Nostalgic revivals are a double-edged sword. Just as "American Graffiti" helped us appreciate the 50's, it also brought spawned "Happy Days" and Sha Na Na - cartoon likenesses of a very real era. The Stray Cats and Green Day may have been pale imitations of their heroes, but a few kids went out and bought Gene Vincent and Buzzcocks records because of them. And that's not a bad thing.

My point is, the "lounge music" fad of the late 90's helped me appreciate music to which I'd never given a second thought. Hell, you couldn't even buy Esquivel albums back then, but a whole slew of CD's for swingers soon hit the market. I learned that unfunky music - i.e. not rock, jazz, country, or soul - had merit after all. Lounge music, I also learned, was largely a hipster euphemism for "easy listening," and even that prickly phrase lost its sting for me. If Tony Bennett and Louis Prima are easy listening (and I'd argue they aren't), then sell me a one-way ticket to Squaresville and call me Poindexter.

The crooners and swingers my parents loved had much to proffer to an old rock and roller like me. They helped me learn that a great song and a heartfelt performance is a thing of beauty regardless of the volume, and the flawless technique of Frank Sinatra or Les Paul didn't make their art any less authentic. So slip on the smoking jacket, pour a martini, and settle in for an easy listen. Wanna make sweet talk, chicky baby? Drop me a line...

Randy Anthony

Come Fly With Me...

The Lounge Music Bookshelf

• Music Hound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music & Easy Listening (1998)
• Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak & Easy-Listening (Joseph Lanza, 1995)
• Exotiquarium: Album Art from the Space Age (Jennifer McKnight-Trontz, 1999)

[top of page]

Lounge Music On The Web

• All Music Guide
• Randy's Bamboo Room (no relation...)
• Solid!
• Space Age Pop
• Google

[top of page]

Feedback

Your witty comments, impertinent questions, helpful suggestions, and angry denials are altogether encouraged. Submit feedback via email; submissions will be edited and posted at my discretion.