Wednesday, November 11, 2009

60's radio


I have satellite radio in my car, the reason I got it is because the time I spend driving around I enjoy listening to stuff.
I do not like Ranchero Music.
For those of you who do not know what Ranchero Music is, it sounds similar to German Ompah Music, except they add a accordion and a few off tune other musical instruments.
The only radios stations that we can pick up in Patzcuaro, all seem to have pretty horrible music.
I wouldn't mind music like I hear in Mexico City on a few stations, you know the nice, Latin music, like Bose, or Paloma San Basilio.... But no, we only have Ranchero Music.......I guess it is an acquired taste.

There is not a plethora of radio stations from which to choose from like in the states.
So, cue the satellite radio.....XM to be exact.

Back to the story.

I seem to listen to the 60's music channel.....it is 60's tunes without any commercials. For you real old fogies they have a 50's channel and even a 40's channel for the Glen Miller group and Kay Kaiser with Ishkabibel.......(That's what my folks use to talk about)

Anyway, listening to the music makes me really melancholy. I haven't figured out if that is is good or bad.
At my age I seem to want to gravitate to how good those days were.
I don't know if that was because I was walking around with my head in the clouds, enamored with the excitement of my exciting job...., girls or the fact that the most important thing of the day was if I could afford to fill the tank of my 57 Ford Fairlane Convertible.

Life seemed to be really good then...

The music lyrics were understandable.

After all how much simpler is there than Yummy Yummy Yummy I have love in my tummy?
Or Ferry Cross the Mercy.
Or Jay and the Americans with "Only in America".

Gas was about 40 cents a gallon,  actually it was about 35 cents a gallon.
In the mid 60's Lyndon Johnson was president, and Humpty Dumpty was vice president.

Well actually it was Hubert Humprey, or as Jimmy Carter called him on a nationally televised speech, "Hubert Horatio Hornblower". Gotta love Jimmy Carter........ talk about dim bulbs......the 60's were so nice. Except inflation at one time peaked at around 15 % or so.

The Dow Jones was around 950, Federal Spending was 118 billion...... Unemployment was about 5% average price of a new house was 21000, First class stamp was 5 cents, Regular gas was 31 cents, Dozen eggs was 53 cents and a gallon of milk was 95cents......

So the 60's were kind of neat, the only problem is that when I listen to the music, I plant myself and start thinking of things I use to do and people that I use to associate with.

I am sure there were negative things, but for some reason I only remember the good things........
I wonder in another 10 years will I reminisce about the 70's?
Naw......I don't think so.

10 comments:

Michael Dickson said...

You had a 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible?! Jesus Christ, you lucky sod. Even Ranchero would have sounded good in that.

Bob Mrotek said...

Yeah, you lucky Devil. All I could afford was a 57 Rambler. Bought it for 150 bucks from Jim Moran the Courtesy Man.

Babs said...

I've got ya'll all topped. I had a navy 49 Studebaker in highschool that we called the "bomb".....It was NOT cool at all. I doubt it even had a radio........However, we could still cruise Lazarone's in Alexandria and even made it to Bunkie once......unless you're from Louisiana, none of this matters! ha.

Tancho said...

Yep, I paid 200 bucks for the Fairlane, and had to park it about two blocks from the house.

My parents didn't know that I had it. Usually had 3 or 4 buddies waiting in the morning to get a ride to school which was way on the other side of SF.

Took almost all my savings to by that tank.

Insurance?

Couldn't afford that, and it wasn't mandatory then. Too be real cool, and peal out, I would rev it up and drop it into Drive...it was lay about 20 ft or rubber, pretty good for being a automatic transmission. You should have seen the top...way before Duct Tape, it had more holes than you could count.

Ah Studebaker, Rambler,Edsel, Desoto,Plymouth, sad that they are gone...in 20 or so years, they will reminisce about Oldsmobile, Saturn, and I am sure they will add a few to those.

Calypso said...

I remember the 60's (I think) - but I remember for sure that I also had a red 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible!in about 1965 - the only year as I remember that they had the gold trim line across the sides - very cool I thought.

Loaned it to a friend that proceeded to stack it up - I was broken hearted as a fellow '57 Ford owner might imagine.

Tancho said...

Well Calypso, mine was white, with red and the gold trim! We had it about the same year, 1965 my junior year in high school.
I let a friend use it and he got it towed away, had to take up a collection to get it out of car jail.
I think they were great times!

dbPagosa said...

For the record, the music genre is ranchera. Some gringos like it. I do a lot. But then, when you thing about it, all forms of music are an acquired taste.

The Ranchero was a pickup/car made by Ford, and that would be another really cool old car to have.

Tancho said...

I stand corrected, I use to enjoy it, when it I hear a variety of it interspersed with other Latin sounds, I just found that Ranchera music, played at an ear-blasting loud level which you have no control over, a bit tedious!
Will an old El Camino be welcome also? I have the last year they made one model that I am enjoying now and then!

dbPagosa said...

An El Camino would be even better. Are you driving around Patzcuaro in this machine? Acquired in Mexico or NOB?

Tancho said...

Sadly it is not in Patzcuaro since it would look like a wreaking yard piece of junk after a year driving around town.
A good friend is storing it for me, and I get to drive it around when we visit up North and happen to fly in.
I guess I could have a massive bumper made for it like we had made for my wife's little Honda....
One of the hazards of living in an area with lots of beat up old farm trucks and tight parking....