Sunday 31 May 2009

Media sing-a-long

Okay, name 10 songs about print media in 30 seconds.

Eight songs?

Five?

One?

Tough to do. There was that 1992 Newsies musical, but nothing in it kept us whistling a print media song after the credits rolled.

Then along comes a pastemagazine.com music magazine blog posting with its The Ten Songs About Print Media list, compiled by journalist Mike Kemp.

Kemp also reflects on the "golden age of journalism (that) peaked with Woodward and Bernstein and began its steady decline with emergence of CNN."

He introduces his Top 10 with:

"So, with great hope for a reinvigorated Paste, fond memories of a once-dynamic newspaper industry, and big props to Phil Ochs’ great, album-long newspaper of 1965, All the News That’s Fit to Sing, I offer up my top 10 songs about newspapers and journalism (in chronological order):

He also details each song and provides search links to find lyrics and music.

“Newspapermen” (AKA: “Newspapermen Meet Such Interesting People”) - Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers (ca. 1940)

“Jimmie Brown, the Newsboy” - Flatt & Scruggs (1957)

“Daily News” - Tom Paxton (1964)

“Ballad of a Thin Man” - Bob Dylan (1965)

“Yesterday’s Papers” - The Rolling Stones (1967)

“News of the World” - The Jam (1977)

“Sunday Papers” - Joe Jackson (1978)

“It Says Here” - Billy Bragg (1985)

“Newspapers” - Stan Ridgway (1989)

“A Letter to the New York Post” - Public Enemy (1991)

Interesting posting, Mike. Well done and your intro about journalism then and now hits home.

As for print media songs, the biz needs something to sing about these days.

Perhaps TSF readers can come up with their own Top 10.

How about the Beatles' A Day in the Life lyrics do include "I read the news today, oh boy."

And for a stretch, Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

Any other print media songs come to mind? E-mail the titles and your name if you want credit.

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