New Music (#5MinuteBlog)

New Music (A 5-minute blog- no edits, nothing fancy, just gut)

I know I am getting old. That is the whole premise behind my writing and my podcast. Midlife. But not much makes me feel older than new music. I don’t like it.

But, why?

This happens to every generation, I suppose. My dad, to my recollection, did not enjoy my childhood music. Beastie Boys, na. Guns N’ Rose, no thanks. Rage Against the Machine, HELL NO.

But there is something about this one, this generation of music. It is bad. There is no heart, there is no soul. I am not speaking for ALL new music, just most of it. My parents lived through perhaps the best generation of music ever. The Beatles. Dylan. Creedence. Jimi. Zeppelin. This list could go on for quite some time.

My generation had some memorable music as well. Rap and/or Hip Hop was brought to the forefront. Rock and Hip Hop joined forces. Dr. Dre. B.I.G. Rage. Beasties. Nirvana. Sublime.

But this new stuff.

I can’t single out one band or act that I would say is carrying the torch for good music. It could just be me getting older, or it could be that this newer music is, in fact, not good. I moved across the country five years ago. Since that time, there is only one new (to me) band that I have started listening to-- Turnpike Troubadours. Other than them, I listen to the same stuff I have been listening to for years. Because it is good. I always wondered what the mark was for when you were getting old.

This could be it.

But what I am wondering is why. Why do we not, hell maybe even refuse to, listen to new music? I am sure there is some good stuff out there, just like there was when my dad, Fred, refused to listen to any of my music.

Maybe I am just upholding a tradition as old as time. Maybe I am just getting old.

-Houston Bailey (@BumpBailey)