I simply can’t believe that there wasn’t payolla in the 1970′s and 1980′s in American radio. Becoming a teen in the late 70′s, I was subjected to the worst kind of music from the rock station in my local area (which was Nashville, TN). They constantly played groups like REO Speedwagon. With the new digital revolution, there seem to be an infinite mix of genres and styles, and they are all available for download. Every style is in the open and there’s lots of great music to listen to. So when it comes to finding new music, why am I so confused?!!
When I asked my 25-year friend what type of music that he liked, he replied “trance”. It took me a while, but I grasped what the genre was–enough to know that I didn’t listen to it much. I moved away from Nashville, and came back in 2005. I found the same radio station, and they were playing the exact same music! Hall & Oates and Van Halen and Rush. They’re all oldies now. I moved to Australia, but no matter how far I travelled, I didn’t escape from my old age. It became quite clear in the pub where they had Karaoke open microphone night. It was in the song book where I found all of the oldies lumped together. Chuck Berry with Pat Benetar, and Elvis.
My family finds Jazz particularly annoying, but I’m not sure why. Ditto for classical. I have only to play a song for about 4 seconds and there is an instant reaction of dislike–a very intense dislike that surprises me. I haven’t tried the blues with them.
I was shocked to find out how much great local music there is in Australia. There’s a whole treasure-chest full of local bands and live music. They say local support has died, and I hope that isn’t the case. I saw a band called the Cruel Sea, which features a guy known as Tex Perkins. Tex has a deep gravelly voice, but he postures and growls a bit like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The rhythm section and base were tight and the melodies were superb. I picked up their greatest hits and listed to it non-stop for about 3 days.
The old saying is: “There’s nothing new under the sun”. It could be that rock-n-roll is becomming a tired genre, and it certainly is true that my tastes have changed. I can still play the beattles and some other less worthy material–yes, I admit I listen to ZZ Top. The point is, there’s so many more better bands out there now. So to all middle-aged guys who may be reading this. I encourage you to throw away those old AC/CD cd’s and go down to the local Alternative Music venue. Give the new stuff a listen. You might be surprised to find out that you like it. By the way, don’t we put off by the fact that you are the oldest guy in there. Just buy yourself a beer, sit back, and get your groove on!
Tags: Music
