This is a typical baby boomer complaint. Wah wah wah, the radio doesn't play rock music anymore. Wah wah wah, I wish I could watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan like everyone else in the world. Wah Wah Wah, I wish it were the early '70s again. Trouble with this complaint is that music is just as fascinating, just as interesting and just as varied as it's ever been -- you just have to look for it more. Bands can develop huge followings without ever getting signed to a label, thanks to the Web. Digital music means that recording companies don't control everything, like they once did (especially in those hallowed early days of the 1970s). No, everyone isn't listening to the same music like the used to -- but that's not a bad thing. I'd rather listen to music that appeals to me than hear yet another spin of friggin' "Born to Run" on the radio. I heard it every single day growing up. Isn't that enough?
And as for white musicians not using black influences, this guy obviously never heard a hip hop song. Well, of course he didn't. Baby boomers hate that stuff. But you know what? That's what rock and roll is to most of today's youth. And that's who should get to decide -- not some aging boomers pining for the Beatles and the Stones.
Brooks doesn't have it completely right. There was plenty of variety in the last half of the 60's and the first half of the 70's, which by any reasonable assessment, was the greatest period of music in this country. The creativity and innovation in several musical genres was unparalleled. It's all gone downhill since then. Can anyone even understand the lyrics in today's music? And if you could, would you want to? When the Stones played the Rockford Metro Centre in the 80's, the opening act was the Go Go's, an all-girl band whose big hit was "We Got The Beat." I've just given you 90 percent of the lyrics of that song. They were an embarassment. The Stones were outstanding.
3 comments:
This is a typical baby boomer complaint. Wah wah wah, the radio doesn't play rock music anymore. Wah wah wah, I wish I could watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan like everyone else in the world. Wah Wah Wah, I wish it were the early '70s again. Trouble with this complaint is that music is just as fascinating, just as interesting and just as varied as it's ever been -- you just have to look for it more. Bands can develop huge followings without ever getting signed to a label, thanks to the Web. Digital music means that recording companies don't control everything, like they once did (especially in those hallowed early days of the 1970s). No, everyone isn't listening to the same music like the used to -- but that's not a bad thing. I'd rather listen to music that appeals to me than hear yet another spin of friggin' "Born to Run" on the radio. I heard it every single day growing up. Isn't that enough?
And as for white musicians not using black influences, this guy obviously never heard a hip hop song. Well, of course he didn't. Baby boomers hate that stuff. But you know what? That's what rock and roll is to most of today's youth. And that's who should get to decide -- not some aging boomers pining for the Beatles and the Stones.
It pains me to say this, but the comment above is a tragic example of what happens when first cousins marry.
Brooks doesn't have it completely right. There was plenty of variety in the last half of the
60's and the first half of the
70's, which by any reasonable assessment, was the greatest period of music in this country. The creativity and innovation in several musical genres was unparalleled. It's all gone downhill since then. Can anyone even understand the lyrics in today's music? And if you could, would you want to? When the Stones played the Rockford Metro Centre in the 80's, the opening act was the Go Go's, an all-girl band whose big hit was "We Got The Beat." I've just given you 90 percent of the lyrics of that song. They were an embarassment. The Stones were outstanding.
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