By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor I've been listening to music probably every day since 1967. From transistor AM radio all the way to streaming audio, it's been a long strange trip of sounds to say the least. Countless 45's, albums and cds obtained over the decades, a laundry list of concerts attended, promoted […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor "Yes, I'm going to be a pop star. Oh mama, mama see me, mama, mama see me I'm a pop star" - Cat Stevens 1970 Pop stardom, that fickle mistress of temptation for youngsters, and record companies, never subsides. It may mutate over time, take slightly different shapes and […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor As we wander and stumble through 2023, one can't help but think back to 'simpler' times now and again. Those of, or over, a certain age will remember times free of irony, a plague of the 21st century. Things could stand or fall as they were, no hidden […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor People are always full of bright ideas, aren't they? Especially those in the business of distracting the general public from reality. From ‘Cop Rock’ to ‘New Coke,’ the roads are littered with questionable decisions. One large blunder took place on July 28, 1978 with the release of the […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor As the Woodstock Nation said goodnight to the world and the decade from which they sprang, the gates of 1970 had flung open wide, presenting a variety of avenues, many untraveled, for the kids to ponder. Within the first few years of the new decade the music world […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor In the early 1980s there were a large number of underground rock and roll bands that were embracing the sounds and styles of the 1960s, particularly the garage and psychedelic side of things. From UK bands like Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen to American rockers like […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor There must be something in the air aside from Canadian smoke as we sit here in 2023, (and don’t blame Geddy and Alex, they only stop for the best). It's barely July and there have been two cover versions released this year, of the 1972 Osmonds’ classic 'Crazy Horses'. A few […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Ask a handful of different people to describe the music of the 1980s and odds are good you'll get as many different answers as people. From rappers and ragged punk leftovers to the shiny MTV stars, to the metal brigade, to the slick urban contemporary and twang laden […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor It's funny how people like to remember and or write the history books in neat orderly form, as if there were definitive starting points and ending exclamations. This all makes for fine reading and or storytelling, but the truth is never that definitive. The truth is much more […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor A bunch of freaks! A bunch of freaks I tell ya! The Flaming Lips, perhaps the most famous rock and roll exports from Oklahoma City, began life back in 1983 with a modest arrival. Combining garage rock aesthetics, a love for the Cramps, and a thirst quenched by […]
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