My wife and I have been chilling out tonight listening to the radio, dancing and joking. Just relaxing. Friday nights on the radio are kind of entertaining because the high-paid DJs are spinning the current hits and the classics. But what happens after three hours of listening is that you realize there is a ton of stupid music out there.
Everyone who reads this blog knows that I am a fan of the 80s. What you may not know is that I also have an affinity for the decade that spawned Biggie, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Wu Tang, Nas, Jay Z, The Fugees, SWV, R Kelly, Mariah Carey, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Donell Jones, Aaliyah, Brandy, Monica, Mase, Puff Daddy… I can go on and on. Most of those 20 years represented a time of fun, and in some instances gritty and emotionally charged street music, plain and simple.
My issue is that the new music out there is not so good. Sure there’s some tolerable pop/dance/party music out there like Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks, Red Cafe, The Dream, Usher, and my very guilty pleasure Ray J. That stuff is good as long as you take it for what it is. Of course it’s no Heather Headley, Luther, Angie Stone, Bilal, or Herbie Hancock, etc. Unfortunately, most of the heavy-rotation stuff is uninspired dreck.
My simple question is: Does this mean I’m getting old?
At the end of the day does longing for “the good ol’ days” put you a four-minute 50 Cent song away from applying for Medicare?
Yep–that’s a sure sign 🙂 I remember thinking my parents were so out of it for thinking my music wasn’t hip. And the cycle continues…just wait til our little ones start spinning their own songs.
Well, I have the same problem. I can’t stand today’s musical selection…and I have begun to turn my daughter into a more educated consumer of music. She is 11 and loves everything that is, “popular”. Anytime she goes too far off the deep end with her taste in pop culture…I use my mommy powers for good, not bad and rein her in…I too find myself thinking, “Am I becoming my parents?” Now that I think about it, my dad had really cool taste in music…
I’m the opposite. I’m finally happy with the current music, but none of what I’m listening to falls in the genre you’ve outlined.
As far as a new album making me dance in the living room. The last CD that we danced to from beginning to end, and then over again, was John Legend’s latest. New sounds and old vibes. I like it.
I don’t think it is time to apply for Medicare yet! I guess it’s a generational thing, because I certainly remember my parents saying the same thing about my music.
There’s not much out there that’s new that I’m enjoying – I was trying to find some fast type stuff for my exercise playlist – I ended up with Ludacris, Beyonce, Dr. Dre, and Ciara. Guess that’s as recent as I can get.
Did you say Ray J?!?
Thanks for you comments Keith, they mean a lot!!!
In regards to your post – hell yea, you’re getting old. Well, me too – but it’s just that this music these days isn’t what music used to be!!!
No, you’re not getting old, b/c that would mean I am, too. Seriously though, it’s just that a lot of what is popular right now is garbage. Um, wait, I think I just sounded like my mother…
You’re not getting old. Your ears are just rebelling against the same 12 songs that corporate driven radio wants to stuff down our throats. There’s some good stuff out there but you have to dig through the crap to get to it.
I’m loving Estelle and Santogold right now and there’s also some good punk-lite inspired alt rock out too. The Bravery and Kaiser Chiefs are in heavy rotation in the house. But none of that gets played on the average “urban” radio station.
Look out AAD, you just might be getting old! It’s alright. I feel the same way. I can not listen to the stuff I hear on popular radio. But then again, a lot of what I think was really good in the 90’s my mother that is was garbage!
But if you want a real clue that you are getting old, then listen to your speech. I am not taking about the way you speak, but what you say. When your start hearing yourself say, “When I was your age…”, bingo! You will officially be old!
Until that happens you are alright, bro.
Unfortunately, yes it does. I have that conversation with our children too. But it is comical when my wife and oldest daughter gets into the debate over today’s music. It is even funnier watching my wife try to recapture some of her old moves when she dances.
I can only imagine when our children get our age what they will call oldies and how they will dance to it.
Now I feel like my grandmother when she would say the same about Hip-Hop (because there is a difference in Hip-Hop and Rap) whenever I was listening to it.
Nope, the music does suck. Simple as that. I am a DJ and a producer, have DJ’ed through various “eras” of dance, urban and hip hop music. The production level now is sub par and is one of the main reasons the music industry is suffering.
I love writing songs and making music, but I rarely listen to the radio. Most of the songs on the radio are stupid. They lack positive content. When I have children they will be mad at me because I refuse to introduce them to the trash on the radio, MTV, and BET! All the songs today talk about is SEX…there is so much more to life than having sex with any and everybody….I’m in my 30’s and I prefer music from the good old days …soul music …neo soul music…beats are great and they make a song, but me give me some music with lyrics that talk about something…….
I am a song writer, but I rarely listen to the radio. The mess they play these days are stupid. Most of the songs are about sex and there is so much more to life than sex!
When I have children they are going to be mad at me, because I refuse to let them listen the trash on the radio, MTV, and BET. We need some of that old school music with content, that soul music! Words are so powerful, but song writers and performers are using the power in a negative way with the trash they say these days! I sound like an old lady myself at this point, but I hate the meaningless music on the radio these days!
My wife and I realized a while back that nearly all of our favorite stuff was from the decade when we were teenagers/early 20’s, and that we were totally okay with that. I’m not too big on most of the popular stuff, so I’m always grateful when I come across something new that I really like.
“My simple question is: Does this mean I?m getting old?” Keith
I ask myself that question a few times a week. And as much as I hate to admit it, the answer is probably yes. Not necessarily old, but definitely more mature.
Every since I turned 30, I cannot handle mindless music. Every now and then, I will find a song that I cann appreciate from a music point of view. But overall, I am frustrated with music in general. Not just Hip Hop, R&B, and Pop. I’m frustrated because in the last 10 years, the musical arts lack style, creativity, and originality.
Peace.
Music these days have to meaning or depth. Well at least rap music. Most of it is horny and greedy. I have people in my family who listens to this crap and they are as shallow as a drop of water. The attitude reflects the music they listen to. They think everyone owes them something, drugs, sex, and money are the only things that matter. People are priding themselves in being thugs or at least want to pretend to be a thug. As the years go on the world seems to be getting outright stupid and shallow. I’m not saying that back in the early 90s and 80s they didn’t sing about sex, drugs, and other such things. It wasn’t the main focus back then. It was more about fun, life, or when it was about women, it wasn’t always about getting in to her panties. Music could be as simple as being about feeling the beat, dancing, and songs. Go figure, huh? There was a lot of songs about songs. “God gave rock & roll to you” was simply about what the title states. “Turn it again” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is about dancing. I don’t understand why people don’t like something with depth or just simply fun songs. Oh well I guess the real joy of music and lyrics may not be realized anymore. Hopefully the next generation will improve things. Right now it’s my generation that have been screwing it up.