Category Archives: Music

Stream of YouTube Consciousness: Fred Astaire, Bob Hope, and Elmer Bernstein at the 1970 Oscars (plus Ellen DeGeneres’s selfie; Janis Joplin’s riveting Monterey Pop Festival performance; and the themes from “Ironside” and The Magnificent Seven)

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Long title, but bear with me 🙂 I came across this clip of Fred Astaire dancing at the 1970 Academy Awards ceremony the other day—and marveled that one could have watched the Oscars broadcast that year and witnessed such entertainment. (If you … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Ironside", 1970 Academy Awards ceremony, 1970 Oscars, 42nd Academy Awards, American Idol, Bob Hope, Clive Davis, Ellen, Ellen DeGeneres selfie, Elmer Bernstein, Fred Astaire, Janis Joplin, John Williams, Magnificent Seven, Mama Cass Elliot, oscars, product placement, Quincy Jones, The Magnificent Seven | 5 Comments

Choosing the Clarinet

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

When it came time for my kids to join the band in elementary school, selecting an instrument prompted great angst. As they ruminated on each possibility’s merits, they asked why I had decided on the clarinet. How had I known that it was “the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Music | Tagged Artie Shaw, Barry Manilow, Benny Goodman, choosing an instrument, clarinet, Guy Lombardo, Henry Cuesta, Jo Ann Castle, Lawrence Welk, Royal Canadians, Woody Herman | 8 Comments

The Northern Soul Project – The Father-Son Shredded Wheat Commercial (Post #5)

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Warning: this television ad (or, “advert,” as they apparently say in England) will make your heart melt. Apparently just released within the past week, this Shredded Wheat cereal commercial profiles a father and son who go out dancing at the all-nighters together. In Post … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Learning, Life, Music, Northern Soul, Popular culture, Television | Tagged all-nighter, culture, dancing, fathers and sons, lifelong learning, Northern soul, self-education, self-taught, Shredded Wheat, television commercials | 14 Comments

No (Introductory) Christmas Lyric Left Behind

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

“The sun is shining / The grass is green . . .” Thus begins one of my favorite Christmas songs. It continues: The orange and palm trees sway There’s never been such a day In Beverly Hills, L.A. If you don’t recognize … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Music, Popular culture | Tagged "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", "I lLeft My Heart in San Francisco", "Rudolph, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", "The Christmas Song", "Winter Wonderland", Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas season, Christmas song lyrics, Christmas songs, introductory lyrics, introductory verses, song lyrics, the Red-Nosed Raindeer", white christmas | Leave a comment

In Praise of the One-Hit Wonder

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Driving home today, I was listening to (and, of course, singing along with 🙂 ) Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” on the radio. My first idle thought was to realize that it is in 3/4 time, like a waltz. Most of his … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Music, Popular culture | Tagged "Death of a Salesman", "Piano Man", Arthur Miller, Billy Joel, creativity, Terry Teachout | 1 Comment

Christmas at Downton Abbey

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I try to buy a new CD of Christmas music every December, and here’s my choice for this year 🙂 Buying info and the Amazon description are here (with sample audio clips of all songs).

Posted in Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Downton Abbey", Christmas, Christmas at Downton Abbey, Christmas music | Leave a comment

The Northern Soul Project – Streaming 24/7 Northern Soul Radio (Post #4)

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

A quick post to share my latest Northern Soul find: a radio station that streams classic Northern Soul music online, ad free, 24/7. A partnership between San Francisco radio station KALW (91.7FM) and National Public Radio, “The Mix: Northern Soul … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Learning, Milwaukee, Music, Popular culture, Writing, blogging | Tagged blog series, blogging, KALW 91.7FM, lifelong learning, Motown, National Public Radio, Northern soul, Northern Soul music, radio station, San Francisco radio station, streaming online radio, WMSE 91.7FM | 1 Comment

Bruno Mars—as you’ve (probably) never seen him!

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m teaching contemporary literature this quarter at Milwaukee School of Engineering, and the text we’re discussing this coming week is literally hot off the presses—”The Flick,” which is the play that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama last spring and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Life, Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Teaching | Tagged "Honeymoon in Vegas", "The Flick", Bruno Mars, contemporary literature, NFL football, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Super Bowl halftime show | 2 Comments

“Unsquare Dance” in Silver Linings Playbook

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I’m showing Silver Linings Playbook in one of my classes this week, and for the first time I really thought about how interesting it is that Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance” is the song playing as Tiffany walks out to meet … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies and film, Music, Popular culture, Television | Tagged "Silver Linings Playbook", "Unsquare Dance", 7/4 time signature, Dave Brubeck | 1 Comment

The Northern Soul Project – Sociology of an Underground Music Culture (post #3)

Posted on September 9, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I found another BBC documentary about Northern Soul. This one aired September 25, 2013, on BBC2 in the United Kingdom. It is titled “Northern Soul: Keeping the Faith” and appears to have been part of a series called “The Culture Show.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Music, Popular culture | Tagged "Northern Soul: Keeping the Faith", happy, Northern soul, pharrell williams, underground music | 13 Comments