I feel like the title of my posting this week was ripped from a failing oldies themed radio station promo ad. I've been thinking a lot lately about how the music I listen to corresponds to my age identity. I am constantly enamored at my father and mother's ability to completely shut themselves away from new artists and composers, while continuing to "pull out the old records" and just enjoy what once was. It isn't that I refuse to let go of my youth by enjoying newer music and recording artists... I just like it. Perhaps it is a direct correlation to the phenomenon that is the "alternative" genre that was born of long dead forms of music and has since seen iterations of "singer songwriter", "indie", "pop rock", etc. So many genres are linked and related to one another that it appears as though this country from generation X to our current group of "utes" (thanks cousin Vinny) running around with their "skull candy" stuck in their ears. Let my digress a little more...
You see there are all these groups of music that (as far as I can tell) started to reproduce like bunnies on crack about 3 seconds after Kurt Cobain pulled the trigger. I refer to this event as the musical "Big Bang" theory. Out of the ashes of Nirvan we saw Foo Fighters and Hole, flourishing into Queens of the Stone Age, Garbage... lets not forget that Pearl Jam and Sound Garden got a lot more attention and they were able to spawn countless iterations of their "copy cats" and wanna bes that are still producing music now. I don't want my focus to be on the specific musical groups and performers but rather on the fact that there is a relation between them all... from Ace of Base to Ziggy Marley (I did the A to Z thing!). The most common connection between all of them is that we essentially are STILL LISTENING TO THEM.
Think about this; Ozzy Osbourne is still alive and producing music and performing, but IN GENERAL is not necessarily gaining any NEW fan base... whereas Blink-182 (love em or hate em) will have 40 year olds standing next to 13 year olds waiting in line at their next concert... and they won't all be father-son combos. I remember having my mom drive me to Sam Goody to buy "Dude Ranch" and I will probably download the newest New Found Glory album with my 5 month old son in my lap! Should I be ashamed of still enjoying what may be considered a "young person's" music? It isn't like I'm going to Hot Topic to buy a 30 Seconds To Mars T-shirt (though there is something creepy about Jared Leto being 39 years old and releasing that band's first album in like 2005... isn't there?) though I will sometimes walk into that store to hear what really is considered a "Hot Topic".
So is it cool if I go to the next NFG or Alkaline Trio concert? Or am I to be confined to the balcony seats at a Bad Religion or Social Distortion show? Must I move on to adult contemporary and get a "Rob Thomas sings with Train and Sister Hazel" album, and perhaps go see them perform at the state fair? What do y'all think? Cause I lift my middle finger to the nay sayers that propose I let go of the music I love, if only to "fit in" to my age group.
Love Ya,
D-Ron
