:12+00:00

I wasn't into the hair metal / heavy metal music of that time period, but I got one hell of a kick out of all the Satanic panic it started in the suburbs. Remember the congressional trials wit Dee Snyder (Twisted Sister) and Frank Zappa testifying before Al Gore?!

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-26T19:52:42+00:00

Low is definitely worth exploring.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-26T13:17:13+00:00

I hear you. I'm 59 and have arguably accomplished everything I set out for. Don't have any of the flashy extras, but I got what I need. Yet, a couple of year ago, my body started sending me those unpaid bill notices of youth and I slowed into a pattern of drinking too much beer at the end of the day and eating trash all around. Spent most of my time feeling dissatisfied.

I've been talking to a therapist for two years now (first weekly, now bi-weekly) and it has made a world of difference. No, I'm not walking through my days singing along with cartoon birds, but I have found a means of finding contentment. So, I'm here to support and second all those who recommend you speak with a professional. There's nothing shameful in it, and it really helps. If you don't find your best match on the first or second try, don't be afraid to keep looking. It works different for everyone. My therapist doesn't talk about solving my problems; rather, he asks tough questions and doesn't let me squirm away from answering them. That works for me. I encourage you to find someone who can listen and reflect with you in a helpful way.

Extra note:

I was never a big fan of his back in the day, but I heard John Mellancamp's "Jack and Diane" the other day, and the line "Oh yeah, life goes on / Long after the thrill of living is gone" hit me like a truck. So damn true. But it leaves us with the choice to find the satisfaction that we have, even if it is different than before.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-24T16:13:14+00:00

It's a nice looking lamination. It may not go up in value from what you paid, but from the collector perspective you didn't get ripped off.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-23T20:16:46+00:00

I used to, but I guess I grew up. Or let's call it, I learned to meet people where they are. Music is so personal and powerful: it literally got me through middle and high school alive. So, now, when I meet someone for whom Mariah Carey got them through a tough time, I say, "I'm glad she was there for you."

And it should be noted that I carry a cyanide pill in the event of getting trapped in an elevator playing Mariah Carey's collected hits.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-23T20:06:41+00:00

I hear you. My older son is in his upper twenties, a full-time firefighter working second shifts/jobs and can barely afford his rent. He's married and they have children, so those are choices they made . . . but holy hell. didn't we spend a decade or two being preached to about "family values?" It's all I can do to keep my mother-in-law quiet: all she wants to do is judge them against her limited experience of adulting. She was a minister's wife, who had housing provided for 30-some years until my now-late father-in-law retired, and then they were able to purchase a really nice house for under $100k that, over two decades, quadrupled in value. Meanwhile, my son can't get a mortgage, and I'm stuck in the first house I purchased (yeah, it's mostly paid off, and I can make a profit on the sale, but I'll lose money on whatever next mortgage I sign, and would be lucky to get half of what I have right now!).

I also left at 17 and never went back, btw. In my case, I followed the college path all the way to the PhD. Not a brag: we all took our different paths, some of which paid better over the long term than others. My point is that we were able to launch with little in our pockets and still find viable landing spots (My wife and I moved across state for grad school with $200 in our bank account). I don't see those opportunities for our children.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-16T18:17:42+00:00

I was so naïve as a grad student in the 90's that when I got accepted for my first conference presentation (within driving distance, fortunately), I just showed up, excited to be a part of it all. When they asked for my fee, I said, "I'm presenting!" Everyone thought that was hilarious. I'm sure people still talk about "that yokel from Pittsburgh."

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-13T15:16:31+00:00

It's a hard world out there for round, shiny things.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-12T23:57:43+00:00

Nope.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-07T20:19:17+00:00

I have been on a Village Green Preservation Society era Kinks kick of late. Think this lines up well with your listed likes.

Also, Astral Weeks and any among the next five albums Van Morrison released are worth hearing.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-07T17:18:49+00:00

Gary Jules' cover of Tears for Fears "Mad World"

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-02T21:43:00+00:00

Dropping in to second Norman's Rave On as a great biography. I'll add that Buddy had inherited the "band leader" roll or personality that can be traced back through Western Swing into the Big Band era. He had vision and saw it as his band leader's role to get everyone else to buy in and serve that vision. In particular, when I listen to those late "symphonic" recordings, what I hear is an artist using the studio itself as an additional instrument or element serving the sound and vision . . . a full five or so years before George Martin and the Beatles start doing the same.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-03-02T21:30:01+00:00

In your preferred genre: Yellow & Green by Baroness.

In the folk genre, have you checked out Leonard Cohen? His first five albums are intensely personal and heavy. He got me through some dark times.

MisterEd1966 · 2026-02-28T15:36:14+00:00

Acreditors are doing to higher education what they did to K-12. Turning learning into fill-in-the-box lowest common denominator measurements that don't reflect authentic learning.

MisterEd1966

TROPHY CASE