Wednesday, August 6, 2008

TVD's Daily Wax | The Cole Porter Songbook "Night and Day"

I stumbled upon something in yesterday's ramble that I'd like to pursue today--almost the inverse operation of our discussion. Do these Cole Porter compositions from the 1930's and '40's sound remotely contemporary to today's ears with the sense of timelessness that we've been discussing? And if so, do they in a manner that doesn't approach kitsch in the way The Stray Cats or Big Bad Voodoo Daddy do, for example? Is there a post punk or new wave sensibility at work here whatsoever? Or, dare I even say it - goth? Hm.

Fred Astaire - I Concentrate On You (Mp3)
Billie Holiday - Easy To Love (Mp3)
Blossom Dearie - Always True To You In My Fashion (Mp3)
Dinah Washington - I Get A Kick Out Of You (Mp3)
Billy Ekstine - In The Still Of The Night (Mp3)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

TVD you're right on the money. Frankly, great, sweet and well crafted song-writing is timeless. We were listening to Bobby Darin's Somewhere Beyond The Sea the other night talking about what a great song he wrote. That typed, there's a lot of jazz in these songs and songs of the 30s and 40s that doesn't sit in rock does it? There's no singing between the notes anymore. That, and the songs are so damn short! Shamus

davyh said...

It's a 'fashion dates, style endures' thing for me. I think CP would be a hit songwriter today, or in 1580. Brush up your Shakespeare!

davyh said...

PS: I love a bit o'Blossom too...

Jon said...

Very well said, Mr. H...