Okay, not literally. Probably not even close, but sad, nonetheless.
If you know even the littlest thing about me, you know that I LOVE music. I may even love music more than I love people. But I guess since people make music, there's no need to pick one (yet).
That means I take music pretty seriously. It's not just something in the background, or a casual hobby. Music is life - even though I don't make music, it's a huge part of who I am that it's important.
Someone said something to me recently that's been circulating through my brain recently, so much so that I felt compelled to blog about it. And it inspired that uplifting title! ;^) So, someone I know recently told me something to the effect that music has gone downhill or no great music has been made (or however it was phrased) since 1975. 1975!?!?!? Ummm, no. My initial response was "that's so sad." I was so shocked and disagreeable to that statement that I couldn't think of anything else to say. I sat there a few seconds pondering a follow up response ... annnnnnd nothing. So I just turned away and talked to someone else.
But I have more to say now.
I think part of the initial shock comes from the fact this person is an avid music fan. I haven't discussed their personal music preferences with them personally (we don't chat much), but they're known to be a big music lover too. And maybe the fact this person wasn't even born in 1975 caused some shock too.
I can see like maybe saying something like "painting hasn't been good since the last 1800's," because let's face it, people don't paint like they used to. And people have been painting legit art for hundreds of years. But the concept of popular music, in a form like we know it today, hasn't really existed all that long, especially if you look at the idea of specific artists belonging to specific songs. So basically, that's discounting like half of all popular music. HALF!
My first in private response was to compile a play list of all my music that was released in 2014 and play it all at once. This was the most opposite music I had of pre-1975 music. Nothing say "now rocks!" than a play list full of current music. And it was amazing. Granted, my taste in music is not the end all and be all of music. It's not for everyone, or many people, at least not my core genre preferences. I am not going to win any arguments with the general public about how music now is better than ever with my handful of pop-punk and metalcore albums that I bought this year (plus that one T. Swift album). But I still enjoyed it. A number of my fav bands released music in 2014. My favorite band of all time, New Found Glory, released their 8th full length album, and they are still rocking it out, redefining their sound. And although I can't believe it hasn't even been 1 year, but early 2014 is when I discovered Issues, and their self titled album was released. They guys are a music game changer.
My next instinct were to make mixes. I love making mixes and play lists; I have many to suit certain moods. I was thinking 1 that captured the amazingness of 2014, and then one to capture 1976-now of why music has gotten better since then, and has had some great standouts. But I don't think making and handing out mixes to people I'm not close to is the best option. Heck, I gave some of my work BFFs a fun mix I made, and I doubt even they have listened to it. (Oh, and by fun I mean loud and angry - it's a stress relief mix, aaaaaaaaaand it's epic).
But, I did begin to think of my arguments for why post-1975 is better than pre-1975. Just looking at my iTunes library is enough to say I don't agree w/ that. I have like 150 songs from pre-1975, and the rest of my 6,000+ are later. (And this is accurate as I made sure to verify and complete the year for each and every track in my library. I have problems). According to Wikipedia, Don't Fear the Reaper didn't even come out until 1976. That song is epic. More cowbell, please! And let's not forget the fact that many of Queen's awesomeness happened late '70's, early '80's.
Speaking of the '80's - yes, the fashion was terrible, and there were some so '80's moments that time should forget. But the music - the MUSIC! So much great music came from the '80's. A lot of rock really pushed the boundaries. Rap was just being invented (say what you will, even if you aren't a fan, early rap was beautiful art, saying what was said before in a new way). And there was so much fun pop music. Personally, for me, Journey is enough to say the '80's win at music. Other people have different tastes, but there was so much yummy goodness in the '80's.
And then there was the '90's. It was definitely a different decade for music. Grunge was really big. Nirvana was amazing. The '90's was when Mariah and Whitney were in their heyday. I thought about what I was listening to in the 1990's, as that was the 1st decade I was actually listening to popular music, and not just what my parents listened to, or Disney songs. Granted, I was REALLY into boy bands in the late '90's, they were awesome. Boy bands back then did so much more - they had intense synchronized dancing, they wore matching outfits, they made epic music videos. Even thought it's manufactured pop, there were still some quality artists and performers. Then I think about the albums from the '90's that to me were the epitome of great music back then. What about classic Foo Fighters? The Colour and the Shape is still one of my fav albums. "What the Story Morning Glory" by Oasis is also one of those albums that I still get lost in when I listen to it. Wonderwall still makes my Top 100 songs because it's so beautiful.
For me, my fav decade would be the '00, probably because that's when I was in my prime music listening youth - late teens, early twenty. This was late high school, all of college. My favorite genre, pop punk, was getting a lot of mainstream love. And groan as much as you want, but John Mayer is (or at least was) a fantastic artist. And now, in the '10s there is so much new stuff happening. Maybe I am not that into mainstream music, but from a punk rock scene, great new things are going down. I'd even go as far to say that we're on the precipice of some louder post-hardcore/metalcore bands breaking into the mainstream. Rock music has been really underplayed in the main lately, unless you count that folk rock crap (and I don't).
I could list more and more artists that I love from the last 4 decades, and although people won't necessarily agree with my choices, I am sure other people could think of equally amazing artists and music to put in the places of the loves that I listed.
Once I got past the mere listing of songs and artists that have been making magic since 1975, I tried to get to the bottom of why this really bugged me - get to the ideology that underlies the long list of examples. And I think I figured it out.
For me, with music, it's all about (1) connecting with an old favorite, and (2) discovering something new. Every song I haven't heard is a potential new old favorite. As much as I love all the music I know, I am always looking for something new. It doesn't have to be new as in recently released - just new to my ears. I may hear one song from someone, and then a quick trip to iTunes later, and I suddenly have 4+ new albums all by one artist. I did it recently with Cartel. How I missed these guys in the '00s is a mystery. I love that moment when a new song just weaves its way into your soul, and suddenly you've listened to it 50 times in a week. I'm pretty sure I listened to Bring Me the Horizon's "Can You Feel My Heart" 15+ times the day I downloaded it. As much as I love old favorites, it's hard to get that feeling with something you've known for awhile. (Although, I do love when a fav you've over played with comes back around, and you get the renewed feeling like it was when it was new).
And I love to see the progression. The way music changes tells a story. I'm pretty sure I've successfully predicted the last 2-4 popular music trends just by understanding where music was, is, and needs to be to match what people are looking for. I like hearing an artist refine and improve over the years. I like hearing genres change, blend, and emerge all by the innovations of artists. I used to not like synthesized music mixed with loud rock. But as it was used more, I realized my dislike was not the sound, but the fear of losing live music performances. But once I saw a band can still mix in sounds and give a raging show, I embraced it. I see music as a stream - a long flow of what has existed over the years. As a huge music fan, it's important for me to have an appreciation for the past - I have a good collection of older music, and I know more than I own. I don't think you can appreciate music as well without an understanding where it comes from - whatever genre you enjoy. Personally, I love listening to a band and being able to hear their influences. I saw a band recently that I would describe as the music love child of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Something Corporate. And when I listen to Falling in Reverse, I can really hear, and appreciate that classic metal influence, mix with that very modern, now post-hardcore sound. I enjoy being able to discover new music as it's happening, but still impress my elders w/ awesome play list I make for work functions w/ music from before I was born.
But more than that, I think to me music defines generations - it's what's made and then left behind to tell the world your story once you've grown and moved past that point in time. So, for me, staying up with music is about keeping up with history as it's being made. It's about understanding trends and moods in society. As much as I disliked Baby Bush as President, he did inspire some amazing punk rock songs. Nowadays you just don't get that kind of rebellious edge. It's hard to sing angry political unrest songs about immigration reform and government ran health care. But when I do listen to that stuff, it takes me back to that time. And listening to new music keeps me out in the world, even if that world is younger than me. But I do have bands my own age and older who keep rocking, which gives me something to grow up to. It's nice to hear. I just can't imagine being in love with music so much, but not with anything from my lifetime. It would be, to me, stuck in a time and place that wasn't mine. To lack the appreciation, the joy, the angst, the record of all that's gone on - that's just so sad. One of my greatest fears is that one day I'll just get too old to keep listening to new music - that I'll somehow be told I'm too old, or feel myself as too old, to really appreciate music to be. But I would rather have that fear for the future, than not have the love I do now for the music present.
