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National Barbershop Music Appreciation Day 2024
Just to make today feel like a π Summer weekend π₯, today is National Barbershop Music Appreciation Day. Let’s have a listen.
ππΆ Old Timey πΆπ
I did study the art of being a barber because I wanted to figure out what my routine would be. Do you start in the front or back? Top or bottom? Swivel the chair or walk around? What I did discover is there’s no such thing as the perfect haircut! ~Sean Patrick Thomas
I haven’t been to a barber in ages. Kelly likes my hair long, so I’ll keep growing it until she says stop or until it doesn’t grow any longer.
It’s hard to be old-fashioned in a world that’s experiencing so many advances in such a short period of time.
Old-fashioned is driving to an office somewhere, having water cooler gossip, meetings in the conference room, late nights on ridiculous projects, dark drives home when you’re dog tired.
That’s old-fashioned and I’m glad I’m no longer a part of it.
Sitting here on my comfy little couch, meeting with colleagues who can literally be anywhere in the world at the click of a button, sharing work virtually over shared networks and drives.
That’s my jam.
I don’t have to worry about crashing into deer, sliding around on black ice, getting caught up in traffic snarls, figuring out where I can stop for an emergency bathroom break.
Those days are gone, thank God.
I’ve finally found the world I want to live in and I’m enjoying every minute of it.
They say there’s no going back. From my perspective, I certainly wouldn’t want to. The future has been consistently better.
Political and cultural aberrations aside, now is far better than then in most ways. We don’t have flying cars or Mr. Fusion units yet, but it’s really just a matter of time.
πΌ Barbershop Music πΆ
Main Street – Pop Songs Medley (International 2015)
Some people like nostalgia, though. I don’t mind folksy, retro stuff if it’s good. I’ve always enjoyed barbershop quartets in limited doses. Same with doo-wop.
It’s even better when the performers are really into it. You can feel the passion in a performer’s work. This can take something that’s ho-hum and performative and make it a real experience.
That being said, I don’t have a personal affinity for the time hinted at by the barbershop quartet aesthetic. I’m not really sure when it’s supposed to be representative of.
I’m also not really sure I care. Whether it’s Edwardian or Interwar or some fictional old-timey figment of people’s minds, I’m not personally feeling it.
The button up shirts and those Styrofoam hats that are allegedly straw hats, the elbow garters and the handlebar mustaches, I’m just not feeling it. It doesn’t vibe with me.
More power to you if it does, but it’s just not my scene. I’m a lot more comfortable in this comfy future world of ours. I’ll take a mock turtleneck and cargo pants over the barbershop costume anytime.
Be that as it may, today’s theme is Barbershop Music, so here’s a bit more of it from this randomly unidentifiable (to me) time period.
The Music Man- Barbershop Quartet
π Switzerland π§πΏ
Being a barber is about taking care of the people. ~Anthony Hamilton
In Luke Cage Season 1, Pop’s barbershop was sacrosanct. It was held to be Switzerland, neutral territory for everyone in Harlem. Pop was a kindly, older man and pillar of the community at the time who provided a safe space where people could get their hair cut in peace, watch TV, play chess with Bobby or just have a lively conversation about basketball.
Luke Cage First clash scene
What’s later revealed is that Pop isn’t called Pop because he’s an elderly man. He was an enforcer for the Stokes Family and the pop of his fist on people’s faces is where he got his nickname.
Edwin Freeman as Young Pop in Luke Cage
A recurring theme in this series was that members of the younger generation act rashly and get themselves into trouble.
When this happens, the results are often quite drastic.
Just as in the clip above where the young man made the mistake of underestimating how vicious Mama Mabel could be, the fully grown Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes who was the boss of the Stokes crime family at the time of Season 1 had to deal with a similar problem.
His guy, Tone, made a rash decision and shot up Pop’s barbershop in pursuit of a kid, Chico, who had participated in robbing a drug shipment that belonged to Cottonmouth.
Tone had employed Turk Barrett to locate Chico, but hadn’t paid him for the information yet. Cottonmouth settled the issue rather drastically, much like Mama Mabel had.
I’m going back to Hell’s Kitchen where it’s safe.
That’s a nice, if temporary, idea. Switzerland. In real life, gangsters rarely respect boundaries like that.
The St.Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967) – Jason Robards
The assumption is that a public space like a restaurant or a hotel lobby is safe for even the likes of Al Capone. That assumption led to a full-on parade of drive-by shooters trying to put an end to him as you can see in the clip above.
As they say rather frequently in Luke Cage, if you’re going to take a shot at the king, you’d better not miss.
Since Capone survived the attempted hit and since he wasn’t one for turning the other cheek, he invaded something his rivals considered sacrosanct.
They could reasonably assume that nobody would come into their personal space, their hideout. With the help of some crooked cops, they proved that assumption incorrect.
St Valentines Day Massacre 1967
That’s something that makes gangster drama compelling. You never know what depths they’ll stoop to in order to acquire power or avenge a perceived wrong.
In most of my stories that take place in the Sentinelsverse, people meet up at the Zavijava. Much like a Starbucks, the Zavijava tends to have large windows to afford a view.
Needless to say, this wouldn’t be somewhere you wanted to be if a drive-by was to occur.
Now, I’m not saying there’s going to be a drive-by at a Zavijava but there’s likely to be some payback if our heroes are messing with the ruthless gangs of Empire City…
That’s it for today. Go wax your mustache and get your harmony on. I’m going to stay home and write.