I am depressed. And I'm apparently not the only one. Billie Eilish isn't hip to Van Halen, Huey Lewis and the News, and God know how many bands I know well. And just who is this Billie Eilish anyway?
Well...
She and her brother, as they are technically an act like the Carpenters (Remember them?), are the hip new thing at this very moment. And as any intrepid sort, I went to Spotify and checked them out. And? It's good stuff. Of course, her music isn't meant for an old dude like me, but I still recognize good music when I hear it.
So what the diff?
Partly it's the idea that the young, steeped in the weight of rock-pop that has now lasted nearly 70's years, should somehow be conversant with all of its periods and ages. Those of us who grew up in the heyday of rock have been spoiled by its resilience and the deference given the music from our period of rock-pop, so we assume everyone knows it or has been living in a cave.
So... yeah!
To which I say: to the whiners from my day, given that Van Halen first came to prominence in 1978, more than 40 years ago, how many of you can name the top bands from 40 years before that? We're talking the late 30's and early 40's. But of course you're all hip to Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, and the like. But probably not, because only grandpa listened to that stuff and we were, if anything, deeply dismissive of the past.
We were it, baby!
Yet we are now grandpa even if we still hear Van Halen played all over the place. or at least where we listen to stuff. If nothing else, we should revel in the fact that "our" music continues to live on and inspire, even if the exact sources aren't universally known.
It might be dead, as the song laments, but long-lived.
©2019 David William Pearce
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