Classic Cruising

While driving to my parents house the other day, I turned on the radio to find out that 105.7 The Point was having another “way back weekend.” The premise of the “way back weekend” is for them to play nothing but songs from the early to mid 90’s and even some songs from the late 80’s – and I love it. I started doing some math (I had to pull over because I needed my fingers AND my toes) and realized that some of these songs are going on 20 years old now. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long but The Point debuted in 1993 and I remember some of the songs being played at the time of their inception as not being new. That’s when it kind of hit me – these songs will soon be “oldies.”

Now, when I say “oldies” I say it with a great deal of respect. There is nothing wrong with oldies and, quite frankly, I think some of the best music ever written was penned in the timeframe now considered “oldies.” I fondly remember driving around with my mother in her maroon Cutlass Sierra listening to the radio wherever we went. If I recall correctly (day and station could be wrong), on Sunday evenings KLOU 103.3 would play oldies from the late 50’s and 60’s. This, along with my mom’s 45’s, was my first exposure to some of the most amazing and fun music ever recorded. It was when I was first introduced to The Beatles, The Turtles, Lovin’ Spoonful, Jim Croce, Dion, Donovan, The Platters, The Coasters, The Drifters, Ricky Nelson, and so on. It was when I discovered that music could be fun and inspirational. Granted, I listened to different stations when I wasn’t in my mom’s car, but I always enjoyed those evenings when they would play the golden oldies.

But here is my problem: I was driving around with my mother in her car in the mid 1980’s listening to music from probably 20-25 years earlier, and they were calling them oldies. Now, as I listen to The Point’s “way back weekend” and I realize that this music is closing in on being 20-25 years old, I wonder what will Ben think? Will he listen to the music of my generation and get the same feelings that I got while listening to the music of my parents’ generation?

I look at all of the classic artists that came out in my parents’ generation and I realize that the star power that came from that timeframe totally demolishes the music from my own. They had The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, CSNY, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Who, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Elvis, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Little Richard, plus those listed two paragraphs prior and numerous others that I’m not listing because it would just take too much time.

Who do I have? Pearl Jam, Madonna, Michael Jackson, REM, and Nirvana? Even if I cheat and go back to the 70’s, there are very few that I can grab: Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, Van Halen (you’re welcome Chris), and Elton John? That’s not a bad lineup, but it really pales in comparison to the quality of music and production that was issued in my parents’ generation.

I feel even worse for my Ben’s kids should he someday (loooong from now) have some. Are his kids going to have to look back at Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers as the musical icons of his generation? I’m not saying that modern music is horrible as there is actually some really good stuff out there, but the shelf life of today’s artists will only last until someone who is slightly better looking or can do it in a more outrageous fashion comes along. Most artists nowadays have two or three albums and then you hear nothing from them anymore. The record companies simply buy a new toy and throw the old artists out with yesterday’s garbage. I know that it has always been that way, but it just seems that the older artists who wrote their own music could veto those decisions because, as long as they were writing the music that the people were buying and that no one else could write, they held a certain amount of power.

This is not a rant against modern music. There is actually quite a lot of good music out there these days that I have hope for. I think Christina Aguilera has an amazing voice and I could be talking about her 20 years from now as being a definitive icon of this generation. Mariah Carey is the precursor to Christina and is already iconic. I hate Nickelback, but they seem to have a following that could push their name into the upper echelon of modern bands. I feel the same way about Dave Matthews. I don’t have to like their music to be able to respect their abilities as performers.

What I guess I’m getting at is this: I used to love driving around with my Mom as she sang along in the front seat to some of the same songs that I still listen to daily courtesy of my iPod. As if on cue, the Silhouettes “Get a Job” just came on. I’m sure that in their time, some of these artists were looked at as flashes in the pan in the same way that I look at some of the artists today. I’m sure that some of the music I love and respect from that time frame had its detractors as well. My only hope is that while I’m driving around with Ben, I give him a proper representation of not only my parents’ generation, but also that I pick out some winners from my own. Hopefully, he’ll latch on to some of that and build a frame of reference of his own as to what music he likes. I know that those trips with Mom were the building blocks of my musical tastes. Thanks mom.

That being said, I should really remove some of the things I have on my iPod. Not sure that I want him listening to Crunk Whitey and thinking that it defines a generation.

Thoughts? Feelings? Omissions? Please let me know as this is a highly debatable topic and I would love to hear your views.

Thanks for reading.