More than 30 years ago, I stood in a record store in Florida with my grandfather, who told me I could get whichever album I wanted. Back in 1977, the choice was easy: KISS Alive II. I was a KISS fan, it was a double album, and it had this great shot of a bloody-faced Gene Simmons on the cover.
Sadly, it was that very picture that made my mother forbid me from getting it. I gave the "you're too old to understand" speech and theorized that my mom hated my music in the same way her parents probably hated her music. Interesting theory, but I still ended up with ELO's Out of the Blue. I think I liked the spaceship on the cover.
The so-called controversy over this year's Grammy Awards made me realize not only how much I've become my mother, but how much today's music really sucks. I didn't watch, but I read the outrage around Arcade Fire winning Album of the Year instead of Eminem, and Esperanza Spalding winning Best New Artist over Justin Beiber. What really happened is that actual music won out over popularity and sales figures.
When did music turn to crap? Sure, there are some good songs out there right now. But how many of them will be popular in 30 years? Which artist(s) will still be playing in 2041, and not as a nostalgia act at the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning but as something that reaches across the generations? Who is this generation's Billy Joel? Bruce Springsteen? U2? The Beatles? (Okay, that one's unfair.) I know I'm showing my age and maybe I "don't get it," but there's something to be said for the fact that these artists are still as relevant today as they were in the early 70s.
I know I'm a music snob. I fully embrace my inner Johnny Fever, who refused to play top 40 no matter how many times Andy Travis begged him to. Classic Rock is called classic not because it's old, but because it stands the test of time. These are songs that say something. They have an impact on us, both musically and lyrically. And none of the titles ended with, "feat. Lil' Wayne." They weren't covers, they weren't remakes. They told stories and spoke about the time in which they were written. They...okay, I'm overstating it a little. But the fact remains that you won't be buying Justin Bieber tickets for your kids in 30 years. You won't be lamenting for Jay-Z's "older stuff." That's because today's music is temporary and will fade away just as Hansen did in the 90s, or Shawn Cassidy did in the 70s.
So when did music stop being music? I'm trying to think about artists after 1985 (when U2 and Springsteen reigned). It's true that the 90s begat a whole new musical movement with the grunge acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots. But we're 20 years from "Nevermind" and none of the grunge acts are really relevant anymore. Has anyone since 1985 made music that will still be meaningful to our kids?
Anyway, I guess the lesson is that every generation thinks their music is the best. The only difference is that my generation is right and the current generation is painfully wrong.
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| "This one's for you, fellow babies: Booooogerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!" |
