Music has lost its importance to the younger generation.

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Permalink Reply by Alcuin Edwards on October 19, 2009 at 12:22am

My main instrument is one I was born with. I have always sung, sometimes in bands and sometimes not. I've had thousands of hours of practice now and it's just the same as if it was an intrument. You know what though? When I was a teenager, I insisted I was a "me". I would not let anyone define me by the music I listened to or the clothes I wore. Now we have access to music 24/7, I still won't be defined as someone who listens to one genre, I get to hear everything from hysterical Mexican folksingers to Brazilian psychobilly, Moroccan Rap and hundreds of styles worldwide that I'd never get to hear if I had to buy everything to hear it.

Now personally, I'm glad teenagers can get all their music so easily. CDs are for people of our generation. And that means, I can pop into a record shop and find Patti Smith's Radio Ethiopia, Nirvana's Nevermind, or maybe even the first ComSat Angels album (all of which were hard to find when they were new.

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Permalink Reply by Graham Hunt on February 12, 2010 at 12:28pm

I have teenage kids.

Music is important to both of them. One, my son, discovered music via his English teacher - how do you get 12 year old boys who are at the lower end of the ability spectrum with respect to English interested in it? Simple you play them Iron Maiden! Well The Trooper, Rhyme etc. Makes sense I suppose. So it was that teacher who sparked him, then I dug out the vinyl of Maiden and Motorhead and he was off. We overlap in tastes in some areas and that meant going to see Priest with him, Maiden, Motorhead, Thin Lizzy, Dream Theatre, Metallica, Rush.. etc. etc. Great times! He still likes to get the CD to have and to hold :-) But all his stuff is on an MP3 player. But he is out the mainstream obviously with Machine Head and Lamb of God not exactly on Radio 1 or the guest acts on the Lottery show. He is a mosher-rocker I think from some quiz on Facebook - sounds like a poncy coffee in Costa!

My daughter is younger and now always Kiss FM or her Ipod are blaring out. A lot of Rap stuff I don't get myself but again it is important to her I know. She is more in the mainstream but still varies a bit.

I think now it's too easy - like a track donwload it - legal for 60p and it is there on your MP3 player instantly. Maybe that is the loss there is no build up to getting it, the anticipation was the bit that kept it all for us. Remember the only time you'd hear the new Led Zep would be one track just as it was released on the Whistle Test - now artists have their tracks play listed for weeks before a release actually comes out to drive up sales but the mystery is gone isn't it of you buying the latest lp of someone dashing home to listen to it. I remember that vividly for me with Supertramps Crisis What Crisis album - I'd only heard Lady (the single) and would play things over and over to hear them.

So part of the problem is the instant availablity - actually music is so cheap these days as well, even legally before you rip it off your mates copy. So it lost some of it's rarity value. And I think the bombast approach to marketing and plugging - some radio stations my daughter listen to drive me nuts with such a limited playlist - listen for one hour and that's it for two weeks pretty much!

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Permalink Reply by MICK HUTCHINSON on March 22, 2010 at 2:12pm

Hiya Martin.
I teach guitar, bass and music tech and make a few vids etc .
There has never been a better time for music than now . Kids are so open minded now it's amazing . The internet and the ipod have liberated peoples taste from manufactured music . All forms of music are growing .
I meet young people who love the blues .The NME said blues was crap a few years ago ,and lots of people followed that . Now journalists don't have th the power to warp peoples minds like they used to .Kids [ ie people under 40 lol ] have everything on their ipods . Beatles to Metalica , Kinks to Nirvana . BB King to Coheed & Cambria [ Great new prog band ] . New bands in all styles are popping up everywhere ,you just don't see them on TV . Between the Buried and me [ Prog ,metal even bits of Jazz ] . Kids say thet don't WATCH TV !! music is passed around BY WORD OF MOUTH nowadays . Then they look on youtube ,then they download it or buy a CD . There are so many new bands it's impossible to keep up with .
It's a lot harder to make money from music that it was though , which is a good thing in many ways .Too much too soon isn't good for creativity .
What is really briliant about now is , most of the Negative Nineties stuf has gone . The idea of hating someone because they like a different type of music to you has disapeared . Ipods hold thousands of songs ,so people listen to everything and like most of it . They don't care what age a band is .Eighteen year olds saying they desparately want to see Led Zeppelin befere they get too old.
Nice to met you
Mick Hutchinson

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