Steve Pavey, 12/02/24: I’ve heard quite a bit lately about Geezer Music and Music That Kids Want To Listen To Today. Here’s my opinion on it, which with $10 will buy you a cuppa coffee! I’m 69, and for my entire life, there have been musical “tribes”. Some people liked Country Western, Bluegrass and Texas Swing – nothin’ else was music. Some folks liked Doo Wop and 50s R&B. Some liked Jazz… or Rock And Roll, Rockabilly or Pop. Some liked British Invasion, others liked California Folk-Rock or Blues. There was soft, psychedelic, hard and Country-Rock, Goth, Death Metal, Black Metal…lots of different genres. I’ve always approached music as either good or not good songs. Music is subjective and there are few, if any, songs that are going to appeal to everyone. But a good song will always have some elements – good internal time signature – whether slow, midtempo or fast – a musical or lyrical motif, or both, that is designed to hook the listener and make them want to hear more. A good song is a good song, regardless of when it was written. Thanks for coming to my Geezer Rant.
Dave Fisher: One of the things about young people: musical “tribes” aren’t really prevalent anymore. They get music on TikTok, on podcasts, and in games. They like music, and they probably have a favorite act or artist… but tend to enjoy music on a song by song basis
Back to Steve: I’m not so sure about that. There’s still a lot of genres. I don’t think ALL young people like Electropop or Rap, R&B, Country or whatever. Some are individual song driven and some are Swifties!
A bigger point that I hadn’t touched on was overall audience reaction to bands, AND the changes I’ve seen over decades.
In the Fifties and Sixties, music was an important part of the youth culture, with radio starting to shift to the younger demographics and sock hops and clubs that were geared specifically for presenting music to kids. The Seventies kicked it into overdrive with concerts and music on TV as the entire focus – such as The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.
MTV changed TV with music videos. Today, more than any other era of music, it’s harder for musicians, even though DAWs are inexpensive and a band can upload a music video to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook easily and potentially reach millions of people.
However, I think technology has been a double edged sword for musicians, in part because music itself has become less important to many people’s experience. There’s literally choice overload today. You can stream not just music content, but podcasts, sports, movies, sitcoms, you name it. And with wages being stagnant for decades while costs have contributed to go up, there’s a lot of disincentive to go out. You may have to pay for parking, pay a cover charge etc. For many people, it’s like Why Bother when I can just invite a few friends over and spend a few hours watching music videos, podcasts and maybe the latest sitcom without worrying about the drunk hitting on you or your significant other.
I miss the days of easier booking and bigger crowds , and being able to play in a local bar or club 5-6 nights a week. Those days are gone.
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