Interested in hearing some of the “tiddleywink” music Ayn Rand loved so much? Check out this page on “Music with an Ayn Rand Connection.”
The author begins:
I have have had an interest in the popular music from the early decades of the 20th Century since childhood. When I was in my early 20s I discovered and became an admirer of the writings of Ayn Rand – the author of the philosophically provoking best selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. A few years later, I was amused to learn that Rand enjoyed a type of turn of the century popular music that she called “Tiddlywink Music.”
Of course, there is no such formally recognized musical genre. “Tiddlywink” seems to have been the name that Ayn Rand gave to music that she responded to in a certain way. The music does not seem to come from from any one particular genre: Canadian Capers is an example of ragtime; El Choclo is a tango.
When I discovered that Rand enjoyed music from the same era that I do, I became very curious as to what specific tunes she liked and classified as Tiddlywink music. Unfortunately, only a few examples have been cited in books and lectures about her. Because I find it fascinating when different interests of mine meet, I always try to keep an eye open for recordings with an Ayn Rand connection. There are two obstacles that I face in doing so. One is the previously mentioned limited information. The other is the fact that locating specific vintage recordings can sometimes take a lot of time. As I find them, however, I will transcribe them to Real Audio and place them on this site.
See the site for much more information.