[78-L] Was " Huh?" Now "Wha?"

[Taylor Bowie]

Mr.  Barr wrote:

> Comment ca va (I think the "c" in "ca" should have a little doo-dad on it
> to indicate it is pronounced like "s"...?!).
>
> First, I have over the past few years purchased several large 
> accumulations
> of vintage 78's. Almost all of these were made up of "jazz records" 
> (usually
> of the thirties/early forties)...or common vocal records of the acoustic 
> era
> (i.e. a LOT of Henry Burr, Peerless Quartet(te), Irving Kaufman and such).
> Further, almost all of the commonly-found 78's of the current era are
> from the forties/early fifties; I don't find this stuff to be that 
> enjoyable
> for
> listening...and I suspect most younger folks who acquire accumulations
> of this on 78's would feel as I do...?!
>
> Second, when I said "accepted jazz," I meant "accepted by serious jazz
> lovers as..."! The Whiteman disc you cite is somewhat of an anomaly...?!
>
> However, thinking further, I have realized that a younger person trying
> to collect 78's (here I assume he/she/it has neither knowledge of the
> evolution of popular music of the 20th century...nor access to the
> "standard" 78rpm discographies...?!) is most likely to acquire bunches
> of 1946-54 78's (see above for my comments thereon!). Unlike the
> dance/jazz instrumentals of 1916-3? or the earlier vocal "hits" of
> 1910-2?...there are two considerations?! First, should this "newbie"
> happen to acquire a bunch of "swing era" 78's, there is some listenable
> content; however, much of it is available (and more easily played) on
> CD or LP. Second, if the acquisition is a quantity of the vocal hits of
> 1946-54, I suspect listening to those may well discourage our "newbie"
> from further "adventures in 78-land"...?!
>
> Steven C. Barr


I find Mr. Barr's response to my points to be even more confusing than was 
his original post.   For one thing,  he's assuming that no younger person 
has "knowledge of the evolution of popular music of the 20th century"  and 
he assumes that since HE doesn't like much of the singing of  Burr, 
Kaufman,  etc. then how could anyone who is younger possibly appreciate 
them?

His concept of "accepted jazz" as whatever is considered good by "serious 
jazz lovers" is about as silly a statement as I've seen made here on 78-L, 
including any  of my own odder remarks...ditto his dismissal of the common 
but superb Whiteman record as an anomaly...I could make a list of great jazz 
records of the 20s and 30s which are still easy to get for little money, 
and I imagine most of the rest of you on 78-L could do so as well.

Last, I'm begining to think that Mr. Barr assumes that any young person 
collecting 78s would start doing so by buying several boxes (or milk crates) 
full of random stuff  and then deciding to collect in some more selective 
fashion.   The younger collectors I know started  off with an interest in 
music and then took  it from there.

In other words,  for most collectors,  the music comes first and the records 
come second...not for all,  but for most.

Taylor