Spinning through the ’90s

Perrysburg library’s ‘Listening Booth’ launches new music series

PERRYSBURG – Nobody said “Shush!” when a recording of Metallica’s Enter Sandman was blared inside the Way Public Library.

Not this night, anyway, because a librarian was the one spinning the vinyl and cranking the volume on this and 13 other songs in a program titled The Listening Booth.

The evening session on Tuesday was the first in a series of library programs titled, Explore Sound Waves: A Celebration of Music.

Natalie Dielman, programming coordinator for Way, said she was inspired to organize the music series after visiting a bookstore in Columbus and noting that Rob Harvilla, Ohio music journalist and author, had just given a talk there.

From there, she was able to contact Harvilla and make arrangements for him to speak at the Perrysburg library on Sept. 9.

Dielman also contacted Angela Pratesi, head librarian and associate professor at Bowling Green State University’s Music Library, and Bill Schurk Sound Archives, to help organize four more programs for the series.

The Listening Booth event featured 14 songs selected from Harvilla’s book, 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s.

“I had a difficult time narrowing them down,” Pratesi told the small group assembled in a basement conference room at Way. “One criterion was that the songs don’t grate on my nerves too much.”

She chose a variety of styles, with selections from each year of the 1990s, spanning country, pop, hip-hop, alt-rock, folk, blues, singer-songwriters, boy or girl groups, “at least one rocking guitar solo,” and a song from a movie soundtrack.

The tunes ranged from soft and reflective to loud, raging angst.

Harvilla’s book is a spinoff of his podcast of the same name, in which he ended up including well over 100 songs from the ’90s, but decided that 60 was a good number for the title.

Perrysburg resident Eric Britton said he decided to attend the Tuesday night listening session because he had enjoyed a previous discussion at the library about the Clash’s classic punk rock album, London Calling.

“I’m alone this week and saw this posted on the library bulletin board and thought it would be fun,” Britton said.

Pratesi had no trouble obtaining copies of the music, all on vinyl, for the library listening session.

BGSU librarian Patty Falk said they have 700,000 recordings on the shelves, including 215,000 33 1/3-rpm vinyl albums and 211,000 7-inch 45’s.

The Music Library & Bill Schurk Sound Archives has more than a million items, including records, reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes, CDs, books, periodicals and videos, according to the BGSU official website. The website includes a catalog search button to look up specific materials.

It’s one of the largest collections in North America that is accessible to the public, Pratesi said. Anyone can go in and listen to music. The library staff will handle the vinyl, however, placing it on the turntable for visitors because the albums need to be handled with care. After all, it is an archive and the materials are meant to be preserved for generations.

“The Listening Booth” session at Way lasted about 90 minutes as Pratesi spun songs in the following chronological order:

1. “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks (1990)
2. “Vogue” by Madonna (1990)
3. Pratesi asked the group for a “yes or no answer” on the third song, and got a thumbs up: Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” also from 1990. There was an interesting discussion about copyright laws as Vanilla Ice settled a dispute, without going to court, by paying an undisclosed amount of money to Queen and David Bowie for allegedly sampling the bass line from their song “Under Pressure.” Ice later said it was $4 million.
4. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica (1991)
5. Pratesi introduced the next selection as “the most required song of the ‘90s”: The raging grunge rocker “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana (1991).
6. The group was asked to choose one song from a list of three released in 1992: “One” by U2; “Hey Jealousy” by Gin Blossoms, and “Nightswimming” by R.E.M. The vote was for “Hey Jealousy” but the vinyl Pratesi brought to the session was recorded as a 45 rpm and she didn’t have an adapter, giving “One” the spin by default.
7. There were only two ‘90s soundtracks worth consideration, Pratesi said, choosing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, from “The Bodyguard” (1992). The other possible pick? “Titanic.”
8. This time the listeners were asked to choose between two singles from 1993, “It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube or “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa. “Shoop” was the unanimous pick.
9. The 1994 selection was another listeners’ choice, either “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys or “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden. The Beasties’ rap classic won the vote.
10. “Just a Girl” by No Doubt (1995)
11. “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls (1996)
12. The song introduced as a “weird one from the anarcho-punk collection” was “Tubthumping” the catchy 1997 tune by British band Chumbawamba (with the irrepressible lyrical hook, “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you are never gonna keep me down.”)
13. “To Zion” by Lauryn Hill (1998), featuring guitar god Carlos Santana
14. Wrapping up the decade was the Santana’s 1999 classic, “Smooth,” with vocals by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty.

Pratesi said she wanted to give an “honorable mention” to Sonic Youth, the influential New York group known for its experimental indie rock sound, but didn’t have time to play any of their songs as the listening session was running out of time.

The Listening Booth was not just for listening, it also included some lively conversations and interactions between audience and presenters about the artists, songs, videos and memories of the 1990s.

More music events

Upcoming programs in the Way Public Library’s “Sound Waves” series:

• Wednesday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m.: The Book Mixtape – Sample a mix of books by musicians and about music.
• Thursday, Sept. 5, 6 p.m.: Music Fun Night – An evening of music, games, and fun including karaoke, Guitar Hero, dancing, and creating your own mixtape.
• Saturday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m.: BGSU Music Library Tour. Tour the Music Library and sound archives at Bowling Green State University. Registration is required and participants must provide their own transportation. Call 419-874-3135.
• Monday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m.: Author talk with Rob Harvilla, Columbus-based author and podcaster best known for “60 Songs that Explain the ‘90s.”