Music has changed tremendously over the generations. One thing that has always remained the same for me is the escape. As it does for many others, music allows me to shut out the world and drown myself in the sound. In the past few years, the lyrics and instruments that are used to help me in my getaway aren't nearly what they used to be. Good, old fashion, hands-on keys and strumming acoustics often aren't found on Billboard's Top 100 or iTunes charts.
The talent and hard work that used to be put into a song is typically replaced with synthesizers and various machinery to help capture a "catchy" beat. Lyrics of love, dreams, life struggles and hope are now replaced with "slizzerd" and "glitter on the floor." (What is a G6 anyways? Car or airplane?) Or when musicians can't come up with any new words at all, they can always take the Black Eyed Peas route, as they attempted Dirty Dancing's 1987, "Time of my Life." All of the creative effort, as used by previous muscians, is being thrown away just to earn a quick five minutes of fame. Will Ke$ha and Beiber be remembered by the next generation? Why not really appreciate the artists that have been around 20+ years, like Paul Simon, Neil Young and even more recent aristists such as Jay Z?
In the December issue of Rolling Stones, an article on the Beatles being released to iTunes caught my eye. As a little girl, I can remember my dad playing Elanor Rigby throughout the house. The happy, acoustic melodies often had me dancing at a young age. As I got older, I learned to relate with the lyrics as well. The Beatles being sold on iTunes is a huge accomplishment in letting their music live on. As soon as their discography was launched, the White Album and Abbey Road shot into the top 20. After seeing that, it is a little surprising reading that the Beatles sold more records this year, than any other artist, except Eminem.
At the end of the article, a question is raised as to if the Beatles might have entered the digital world too late. When the article mentioned other classics, it stated, "there will always be new generations that haven't heard the music." But my question is: will they appreciate it?
I really agree on that wording when you said do we not have more words to come up with besides slippin sizzurp. It is making this generation sound like we are illiterate. Old music isn't my style but if it came on the radio I would really appreciate it maybe dance to it also. This was very convincing and I liked it.
ReplyDeleteBethany,I enjoyed reading your blog. You had many good point in there about music and how it may not be appreciated in the upcoming generations. My favorite line is "Or when musicians can't come up with any new words at all, they can always take the Black Eyed Peas route, as they attempted Dirty Dancing's 1987, "Time of my Life." That is very true, they just need to keep their career up and moving. I and my dad used to listen to this one song when i was little called the 'chicken train' that is still one of my favorite songs today. Good job on this blog, can't wait to read your others!
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