It's official. I am entirely out of touch with the world of contemporary music. Just the fact that I call it "contemporary" kind of shows how not in touch I am. The kids never say "contemporary." They say it's "whack" or something.
Today I was looking at Entertainment Weekly's "Summer Music Preview." I can pretty safely say that I have never heard a song by any, not even one, of the featured performers. They included Usher, Coldplay, Common, Beck, Weezer, Vanessa Hudgens, Keri Hilson, Jonas Brothers, Ciara, Nas, My Morning Jacket, T.I., Ne-Yo, Conor Oberst and Gym Class Heroes. Actually, those represent every artist featured. And while a couple are vaguely familiar, I could not tell you one song, one hit performed by any of these groups.
I've never been shy about the fact that nearly all of my favorite music came out of the '80s. But I have tried, at least in the past, to keep my finger on the pulse of popular music. I fear I've hit that moment in a person's life where you realize you're one of those middle-aged people who keeps mumbling, "These crazy kids and their rock and roll."
I shall resist diving into a diatribe about how similar all recent pop songs sound. And I will refrain from observing how far too many performers seem to have dopey, one-name-only names. And I will refrain from mentioning that these kids today are crazy.
Instead, I will embrace the fact that while popular taste may change, taste doesn't, really. Duran Duran could still run (or perhaps dance) circles around this Ne-Yo person, and this Nas person and this Gym Class Heroes, no doubt about it. You can keep your Timbalands and your Justin Timberlakes! Unless, of course, they decide to collaborate with Duran Duran again, as they did on the iconic group's last album.
Now, if you'll please excuse me, I need to change my colostomy bag and put on some Thompson Twins.
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10 comments:
Yes, yes, and yes.
I want Kajagoogoo playing at my hip replacement surgery.
Oh yeh, I remember well my depression accompanying the first time I couldn't identify the band on the cover of the Rolling Stone... compounded by the fact that, leafing through that issue to see if maybe I had at least heard one of their songs and not realized it, I quickly discovered that all the other bands profiled and reviewed were similarly strangers to me... It literally happened overnight!... However, I must point out that, if you look at a Billboard chart from any week in the late '60s or early '70s, every song on it is still a recognizable classic -- a fact that will assuredly not pertain to today's "hits."
Come on you must at least know Beck and Usher. They've been around pretty much my entire life.
And Hi!, I've had a commenting hiatus for a while due to actually paying attention at work but now im work free and get to concentrate on important things like the internet again. (the work free status is cos im having a baby not cos i missed the net)
Imagine how I feel? When I grew up in the 80's and my friends listend to Oingo Boingo, Men at Work, Huey Lewis and Duran Duran...I was listing to Louis Prima, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.
Talk about out of touch. Now if you will excuse me, I need to put latest Scott Joplin on my Gramophone.
Thanks for all the great comments, and welcome back, Bec! Comments inspire me to blog more, for better or worse.
How do you like that...my first comment here in months and I find myself in Chris' camp.
ABBA makes me want to tear my hair out. I could use Duran Duran's music as the alarm in my smoke detectors. And the Pet Shop Boys...well, let's just not go there. Popular 80's music was not something I found to be very pleasant.
Cab Calloway, Clarence Lofton, Gary Davis, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Musselwhite...these are the musicians for me. All good enough to become legends primarily through word of mouth and live performance. I wonder how Culture Club would have faired without television, FM radio, or mega-arena venues?
Oh, and Culture Club was awesome, too. Hork.
Oh, and by the way, in case anyone ever checks back on these comments, I want to mention how profoundly happy it makes me when my friends chime in on such entries. I value your insights, your charm and your humor a great deal, and I can't thank you enough for dropping by from time to time. It makes me want to be more entertaining or something so that your visits are worthy of your time.
it's been a while since my last comment, too, but I'm still here :)
I feel the need to say that Weezer was the only group in that list of crap that I even feel is worthy of a download. the rest you can listen to on pop radio, if that's your bag.
But Weezer, even to a stick-in-the-mud, listens-to-Simon&Garfunkle fuddy duddy like me, is pretty awesome. You should go listen.
I value your insights, your charm and your humor a great deal, and I can't thank you enough for dropping by from time to time.
Translation: "I am a complete and utter attention whore".
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