Every decade can be defined by the kind
of music that was popular at the time. Depending on when you were
born determines which kind of music you will be most exposed to and
which will have a strong influence on your musical taste. Of course
people are free to listen to whatever music they want including older
music, but new music is what gets the most play and is what people,
especially young people, will hear the majority of the time.
I think most people are at their most
influential stage around the teenage years through young adult. In
the teenage years and even in some years before this time, kids are
starting to take an interest in music and are starting to hear new
songs and develop a taste for what they like in music. Often they
will like the popular music of the time as well as new music from
other genres.
What kids listen to during these years
will stay with them and as adults they will look back on this time
and remember the music they used to listen to. They will have the
feeling of nostalgia remembering the songs they loved growing up.
As people get older and their lives
start to become more busy, they tend to not listen to as much music
as they used to or at least not follow it as closely as they did when
they were a kid. Often times people kind of lose touch with the new
music of the time because they are either too busy or have just lost
interest. Years can go by where people don't pay any attention to the
music that is new and popular.
Adults may make an attempt to get back
into it by listening to some of the new songs that are popular only
to find out they don't like them. The new songs are unfamiliar and
different from what they are used to. They might seek out some of the
old bands and artists they used to listen to only to find out they
have stopped making music or their new stuff is not as good as their
old stuff. After realizing this, they may go back and just listen to
the music they grew up with.
In my experience, I was really into
music growing up, but as I got older I started to lose interest. I
felt like I had listened to a lifetime's worth of music and there
wasn't much left to listen to. Every once in a while, I might happen
to hear a new song that catches my interest, but for the most part, I
don't hear too much I like in popular music these days.
Is the music worse, or is it just a
change in the generations of music as described above? It could be a
little of both. I think back to the music I listened to as a kid and
realized that the adults at that time probably didn't like what we
were listening to. We thought it was good at the time and still do,
but that is because it was our generation's music.
So it may be the same situation when
adults hear the music the kids are listening to these days and think
it is not good. To the kids, it is good because it is their music and
that is what they are growing up with. When they get older, they will
look back at the music they used to listen to in the same way with
fond memories.
It is possible that the change in
technology has had an effect on the music that gets noticed. For
example, back in the day before the internet and smart phones, people
got their music from the radio or music channels on tv. A band or
artist had to get enough attention to get a record deal, record an
album, and get enough promotion and approval to get on the radio.
These things provided a filter so only the best made it to the
airwaves.
These days, anyone with a computer can
record their own music and put it online instantly. Because of this
change, there is a lot more music available, but at the same time,
the quality has been spread thin so it makes it more difficult to
find the good music in a sea of mediocrity.
With visual media such as Youtube and
Instagram, it seems image has become even more important in making it
in the music business even more so compared to what it used to be.
With these changes, it is possible some music that is not that good
is becoming popular due to factors such as image and popularity in
other media.
Nevertheless, every generation will
have a collection of songs they consider to be their music because it
is what they grew up with. Some of it might be good, some of it might
not be so good. Even the bad songs will still have a place in the
memory for those who grew up with them.
New songs come and go fast these days.
It takes decades of time to truly determine the good music. Why is
this, you may ask? It is because it takes many years to see which
songs stand the test of time. A lot of songs will be popular this
year, but 20-30 years from now, most of them will be forgotten. There
will however be some that continue to be listened to and will
achieve classic status. These songs will join the other songs that
are considered classic and timeless and generally accepted as great
songs.
No comments:
Post a Comment