It isn't only that people don't love the music; people have never heard the music. And the artists and the labels apparently want it that way. Unless of course their music is played on radio stations the way it was 40 years ago. Does anyone even listen to radio anymore? More on that later...
And the terms in which Boomers remember the music of the 60s and 70s is more than over the top. The BBC is going Radio Ga Ga, writes DAVID HAMILTON� | Daily Mail Online
And yes, I am officially a Boomer, but I mostly hate the music that most Boomers love.
First the writer admits that in his youth, he and his cohort didn't care much for the music of prior generations.
In those days, the Forces radio station played an endless diet of Bing Crosby and Peggy Lee — both wonderful singers, but their music was the sort of thing we young servicemen associated with our parents.
We wanted something different, something to call our own — and we'd found it in rock 'n' roll.
And he believes that 1960s/70s Rock & Roll is the end of all musical advancement.
This was the dawn of two decades which would usher in some of the greatest music ever made and the greatest lyrics ever penned — written and performed by bands and solo artists whose names are now etched in the music hall of fame.
Now I like Rock & Roll, but most of the music of the 1960s and 1970s can best be described as drek. A lot of it all sounds the same. It was composed by people with limited skills, and it was performed by people with less skill. True there are some gems, like Pink Floyd, Yes, and others, but there is a lot of stuff that is just awful.
And "the greatest music ever made" might be a bit of a stretch, but of course that is exactly how most Boomers see things.
Hat tip to Vox Popoli, who notes...
To me, the main difference between classic rock and punk rock is that at least the punk rockers knew they didn't know how to play their instruments very well. There are ten-year-old girls now who play better guitar than the average classic rock guitarist. And it's hilarious to see the characteristic complete lack of self-consciousness inherent in the Boomer braggadacio about their lack of interest in their parents' music combined with their bafflement that their grandchildren have no interest in their music.
The greatest music ever recorded? I think Beethoven and Mozart and Wagner might have a little something to say about that. No one even listens to the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and the Kinks anymore and they're still alive
There is a separate take on the whole issue of Boomers' and their music and why it is disappearing from the culture. It comes from Rick Beato. He has a series of videos, What Makes This Song Great, that he occasionally has trouble with. The suits that run the American Music industry can't wrap their tiny minds around the basic fact that free marketing is a good thing. Rick doesn't make any money on his videos.‡ With exactly two exceptions, the labels get all of the royalties/ad revenue from the videos based on the songs that he plays. You would think that would be enough. Free advertising and ad revenue. It isn't enough. The labels (and the tiny-minded-suits) occasionally block his work. Recently he got a copyright strike because "fair use" and "copyright law" are two things that suits will never understand. Though the lack of understanding on "free advertising" surprises me.
In that video Rick promises: "I won't ever talk about The Cars again. NEVER. EVER." And then Boomers' wonder why music from their youth is not popular today. Suits with tiny minds, and "heritage artists" who did too many drugs back in the day to understand "free advertising."
‡ Rick Beato makes his money selling stuff. The Beato Book, is a text on music theory and composition for aspiring songwriters. He also has the usual collection of mugs and tee-shirts.
