Not Alone in the Past

Last week I observed that I had spent the year listening to more reissues of old recording than to new ones. Apparently I am not alone in my retrospective preferences. Over the last weeks (months?) I have noticed that the London Telegraph has been running regularly reviews of old movies. This does not appear to have anything to do with new Blu-ray releases. Possibly, there is some link to a pay-channel that has been airing these movies. However, I suspect it has to do with the fact that the Telegraph now has a readership that has not heard of many (most?) of the movies that have been reviewed.

I remember a turning point in my life when I began joining others in saying "Back in the days when Mad Magazine was funny." When I looked at the current GRAMMY nominations, particularly in jazz, I realized that I was missing the days when jazz made for really interesting listening. In fairness, I have encountered some very promising jazz musicians who are much younger than I am, both at concerts and on recordings. However, these players are as far from the mainstream as their most admirable predecessors were, meaning that there is not a snowball's chance in hell that any of them will ever rise to the height (sic) of a GRAMMY nomination.

I suppose I feel the same way about what the Telegraph is doing; many of the old films they are revisiting are more award-worthy than the present-day contenders.