…my immediate response to that was, no shit. If you removed my friends Chip, Mark, Angela and me, it would drop to 26 in my opinion, 22 if it were just the Midwest, or as I often call it, the Land where Led Zeppelin never broke up.
I wouldn’t consider the “study” to be terribly accurate nor scientific but anecdotally I agree because a wide range of people I know be it from close friends (the Silders, Hoser, Nelson, Steve B) all the way down to just acquaintances (Adam, Art). Often you hear the litany of “today’s music sucks, it stopped being good after [insert year].” It’s not completely their fault. Firstly, life does get in the way, often they’re called children. Next, music isn’t as important to them as it is to someone such as myself. I wouldn’t have demoted this aspect of me, even if I did chose to reproduce. Lastly, I think the shifts in technology have really encouraged more people, especially my generation and later to wall up via MP3 players, overpriced satellite radio and contemporary Oldies stations for the few clinging to FM. It can be the Eighties to early Nineties forever! Pass.
What I do consider to be the uglier and more dangerous element of this trend is how it manifests in Western thinking. This refusal to embrace the future proves while remaining in a nostalgic safety blanket reflects the problem of accepting other things. Admittedly, I’m not enthused to embrace some tech trends because I don’t trust corporations with my privacy. Tattoos are another; you think Mickey Rourke hasn’t aged well, try that Pearl Jam stickman. Back to my point, I just hate the 101ism which came out of the mouths of Boomers in the Eighties. I may have bored you all with this past story, but when I started out at Marquette and was in the heart of the Classic Rock Backlash; I vowed I would never grow up to be an old fart ramming the Cure, REM and Kate Bush down younger people’s throats. Trust me, after being told for years how I should get on my knees and thank god for the Beatles, I played the Meatman’s “One Down, Three to Go,” as my rebuttal.
It did make me the opposite, intolerant of the good material from the past. Over the last 10-15 years I’ve become re-acquainted with the Sixties and Seventies hits. When you have an iPod to play in the car, it’s easy to enjoy a deeper track by the Eagles again. Yeah, you heard me, I still like the Eagles and all their critics are mostly Johnny-come-latelies who’re Hipster D-bags addicted to the overrated The Big Lebowski.
Either way, I think I’m doing a good job training to maintain a balance between moving forward at 46 enjoying Spoon, Arcade Fire, Those Darlins, Dengue Fever and Charli XCX without irony while re-discovering the latest remasters of Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music and Replacements.
I want to thank my friends Angela, Mark and Chip namely for helping me stay connected to something that was always important to me since I was 14.