ITCH OR IRRITANT?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 17, 20 October 1939, Page 16

ITCH OR IRRITANT?

Opinions on Enduring Popularity of Swing

‘© (XN WING," says Turntable, compére of the Dominion station’s weekly new-record release session, "is an itch." He had been telling The Listener about "Rhythm on Record" and its unbroken run of nearly three years from 2YA on Friday nights. For one hour a week over all that time Turntable has been unleashing the latest in dance band music on a receptive public. Just how receptive his fans are is proved by the mail that swamps him every week. Nauru Island reports reception poor on an old set, but enthusiasm running high. Auckland sends a telegram bewailing the "sad loss to swing world of leader Art Shaw to-day." Sydney types a rapturous page about Blue Lou and The Blues. Cheltenham sends high praise and asks for the serial numbers of 40 records in one letter and 25 in another. He got them. Bullamon Plains (Queensland) was "starved for good jazz," and "your presentation was a welcome change." New South Wales asks a favour and hopes to hear "a lot more of your programmes." Sydney produces "Just another of those guys who’s a ‘swing-crazy jitterbug." Canton Island looks to New Zealand for its weekly musical warm-up. Always Something New One secret of the session’s success is the speed with which records, from the Old ‘World as well as the New, reach New Zea- | land, and are prepared for broadcast. Most of the ships come home with something new for the broadcasting services, and one or two assistants usually help Turntable to delve through the collection, make a selection, and gather in from a few hundred sources enough material for the brief but pithy notes the compére gives with his programme. If i$’no éasy job. Often they work late of nights getting everything ready. No request records are played. Each record that goes on the air really is a new release. Many letters reflect the exasperation of listeners unable to buy the records for themselves from resources not in touch with the same purchasing systems as the services use. Three Veteran Records Notable in a session which has had one of the longest runs of any broadcast in New Zealand is the signature tune: "Woman On My Weary Mind." Bob Crosby’s band plays it. Gil Rodin, a member of the band, composed it. There were four records of it in New Zealand when the session started using it.

It proved so popular ali four were called into Wellington for Turntable’s use. One has been broken, The other three have carried on their weekly job without interruption. They are not worn yet. They are, in fact, still featuring prominently in the fan mail. = aa The Listener asked Turntable to define this swing that had kept so many sets tuned into one transmitter for fifty-two hours a year fe for three years. we "It’s an itch," he-said. "That's. the only way to define it. That’s what it does to you." The true connoisseur of swing does not get the right itch from any and every piece of dance music. He can get it from classical music-Turntable says that there’s a good deal of true swing in the classics-as easily as from dance music. But it takes the very finest grade of swing to tickle ‘his hypersensitive musical appreciation. Swing amateurs may get "swing-jitters" out of comparatively simple pieces of music. But the epicure won't even blink. It takes the real stuff to get to him and he takes it in like.a purring cat stroked beside a bright wood fire. Music like "Boomps-a-Daisy" is simply ignored by him. "Trash," he says to this and other much-advertised song-and-dance hits. He is quite as single minded as the classical musician. On the Other Side "It’s all the same poison to me," said a classicist when The Listener asked him. for his definition of swing. "I don’t know what it means. I can’t listen to it. It offends my ear." He confessed to intolerance. "It’s a matter of taste-or fancy." He admitted technical virtuosity in interpretation, composition, execution. "Mind you, there’s a good deal of very clever work goes into swing." He admired the people who listened to it with such enthusiasm. "Have you ever seen them; heads almost buried in their Pees taking it all in?" — But as far as he was. anal the attraction of swing was inexplicable as the traditional attraction of an ugly man for a pretty ' woman, wi ‘Far more men follow swing music than. women, _ oN _ The classicist- explained this for us: "It’s too subtle for women. They want a tune to listen to. They like such things as " Boomps-a-Daisy." It’s simple, it’s catchy, you can sing it. : Se "But pase ah an unnecessary waste of money!"