Studentofthegun
From the Land of White Pine and Moonshine
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Last night I was making supper and listening to music via Spotify. Music is a big part of my existence. I like all different types and I'm also a bit of an audiophile.
Something occurred to me and I wonder if I'm the only person that has arrived at this conclusion. Me and @thrillhill have discussed this many times.
I find myself looking backward more than I used to. That's probably attributable to my age (over 40) and I suspect that is true of most everyone as we get older. But I think there is some hard data that supports the idea that the last 20 years or so have been a bit less interesting from a cultural perspective than any other time in the last century. Let's take music, as just one example. If you choose any decade from the 1940's onward, the music of the given era is pretty distinctive. 50's sock hop, 60's classic rock, 70's rock and disco, 80's, 90's, all have a certain sound. Granted, there is some overlap. Joy Division came out in the 1970's but it's decidedly 80's in terms of genre. And that just proves my point. Genre is usually organized into these decades as well precisely because it is so recognizable.
Most people would say that every generation feels "their" time was the best time. That's probably true of the Boomers, and they have a pretty strong argument in that regard. These days there is one decade that just keeps coming back over and over again. Which could be because of the Gen X crowd being the ones making the movies these days. The 80's was a special time that just can't be recreated. It's cultural significance is undeniable. Even the younger generation is aware of it. Case in point:
Ready Player One was of course based on the novel. But if the 80's hadn't been so significant and nostalgic, I don't think the movie would have been made. How about this one?
And of course, the best example of all...
I mean, look at this screenshot...
If this isn't enough, we have bands that are recreating 80's music.
Midnight City by M83 is a prime example, though a LOT of their music borrows significantly from the 80's sound. Empire of the Sun does as well.
The 1975 is another band that borrows heavily from the 80's. Case in point:
The list goes on...
The Killers
Walk the Moon
St. Lucia
Tame Impala
Washed Out
Chromatics
Desire
Magic City Hippies
Electric Youth
...and on the electronic side of the ledger:
Kavinsky
Timecop 1983
Miami Nights 1984
The 1980's might have been one of the very best decades to grow up in. I've convinced that the 2000's have had a much less distinctive impact on culture and music. An argument could of course be made for other decades. However, when you turn on the radio, whether it's a hair band or synth pop, you know when you're listening to the 80's.
We were very fortunate to be able to enjoy that magical time in history.
Something occurred to me and I wonder if I'm the only person that has arrived at this conclusion. Me and @thrillhill have discussed this many times.
I find myself looking backward more than I used to. That's probably attributable to my age (over 40) and I suspect that is true of most everyone as we get older. But I think there is some hard data that supports the idea that the last 20 years or so have been a bit less interesting from a cultural perspective than any other time in the last century. Let's take music, as just one example. If you choose any decade from the 1940's onward, the music of the given era is pretty distinctive. 50's sock hop, 60's classic rock, 70's rock and disco, 80's, 90's, all have a certain sound. Granted, there is some overlap. Joy Division came out in the 1970's but it's decidedly 80's in terms of genre. And that just proves my point. Genre is usually organized into these decades as well precisely because it is so recognizable.
Most people would say that every generation feels "their" time was the best time. That's probably true of the Boomers, and they have a pretty strong argument in that regard. These days there is one decade that just keeps coming back over and over again. Which could be because of the Gen X crowd being the ones making the movies these days. The 80's was a special time that just can't be recreated. It's cultural significance is undeniable. Even the younger generation is aware of it. Case in point:
Ready Player One was of course based on the novel. But if the 80's hadn't been so significant and nostalgic, I don't think the movie would have been made. How about this one?
And of course, the best example of all...
I mean, look at this screenshot...
If this isn't enough, we have bands that are recreating 80's music.
Midnight City by M83 is a prime example, though a LOT of their music borrows significantly from the 80's sound. Empire of the Sun does as well.
The 1975 is another band that borrows heavily from the 80's. Case in point:
The list goes on...
The Killers
Walk the Moon
St. Lucia
Tame Impala
Washed Out
Chromatics
Desire
Magic City Hippies
Electric Youth
...and on the electronic side of the ledger:
Kavinsky
Timecop 1983
Miami Nights 1984
The 1980's might have been one of the very best decades to grow up in. I've convinced that the 2000's have had a much less distinctive impact on culture and music. An argument could of course be made for other decades. However, when you turn on the radio, whether it's a hair band or synth pop, you know when you're listening to the 80's.
We were very fortunate to be able to enjoy that magical time in history.
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