The Tube

When I was a kid, if someone asked you, What’s on The Tube? it meant What’s on Television?   You see, Younger Eyes, back in the day … as those of us with Older Eyes like to say … not only was television low definition and monochrome, the screen was based on a Cathode Ray Tube, a large vacuum tube using an electron gun to project an image on a fluorescent surface.  Get it?  The Tube?   Say What’s on the Tube? these days and I’d guess most people without gray hair would think YouTube.  Of course, using my smart BluRay player or my Roku box, I can play YouTube on my flat screen TV, so I can see what’s on The Tube on what we used to call The Tube, having it both ways, so to speak.   I told you I’m a geek.  And as part of my ongoing campaign to appear as up-to-date old geek, YouTube is the topic here on Top Sites Tuesday #212.

Friday Favorites 3/9/2012

Some years ago, conservative black talk show host, Larry Elder, went on a rant about white singers recording cover versions of Motown hits.  A cover version is a recording of a previously recorded song, particularly one that was a hit, by a different artist.   The gist of Elder’s argument was that these recording by a lighter shade of artist were so inferior to the originals that they should not have been released.   I usually enjoyed Elder’s take on things but this particular show irritated me, which is why I still remember it.   First of all, it struck me that if lily white Older Eyes ever said the opposite on his talk show, there’d be hell to pay.  But more importantly, there are good examples of credible covers of Motown hits by white performers (see, for example, When White Bands Covered Motown Hits) and awful Motown covers of songs made famous by white singers.   Lest we forget, in the heyday of Motown when groups like the Supremes were trying to ride the crossover wave, Motown would routinely slaughter hits by white performers.  Did anyone really want to hear the Supremes sing I want to Hold Your Hand (on A Little Bit of Liverpool, 1965) or Falling in Love with Love (The Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart, 1967).   The Michael Bolton version of When a Man Loves a Woman, the song Elder was skewering, is a credible performance of the Percy Sledge hit … it’s just different.  And The Mamas and Papas’ version of The Shirelles’ iconic hit, Dedicated to the One I  Love, may not be soulful but it captures the love and flowers spirit of the sixties perfectly.