Mankind has achieved eternal peace and harmony, all of us brothers, imagining no countries (or religions, too). It was touch and go there for a while, but we did it, ladies and gents! World peace is at hand!
However, you gotta travel to get to this world, via 1 of 4 trains for the 10-day, 9-evening train ride:
The Peace Train, containing every white musician of note from the 1960s. Patsy Cline to the Beatles to (post-Army, sorry) Elvis. Hell, you could even get early Led Zep jamming with the Beach Boys with George Martin (he played, right?) producing.
The Love Train, containing every African-American and Person of Color musician of note from the 1960s. Motown. Nat King Cole. Duke Ellington. Muddy Waters. BB King. James Brown. Every name is a giant.
The Crazy Train, containing every white musician of note from the 1970s. From Ozzy to John Denver to the Bee Gees to Supertramp to ELO to James Taylor to even Sha Na Na, there’s literally something here for every taste. Thinking this will be the loudest train. Bring earplugs.
The Soul Train, containing every African-American and Person of Color musician of note from the 1970s. As a special note, the conductor is Don Cornelius. This is a surprisingly deep field, including not just Motown and many of the names above, but also the beginnings of rap and hip hop. Diana. Michael. Marvin. The O’Jays (and I don’t care if I gave their 1973 song to the 60’s, they were an act throughout the 60s, so deal). Donna. Philly Soul. Just deep.
You, the passenger, get to interact with, listen to, party with, drink and drug alongside, and… if you got game… hook up with any of the artists on your train.
Rules:
For artists who straddle decades, you can put them in whatever decade you choose. Want Marvin Gaye on the Love Train? No problem. Paul McCartney on the Crazy Train? Sure, why not? Note that you get that decade’s version of that person.
Not limited to Americans or even English singing artists.
You all end up in the same land of peace, harmony, and avocado spread, but the journey is yours to choose.
The Peace Train? Soul Train? Crazy? Love?
All aboard!
…All votes are public…
For me, I’m taking the Soul Train. I expect to be stoned all 240 hours due to the 2nd and 1st-hand pot smoke, and the music will just be fantastic. But even more, of all the trains, this may be the most chill of the four. Thinking the Crazy Train might be too much for yours truly, and in the Peace Train there is the chance of running into Tommy James and the Shondell’s, whose music is just irritating as all hell to me. Ugh.
No hesitation in jumping on the Soul Train. Hopefully the journey is in mid-may as I will get to party with Stevie Wonder on our birthday. Although the conversation about what age we are will be interesting.
I’m hopping on the Crazy Train to hang out with Queen and David Bowie. But also Pink Floyd at their rockiest, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Roxy Music, Bob Dylan, T. Rex, Blondie, The Clash… 10 days would not be enough.
Do we get to choose who on our train we do not hang out with or listen to? Because I can come up with musicians I enjoy on any of those four trains, enough of them to make the entire journey enjoyable… but I can also come up with musicians on any of the four trains that I’d definitely want to avoid.
If we can’t avoid musicians, then I’ve got to go with Love or Soul, just to be sure I’m safe from listening to Sinatra. Probably Love, so I also don’t have any disco or hip-hop.
If we can avoid musicians, then there’s just too much to pass up on Crazy. Sure, I’d miss out on the Beatles, and most of Simon and Garfunkle and Peter, Paul, and Mary, but I’d still have John Denver, Johnny Cash, Queen, and Tommy Makem, and while I’m not as big on psychadelic and metal as some folks, they’d provide some nice change of pace.
Blame Don Cornelius. He’s the one who insisted on the Soul Train, then the others just kind of fell in line.
Anyway, the genesis of this question was when Peace Train and Love Train came up back-to-back in one of my randomized playlists. Both songs literally are about the same concept, but from different racial perspectives. So… 40 years later… this thread.
World Peace can apparently go to hell, as far as I’m concerned. I’m not riding any of your trains:
a) I grew up in a place and time where trains actually still had Whites only/Non Whites Only carriages, so it’s offensive morally
b) Cutting off at the 70s, while perfectly on-brand for the musical dinosaur tone of this forum, nicely cuts out almost all music I have any interest in.
Went with the Peace Train, because of the Cat Stevens song.
Only after I voted did I remember that that song was on Teaser and the Firecat, which didn’t come out until late 1971. So I wouldn’t hear “Peace Train” on the Peace Train.
And seconding what MrDibble said about “the musical dinosaur tone of this forum.”
Why do I have to choose music based on race? Why can’t I smoke weed with Hendrix while listening to Zeppelin? Or drink Southern Comfort with Janis while we listen to Tina (because well…fuck Ike)? Or party with Sly and the Family while stoned and singing Free Bird with Ronnie and the boys?
