Interstitiality

Still Preoccupied with 1985?

My musical tastes are hopelessly pop-cultural. I am not ashamed of this fact. If I have a track within today’s pop music scene, I would say that my tastes are squarely in the “alternative” sphere. My only true dislikes are country and heavy metal.

It is not strange to me that I still listen to popular music, even when I have a teenager (and one who is two years away from being a teen). My parents were like many parents in the 70’s and 80’s. They loved elevator music--Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, etc. I, however, grew up in a generation where punk rock, heavy metal, hip hop, and alternative were born. When I was in high school, listening to music that was different than the music of one’s parents was what one did. I’m not so sure that this is the case anymore. At least, it certainly isn’t the case in our household. Our kids listen, almost exclusively, to the music that we purchase or listen to on the radio; and, here’s what’s weird, they actually think that it’s “cool.” Their friends agree. In fact, one of my teen’s friends had recently asked us for anything in our CD library from the 80’s or 90’s. He wanted to be retro. Retro! I keep waiting for our kids to latch onto something musical that repulses me, that makes me aware of the fact that I’m an aging generation. It hasn’t happened yet.

With our oldest, we are actually feeding him music that expands his musical tastes. He would be happy to listen exclusively to Green Day. He has grown fond, however, of bands like Franz Ferdinand, the Gorillaz, and artists such as Kanye West. Our youngest, on the other hand, takes it upon himself to watch Fuse (a music television channel that actually plays music) so that he can add to the family’s growing IPOD listings. He has good taste. Adam, almost single-handedly, turned our entire family into Linkin Park fans.

So when is the music rebellion going to happen? Maybe it won’t. Maybe there were a couple of generations at the turn of the 20th century that made music their point of self-definition. Maybe my children will find a different way to make their mark. Maybe their generation will decide not to make a mark. Who knows?

Posted by Frank Yamada at January 23, 2006 04:51 PM