1905

"Girl we gotta get out of here, we gotta find a solution. I'm a twentieth century man but I don't want to die here."

(L-R) Joseph Cotten, Clara Bow, Henry Fonda, Myrna Loy, Ray Milland

(Instead of trying to document everything I find during the history of cinema & music, I'm instead relying on the following links to provide a chronology, as they do a far better job than I can in summing up the relevant years. My posts will focus on anything that's taken my fancy)

MUSIC MusicTimeline / RateYourMusic / Wikipedia

FILM IMDB (Most Voted) / IMDB (Highest Rated) / RateYourMusic / Films101 / Wikipedia

It's 1905 and finally, the wheels are in motion, with plenty to mention during this sixth month post.  Lots of significant births, with actors such as Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Thelma Ritter, Myrna Loy, Greta Garbo, Joseph Cotten, Ray Milland, Clara Bow, Takashi Shimura, Robert Donat and Kay Francis. Directors/Producers Howard Hughes, Otto Preminger, Michael Powell and Robert Stevenson also.

Kay Francis in the pre-code comedy Jewel Robbery (1932)

(Click here for a great post on Ms. Francis)

Jules Verne passed away in March 1905. A major contributor to the earliest days of cinema, despite not working in-front or behind the camera's. His work in the sc-fi genre proved very inspirational to the film industry (especially to French pioneer Georges Méliès), and his novels continue to be popular around the world.

RYM user novocaine69 provides a fantastic list of silent movies here, from which I've obtained most of my youtube links. Again, nothing too significant, but Méliès work is the best. The Black Imp is a rather amusing short, whilst the longer Le palais des mille et une nuits suffers a little from being too long, but still has some worthwhile moments. The stunts and effects are decent, and the costumes and sets are good for their time.

The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (Edwin S. Porter)

New York Subway

Le roi des dollars AKA The King of Dollars (Segundo de Chomón)

Rescued by Rover (Cecil M. Hepworth)

The Night Before Christmas (Edwin S. Porter)

Le diable noir AKA The Black Imp (Georges Méliès)

Le palais des mille et une nuits AKA The Palace

of a Thousand and One Nights (Georges Méliès)

Meanwhile, a small railroad town is established in the sparse Mojave Desert, NV, USA. Over the next 60 years it will grow into the gambling capital of the world, providing many milestones in the background, inspiration, and showcasing of numerous pieces of music and film.

Las Vegas 2005

Things start sounding a little more familiar (to the modern ear) in music land. The first extensive research in the field of "The Blues" was performed by Howard W. Odum, who published a large anthology of folk songs in the counties of Lafayette, Mississippi and Newton, Georgia between 1905 and 1908.

'Chick' Webb and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup are both born during 1905, and around this time, child vaudevillian Fred Astaire begins performing with his sister on stage. Arthur Collins' hit The Preacher & The Bear becomes the first song to sell a million copies.

"Well now we're getting somewhere!" Jerry Seinfeld

"C'mon Elaine, let's take a ride. I was about to pop in some Verdi" Bob Cobb (The Maestro)
 

To my surprise, there is actually a little something to discuss of 1905's music. I can't say I'm a fan of RYM's #1 - Arthur Pryor's The Whistler and His Dog, but #2 is quite good. Billy Murray's vocal's on The Yankee Doodle Boy is the most fun so far, and the production is good considering the conditions would have been rather primitive. Hardly the definitive version, Enrico Caruso's La donna è mobile is still worthy enough, especially being one of the earliest recorded versions of the Verdi classic.

1905: Jules Verne dies. Las Vegas appears in the desert. 1st major research of the "Blues". 1st million selling song. alturl.com/j4gam

— Through the darkness (@120Yrs120Months) November 14, 2011

05FILMbirths Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Thelma Ritter, Myrna Loy, Greta Garbo, Joseph Cotten, Ray Milland, Clara Bow, Howard Hughes etc..

— Through the darkness (@120Yrs120Months) November 14, 2011

05MUSICbirths - 'Chick' Webb and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup born in 1905.

— Through the darkness (@120Yrs120Months) November 14, 2011

Oh, America! What have you done?

As I've recently been doing plenty of research on the birth of popular music, I've obviously spent a lot of time dedicated to the USA. No-one can deny that (the majority of) the greatest sights and sounds of the 20th century came (or were directly influenced) from American soil. So where did it all go wrong? At what point did America turn from generally genius to practically pointless? And why?

I don't know. I'm unable to answer, as I'm from England, and can only give a British perspective. But I do know that its the country that has had the most spectacular of pasts, but one of the scariest futures ahead. As much credit as it should get, it also deserves alot of criticism.

Despite us Brits having the most widely spoken language, and our once enormous empire, I've found the UK to now really lack any specific relevant identity (most evident over the past 10 years). In the past we've had so many great moments in popular culture. Here's just two examples:

Hang on, lads; I've got a great idea. Err, Errr.....

My Generation & Your Generation (Paul & Pete on Carnaby St)

Carnaby Street in the 60's (albeit feat. american band The Byrds)

But alas, times have changed. If you "google" Italian Job, is the first face you see Michael Caine? Do you find yourself in the 60's? Nah, you get Marky Mark, Jason fucking Statham and that bullshit from 2003 which dares to use the same name! In 1978, The Jam updated us on the state of the country and Carnaby St.

"The street is a mirror for our country. Reflects the rise and fall of our nation. The street
that was a legend, is a mockery. A part of the British tradition gone down the drain"

I remember the mid-late 90's, and how important music & movies were to me. Britain had actually gone through a few years of decent productivity (probably their best since the 70's). Trainspotting was the best British film for at least the previous 10 years, and musically we had a collection of great artists (Blur, Oasis, Paul Weller, Radiohead, Supergrass, The Charlatans, Super Furry Animals, Kula Shaker) and bands (such as Dodgy, Cast, The Verve, Ash, Manics) who "on their day" could create fantastic work. But it proved short-lived. I won't go into too much more detail, as I'll no doubt chronicle Britpop when posting about the 1990's.

By the end of the 90's it seemed the ugly side of pop music was filtering back into the British mainstream and America regained its stranglehold over worldwide influence. But were once stood the original prophets and gods of rock n roll (Robert Johnson, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Brian Wilson, Jim Morrison et al), now stand (or at least in 1999/2000 they did) the embarrassingly bad Blink182, Eminem, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit & Linkin Park, who managed to sell millions of records, along with their souls and the possibility of 'mainstream' America ever being taken seriously again. I mean, "nu-metal" or MTV Base anyone? Yuck! And I rage when I see the term 'R&B' used in modern context. THERE IS NO LINK BETWEEN PROPER AND "NEW" R&B!!! How dare they soil such a great genre!


If you're going to replace something, make sure its with something with equal merit and integrity, if not better. If not, leave it well alone! And that is why I do not feel the compulsion to involve myself in most modern offerings. I could limit myself to the art of the sixties, and still feel fulfilled. Hell, I could dedicate myself to just 1967, and I'd be bet it would be a decade before I got bored. But luckily, through this blog I've got so many 'golden' periods to look forward to. I seriously believe the future is in the past. I'm sure my findings through just the next 3 years (1900-1935) of this blog will exceed any expectations I have for actual new releases for 2011-2014.

The U.S. doesn't deserve the whole blame, but it has witnessed the greatest slump from greatness to madness. My soul weeps for the country. We owe them so much for what they have given, yet so much seems unrecognized on its home turf, and unappreciated decades on. I mean, try finding a popular US country radio station that actually plays Hank Williams. You can't! It's as if he (the guy who practically invented the modern meaning of the genre) never existed. Instead we're subject to this really bland, sad and sorry $$ making excuse for a 'modern' sound that really should be as pure and direct as the blues.

It's fast approaching the 65th anniversary of Hank's first recordings in Nashville, Tennessee, which made him a star. Hank, this one's for you.


This was originally a test, to see how 'scheduled posts' worked. It works well, and will come in handy....

Happy 69th birthday Paul McCartney!

"They say it's your birthday, we're gonna have a good time!"


Ooops. Why didn't I post this on the 18th? It's been sat in draft for a week, but I couldn't not post it, as I've already done Ringo's (for next month). It's not really the aim of this blog to post on every important persons birthday, but there's 4 guys who mean more to me than most, so they get that a special dedication.


It does also allow me to quickly mention in the whole Beatles history & roots, that both of Paul's parents (Jim & Mary) were born during this decade (1900s), as was Johns Aunt Mimi.

Here's Paul making a cup of tea. Enjoy.