I was waiting in line at a undisclosed convenience store this evening and the guy in front of me was asking about the music playing. The clerk (who has a very eclectic taste in music I have to say) told him who it was and I did not get the reference but it was some offshoot of āHouseā music or something. He started writing down the name of the artist or whatever and the guy in front of me said āThatās Ok, I only listen to house musicā.
The guy had to be in his late 20ās to early 30ās and didnāt come off as some kind of vacant club denizen. I thought to myself what a stupid statement to make, and how the guy must have horrible taste in music. That is almost like saying āall I listen to is Cardi B. or Bananarama or whatever. I often wonder what some of these young people who listen to only say vapid pop, or rap, or bro country or a combination of either will do when they get to be middle aged? Because at least when I was growing up and maybe 13 or so I was already getting into the big progressive rock bands of the day. And a lot of that stuff had at least some roots in classical and jazz, which gave me a somewhat solid musical appreciation foundation to allow me to effortlessly move into other music genres as I grew out of it. And a lot of that stuff is still as good to this day which says a lot.
Can you imagine a bunch of 60 year olds going to a Cardi B, Brittany Spears, or Juice WRLD concert 30 years from now? It would not only be pathetic but pretty funny to see on top of that. Has anyone else here wondered the same thing or am I just being a elitist or musical snob?
Nothing personal by any means, but you asked, so I say musical snob. Every generation has a musical identity that is unique to their space in time. If you donāt like it, they donāt care. Your dislike only matters to you.
I feel that there is a lot of good music out now other than what is todayās mainstream pop. For me, itās important to keep one foot in the present and not become blinded by my old habits and tastes. Not judging anyone who feels like their feet are firmly planted in the past. I just need the duality.
Disclaimer that my roots are 60s, 70s and 80s rock, pop and blues, so I have a similar perspective as many others here. Very happy about the Quadio series and releases of old stuff on Blu-ray and new Atmos mixes of classic tunes.
Overall, I believe a good bit of our emotion is wasted on defining differences and comparing ourselves to those half our age. That approach feeds the cycles of politics, religion and other ways that we separate ourselves from each other.
Again, no bad intent toward the OP or anyone else. Iām just trying to be smoother at my advancing age.
Finally, I think the lap steel player referred to may be Jeff Healey. Saw him many years ago at a club named Peabodyās Down Under. He was great and jammed for a good while before the Fire Marshal shut it down due to excess capacity. These were also the days when smoking was still permitted indoors, so a fire in a small club with only two exits was a major concern.