I heard once that people tend to stop listening to new music when they were in their early 20s, and that whatever musical taste they had acquired to that point was what they were stuck with. Thank goodness that wasn't the case for me, or my friends and co-workers would be subjected to really wretched heavy metal bands.
Now, I'm actually a little embarrassed about most of the bands I liked when I was younger. My parents still have a copy of The Scarlett Letter that has most of the words to several Motley Crue songs scribbled on the inside. And I remember telling anyone who would listen in high school that I was going to name my first child KK Downing after the lead guitarist in Judas Priest. OK, so Motley Crue is much more embarrassing than Judas Priest, but still.
I'd like to say that my musical taste has gotten more respectable, but I suspect not. I can't name a song in the Top 20 and I wasn't 100% sure who Beyonce was until she married Jay Z. In fact, I'd probably be older than most of the parents if I were to attend a concert for any of my favorite bands. Although if the band members themselves are about my age, does that make it OK? The brothers Leto anyone????
Anyone else have this issue? Please tell me I'm not alone in a teenage wasteland.
3 comments:
Oh, you are totally not alone. Just this weekend, Shane and I were eating breakfast at Cafe Brazil when "We Built This City" started playing in the background. We commented on how truly awful it was, and then I remembered that I once owned that album. He said "yeah, I know, I found it in one of those boxes when we cleaned out the attic!" We shared some laughs at the expense of my youthful teenage musical taste. Yes, I have spent actual dollars on some of the most shamefully bad pop crap out there. I couldn't help it, I was young!
These days I absolutely do not listen to the radio. Ever. Acquiring new music happens only by accident or some iTunes miracle. I'm ok with that because I'm certain that 99% of all current music is at least as bad as Jefferson Starship. Maybe worse.
I grew up in Illinois where the music never changes. Just walk into a grocery store and you'll hear Whitesnake, Tears for Fears, and Air Supply. Those music musings bring back the oppression of growing up in a cornfield with a crazy mother. I'll spare you the details, but I'm sure somebody has written a bad song about a similar experience.
I thought of your blog this morning on the drive to work, when I heard "Ice Ice Baby." What's really sad is that I like that song a lot more now than I did back then. I need a musical intervention.
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