The Greatest American Band Debate: What is Hip and Cool is Always Changing
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So, I never really thought I was getting old until very recently. Now, I'm not old by any means. I'm 33 and I'll turn 34 near the end of 2016. But, working with younger kids has made me feel kind of old. I will reference players that I assume everyone knows, even if that everyone includes children that were born in 2010. I made a reference to Shaquille O'Neal and Shawn Kemp during basketball season, and the kids, especially the 5 and 6 year olds stared at me blankly. I didn't realize they have no idea who those guys are and Shaq is a sure fire hall of famer. But, the younger players only know of LeBron James and Steph Curry. At least most know who Michael Jordan is, even if it only means they know about his sneakers, they at least know the name.
But, sports aside, I am getting pretty old when it comes to pop music and music played on the radio. I recently sat down with my 12 and 9 year old nieces, you'll hear them on the podcast tomorrow, and the people they were telling me about, I maybe knew 1/3 or even a 1/4 of their names. I looked at them as blankly as my young athletes looked at me. I consider myself a pretty hip and knowledgeable person when it comes to music. But, with that being said, I do not care for pretty much all of modern pop music. There's a few people I enjoy. I like Hozier, I've written about Alabama Shakes and I'm a humongous Black Keys fan, but I was also told by my nieces that those aren't really pop bands and musicians. Their music is more rock they said.
This was the exact moment when I felt old.
This must have been what my parents felt like when I was listening to Puff Daddy and Mase and I told them that their music was old and stuffy and uncool. I finally understood what they said to me back then. I would get older one day, and what I like will not be popular anymore, if it ever was. I thought they were crazy, but they were right, as they always have been. My nieces threw some bands and singers at me and they may as well have been speaking a foreign language. As I said, they will name all these people on the podcast, but I still don't remember the names. I know of people like Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and One Direction, which the 9 year old rants about, but those people weren't even really on their radar anymore. They've already moved on from these bands and found new singers and bands to adore.
While this makes me feel old, I also feel like this is a big problem with modern pop music. No one sticks around that long anymore. Sure, some will have two or even three hits, but the majority are new versions of "one hit wonders". There's so many bands and singers that have one hit song, but they never do anything after that. At least nothing that's played on the radio. This doesn't make them bad singers or bad bands, it just means they capitalize on one song and on a very young fan base who's musical taste isn't fully developed yet. This is not meant to be a slight, I just said I listened to Puff Daddy and Mase, but then I grew up and, in my opinion, I got way better taste in music.
I also listened to what my dad said and listened to the music he lent me the older and more mature I became. My dad introduced me to Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Robert Johnson, among many, many others. This makes me hopeful that my nieces parents will do the same. Their dad is my oldest brother and he and I have similar taste in music. I hope he does what our dad did for me, but I also know that he plays good music, like Radiohead and TV on the Radio in their house, so the girls are being exposed to good music, they just don't recognize it yet, just like I didn't when my father was playing good music in the house.
I know they will come around at some point, with urging from their parents, but it was equally fascinating and upsetting at their knowledge of modern pop music. They both really do listen to everything they can, that's great and very fascinating. They devour as much pop music as they can. It's awesome that young kids still listen to so much music, even if it's stuff I don't care for. But, it's also upsetting because this is the first time that I have truly felt old. I just had no idea of what they were talking about at times and I was that old man berating young kids and their music these days. I feel like I will try and listen to some of the stuff they mentioned, but I know I won't like most of it, even before I listen to it. Modern pop is just not for me, but it has its many fans and its many fans are very young.
Both my nieces give some wonderful insight and they make me happy because they truly do love music. Music makes everyone happy and there is something for everyone. You will get old and young kids music will sound weird to you, but just think of how you felt when you were a kid and your folks wanted to listen to their music. It took me 33 years, but what I thought would never happen happened. I felt old, but it's not that bad. That's what's supposed to happen. As we get older things change and change can be odd and weird, but you will always have your thing and your music. That will never change.
I also would like to thank my nieces for talking to me and trying to open my mind to new music. It didn't work, but they put out an excellent effort. Listen to the podcast tomorrow because it's was a delight to record and I know everyone, be they 80 or 8, will really enjoy the two conversations I had with my two nieces. They were funny, insightful and a lot of fun to chat with, even though they made me feel old.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Like Grandpa Simpson, Ty was once cool, but what was cool to Ty just changed, and now it is scary. Listen to the X Millennial Man Podcast tomorrow to hear the tale, and make sure you follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.
