Recently, I was on the main campus of VCU in the library doing some work, when I overheard some very young looking undergrads (probably freshmen) having a conversation. One guy was going into great detail about the greatness of Pink Floyd with both the Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. He also was recommending and knew a great deal about the Dark Side of Oz phenomenon that says that the Dark Side of the Moon album syncs up perfectly with the Wizard of Oz movie.
This got me thinking. It is now 2007, and 18 year old kids are still listening to Pink Floyd and watching the Dark Side of Oz. Not only is this a testament to how great a band Pink Floyd was, but it is also an interesting look into the impact of "classic rock" on young culture. I personally listen to many different kinds of music, but most of my favorite bands wrote their hit songs when I was a very young child, or in some cases not even born yet. And I'm not alone. There are millions of people out there in my generation that listen to bands from the 60s and 70s.
So what is going to happen in 15 or 20 years? What will be considered "classic rock" then? I'm sure that some of the timeless bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, and Led Zeppelin will still be getting a lot of airtime, but when my kids are listening to classic rock stations, who from our generation will they be listening to? Are there bands great enough out there right now to stand the test of time? Will my kids be saying in conversation, "You know, Beck was one of the most innovative classic rock musicians ever"? Will Green Day and The White Stripes be mentioned in the same sentence as AC/DC and Guns N' Roses? Will the Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against the Machine be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Will I hear Nirvana when I turn on an "oldies" station?
Who has successfully made enough of a mark on our culture so that they will be considered the "timeless" bands from our generation? I guess only time will tell, but I find it very interesting to speculate.
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2 comments:
Dude our classic rock stations in NYC totally throw in STP, Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana into the mix. It's a weird feeling when you're listening to Zep and the next song is Come As You Are. We're old.
Tom,
Yeah I do definitely see this as one of the first signs of "getting old." Our favorite songs are sprinkled into classic rock stations.
Particularly, the variety of satellite radio stations hitting niche audiences is making the music of our teenage years "classic rock" even faster than previous generations. I have a Sirius Satellite Radio, and their new station "Lithium 90's" is one of my absolute favorites. Yet you don't see new terrestrial radio stations popping up with "only 90s rock" as their mantra. That might not happen for another 5 to 10 years.
Thanks for posting.
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