[I glaze over every time I hear the term “postmodern,” but when I saw it paired with “jukebox,” it became clickbait that I couldn’t resist. It brought me to this video, and, instantly, the penny dropped: SB SM]
Instead of updating old standards to the sounds and styles of today, they are flipping the script and performing contemporary hits using the sounds and styles of yesteryear. In the words of founder Scott Bradlee:
“I synced the audio to the video that I captured on a cheap Flip camcorder, and placed a music video-style title in the bottom right corner. I called the series “Postmodern Jukebox” – a name that both appealed to my [failed] academic aspirations, and also just sounded like a self-explanatory name for this project. “Postmodern” because it broke down some of the walls between genres by blending the old with the new; “Jukebox” because it focused on pop songs that were familiar to a lot of people. I had no idea that this name would come to receive the recognition that it has today.”
The more complete story is here:
https://postmodernjukebox.com/blog/historyofpmj/
Or, you can just watch another of their videos:
If you’ve forgotten what the original by the White Stripes was like, it’s worth a trip to YouTube.
Saw them this year. Interesting concept.
Glad you are still checking in on the Digest. I hope this finds you well.