Music Used To Matter

I recently had a conversation with one of my "older" students (and by that, I mean one from the "baby boomer" generation) about the state of music.  We've talked about this a few times, and he generally has the viewpoint of: "In my day, music was better." Which usually implies that nobody is making good music "these days".  I'd be very inclined to disagree with him, because I'm aware of plenty of modern artists out in the world today who are making amazing music...but the problem is, very few people outside my circle of musician friends have heard (or even heard of) any of it .

He was looking at the posters on the walls of the waiting room at my studio (Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix) and asked me "Who is taking up the mantle for these guys?  Who is going to be the next Beatles?".  And I said "There will never be another Beatles, because music isn't as culturally relevant as it used to be."  I surprised myself a little when I said that, because it was one of the first times I actually said it OUT LOUD to someone.

The fact of the matter is that music used to be a HUGE cultural force, and it no longer is.  Think of most decades from the turn of the century, until about the year 2000.

Think of the 1920's:  The '20's (in America) is commonly known as "The Jazz Age".  Let that sink in.

Think of the 1950's, and you'll usually think of Elvis Presley and early Rock and Roll, or Miles Davis.

Think of the '60's, and you'll usually think of The British Invasion, or Bob Dylan, or Hendrix.

Think of the '70's, and you'll think of Prog Rock, Jazz Fusion, Singer Songwriters, Disco or Punk.

1980's?  MTV, New Wave, Hair Metal, Rap/Hip Hop, Michael fucking Jackson.

1990's?  Grunge/Alternative Rock (Nirvana, anyone?), Gangster Rap, Nu Metal.

These were cultural forces that DEFINED generations.  Think of anyone you know who was alive (and aware of the world around them) in the 1960's.  They usually remember exactly where they were when two things happened:  The assassination of JFK, and The Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  That's how IMPORTANT music used to be.  What else do people usually associate with the '60's?  The Vietnam War? the Civil Rights Movement? The Moon Landing? Woodstock?  Even though Vietnam and the civil rights movement weren't "musical" events, there were songs about them which were in the public consciousness...songs EVERYONE knew, and listened to.  Picture a person from the 60's, go ahead.  You probably just pictured a "hippie" (a product of the musical landscape of the time).

If you're around my age, or older, you remember a time when MTV was actually "Music Television", meaning, they played music for most of the day (or all day, at its inception).  You also remember a time when EVERYONE watched it.  Everyone wanted to be like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jon Bon Jovi, or Eddie Van Halen.  Look at the 80's teen movies.  In The Goonies, Corey Feldman's character is wearing a "Purple Rain" t-shirt.  In The Breakfast Club, you can tell (with probably 100% accuracy) what kind of music each of the main characters listen to just by how they act, and what they wear.  I'll bet that Bender is a fan of The Clash, Claire likes Duran Duran, Brian probably listens to Devo, Allison is a HUGE fan of The Cure, and Andrew digs Quiet Riot.  Nearly ALL of 80's culture was defined by MTV, and the music was just as important as the image.

Another thing you DEFINITELY remember if you're my age is the first time you heard Nirvana in the early '90's.  Everyone in middle school and high school started wearing flannel, and around the same time, every kid was trying to do their impressions of Beavis and Butt-Head.  Those characters represented US, the youth of America who genuinely cared about "cool" music and little else.

There used to be "universal" musical experiences.  In the 70's, everyone had "Led Zeppelin IV", "Frampton Comes Alive", "Dark Side of the Moon", and "Saturday Night Fever".  In the '80's, everyone had "Thriller", "Hysteria", "Face Value", "Like a Virgin" and "Appetite for Destruction".  In the '90's, everyone had "Nevermind", "Unplugged in New York", "Dookie", "The Blue Album", "Crash", "Aenima" and "My Own Prison" (don't lie, you had it).  It was all about the music.

There are almost no universal musical experiences now, with the exception of viral internet videos.  And in the "viral" world ("Gangnam Style", "Friday", "Call Me Maybe" etc.) it's all about novelty, not music.  Very few people actually know what an "album" is anymore.  Have you heard any of Psy or Carly Rae Jepsen's other songs?  Probably not.  Do you care to?  I highly doubt it.  How many people these days know what songs are on the Billboard top 10?  Or even who the biggest "music" stars of today are?  Taylor Swift?  Justin Bieber?  Selena Gomez?  I see them on all of the magazines on the newsstand, I know they're singers, but I can only name one Justin Bieber song.  I don't think I've ever heard a Selena Gomez song.  I know what she looks like, though.  The only reason I know any Taylor Swift songs is because every 6 to 14 year old girl who signs up for guitar lessons wants to learn them.  But as far as I'm concerned, she's more well known for her relationships/breakups than for her music.

I think that may be part of the issue as well, famous musicians aren't looked at as musicians first anymore...they are celebrities first.  I like John Mayer, I am a big fan of his music.  I have nearly all of his albums (I even PAID for them), and I relate to him.  He's a guitar player in his 30's and so am I.  I look at him and I see a musician.  Go to Google, right now, and type "John Mayer is a" in the search bar (have auto complete on).  That's how the majority of people see John Mayer.  Suffice it to say that "musician, guitarist, and singer" DO NOT appear in the auto completed results.  More people know who he's allegedly slept with, than have heard his most recent album (which is really, exceptionally good).  People pay more attention to the hype, than the music.

You could make an argument that I'm old, and out of touch with what "the kids" are into.  However, I've kept somewhat current on musical trends through the years, because I teach guitar.  People of all ages sign up to learn, and when I have young kids, I learn what they like, when I have teens, I learn what they like, and so on.  It's always a pretty good indicator of what's "popular" in music at any one time.  I've been teaching since 1999, so I've seen a lot of trends come and go.  But in the past five years or so, I've experienced a unique phenomenon:

I'll preface this by saying that when I was a kid, I could name hundreds of songs, singers and bands.  Whenever I get a new student, I try to find out what they like to listen to (because they'll want to play the music that they listen to).  Adults usually know exactly what music/singers/guitar players they like (because they grew up in a time when people conciously listened to music) .  About 90% of the time though (now), when I ask a "kid" (and by that, I mean 6 to 12 year olds) what music they like, the conversation usually goes something like this:

Me:  "So what are some of your favorite songs?"

Kid: "I don't know."

Me: "Do you have a favorite band, singer, or guitar player?"

Kid: "No."

Me:  "Are there any songs you'd like to learn how to play?"

Kid:  "No."

Me:  "Okaaaaaaay...well, let's look at some basics"

(75% of the time, if the new student is a girl, replace all of "Kid's" responses with "Taylor Swift".  But even the HUGE Taylor Swift fangirls have trouble naming 5 of her songs.)

We live in a world now where "the youth" at large doesn't really listen to, or care that much about music.  They have nearly all played "Angry Birds" or "Call of Duty", but they haven't had one of those universal musical experiences that unites and defines their generation...unless "Gangnam Style" or "Call Me, Maybe" is it.  I'm not saying that "Gangnam Style" is a bad song, I guess I'm just disappointed that of all the amazing music that IS out there today, it's the one song EVERYONE has heard.

Why is this?  Because music, for the most part, has become a "niche" interest.  It was once top dog in popular culture, but it has been, sadly, replaced.  Largely by cable television shows.

TV has always been popular, but when you get right down to it, what are the things everyone talks about now?  Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Duck Dynasty, Pawn Stars, etc.  Every Sunday night, my facebook newsfeed is bombarded with posts about "The Walking Dead".  Who's watching, who died, what happened to which character.  If you're not watching, you're out of touch.  It's RARE that I ever see a person who isn't a musician post ANYTHING about music.  Very rare.

Speaking of "universal experiences", social media is bigger than almost anything.  Twitter and facebook are huge, but MySpace is dead as a doornail.  Guess what killed it?  Music.  People got sick of bands spamming them to come to shows and buy things, so they ran.  Now MySpace is a graveyard of bands pimping themselves to other bands.  It became a snake eating its own tail, or a giant circle jerk...whichever you prefer.  What's MySpace's recent slogan?  "MySpace IS Music".  Have non-musicians returned to it?

Nope.

Everyone has Netflix, and pays for it.  How many people pay for music?

How many people actually listen to music?  Not just put it on while they're doing something else.

Everyone is in love with their smartphones and their tablets, which are capable of playing music, but are usually used for tweeting, facebooking, pinterest, looking at grumpy cat pictures, and playing Fruit Ninja, or some such shit.

I've been fortunate enough to have played for some pretty large audiences in my lifetime, but over the past couple of years when I look out at said audiences I'll inevitably see a lot of people staring down at their phones.  Is sitting somewhere and listening to a performance boring?  Is what's happening on your little 3 inch screen more exciting than what's happening onstage?  I'm grateful that they're there, but I want them to enjoy listening/watching as much as I enjoy performing.

Is that why Adam Levine, Keith Urban, Steven Tyler, Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera are all judges on American Idol and The Voice now?  Does their music not appeal to a large enough audience anymore?  Television shows promising a music career, whose judges don't really have music careers anymore.  How many American Idol contestants do you actually remember?  How much of their post-Idol music have you heard?  Probably very little compared to how many "careers" were "launched" by the show.  Name ONE Reuben Studdard song, how about a Taylor Hicks song?  Without Googling.  Bo Bice?  Nothing?  Shows just how much people care about the music once the drama of the competition is over.  Sure, a few of the contestants were able to maintain careers once their season was over...but people have to be interested enough to buy their music and go to their concerts for that to actually happen.

I don't know...I may have lost my train of thought.  I guess to go back to why I started writing this thing.  Music used to matter.  It used to matter, really matter, to everyone, not just musicians.  It used to be a cultural force, and now it's just happening in the background.

I see and hear a lot of frustration from my fellow musicians because it is so important to us.  I think we're frustrated that we play for each other now, more than anyone else.  We love music, so we seek it out.  We, musicians, are the niche.  It's frustrating, because we have more access to the world now, than we ever did before, but very few people are actually listening.

I want people to care.