Therehas been some comments in the 50's poll about the low turnout by Honorio, Mindrocker, me and others, but as nobody seems to go to this thread, I thought opening a new one was an idea.

We are surprised and disappointed by the weak number of voters in the 50s poll, to be short.

I suppose it is in part a generation matter. The 50's were 20 years before I was born, but for some of you it is 40 years, which is a little more.

But as Mindrocker pointed out, the mid-50s were the moment were rock'n'roll was born (not to mention the great jazz, r&b, blues, country, exotica, chanson, world, etc).

so my question is to the ones who didn't vote (and voted in the 70s or 80s or all-time polls) : Why didn't you vote, and what is your idea of the past?

As an oldies lover (I even listen to recordings from the 1890s) I want to know how far you go back in time ? 1977 ? 1965 ?

Before the last two years or so, I rarely listened to music recorded before 1955, which is one year before I was born.

I still find most of the older music a bit disappointing. There are many exceptions that I've already discovered and cherish. So, I would agree with you that there is marvelous music in the 1950's

One day (soon), I hope to delve into your other 1950 posts. But, with work, taxes, fantasy baseball, March Madness, political interests, family and vacations; I have not yet done so.

As somewhat who got into music more recently than most people here, I have spent a great portion of my music listening time discovering classic albums, which were mainly made after 1963. I have no doubt that I would enjoy a lot of records from the 50s, especially now that I've gotten into jazz more; I've just spent my time focusing elsewhere.

Speaking of low turnout, if anyone would like to join the AMF fantasy baseball league, go here. It's not too late!

It is true that the standard unit before the mid sixties is the single and not the album (except for jazz).

I guess it's one of the main reasons why some people who are used to judge rock through albums are not drawn to the fifties.

How far can you go?
Does an MP3 of Thomas Edison's "Mary Had A Little Lamb" exist?

Personally, I plan on going back as far as I can... I'm beginning to realize how much is available from pre-1900, which I think is just fascinating.

What will people 100 years from now think of today's music?
(Or will the high priests of the Solar Federation have banned all music/instruments by then? Rush fans, you know what I'm saying....)

I'm submitting a list in the 56-58 polls! I would have for the last one too, I just missed the deadline. Unfortunately my knowledge of 1950-52 is entirely too small for me to have submitted a worthy list.

I have not had the time to really participate in the 50s poll. Hopefully I will have enough time this weekend to make a list over the weekend.

I really do need to apologize for this, because I’ve been a fairly consistent advocate for not forgetting the fifties, which were formative in so many ways for, what, 97% of the music on this site?

Mea culpa…I can only say that time’s gotten in the way. I can barely fit bracketology in my schedule (and even then I can rarely make all the comments I’d like. I didn’t participate in the most recent songs poll, either (and I’ve only chimed in on the other decade polls once or twice)—I’m afraid I just can’t devote the time and energy to researching and assembling well-thought-out music lists these days.

The only reason I haven't been voting in those polls is I feel my listening isn't complete enough to be fair.

I just don't like much from before the 70s. I know it's my loss, but there's so much stuff to discover from the 70s onwards that I love that it's not a priority for me to delve into older decades of music.

I love early blues (very early, even) and enjoy quite a bit of other 50es stuff, I've just been busy and neglected to vote. Hardly listened to any other music than Nicolas and Honorio on Facebook recently ...

Thanks a lot Snusmumrik for your kind words. Of course the lack of time is the main problem we must face when facing the polls. Thanks everyone for your explanations and, Alex D and VanillaFire1000, I’m really looking forward to see your lists.

i've only heard two albums from the 50's: Kind of Blue and The Shape of Jazz to Come, both '59.

I'll probably eventually get around to more 50's stuff but i'm not going out of my way.

To all of you who haven't listened so much to music from the '50s - take the opportunity to listen to the nominated albums and songs when we get to the decade polls!

I am sure that playlists will be made available for everyone. However, should you not have time to listen to all the songs that will not be a problem either. With the special decade poll rules every list with at least two ranked albums/songs will make an impact on the final result. EVERYONE can do that!

Henrik:
Thanks for the reminder. I'll be paying attention.

Nicolas:
I thought the general drift was for us old geezers to be album-focused while younger people think of music in terms of tracks (the I-pod effect). Either way, however, pre-1963 stuff gets so little attention that many are not even aware that there's something there to like or dislike :-)

I'm a musical omnivore and keep expanding the reach of the years of my library. I can honestly say I have music dating back to the 1920s on my car MP3 player at the moment and I've liked stuff as far back as the 1910s at times.

For what it's worth, I was born in 1970 and grew up loving 50s and 60s music. I've just taken it to its (il)logical conclusion as I age...in BOTH directions. I also have stuff as current as 2009 in my music library and it's not just by "old" artists who are still recording.