For Every Future, There’s A Past | Who Needs Radio?

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Nov 9, 2010 Posted by Lady Byrd in Playlists

For Every Future, There’s A Past

After many broken promises and a HUGE bout of procrastination, I have finally slapped a new coat of paint on this baby, rebuilt the transmission, and gassed it up. Now that it’s all revved up and ready to go, the final question is: Am I ready to get back on the proverbial road of blogging?

Well, the answer is… yes and no.

I miss writing. A LOT. And I miss being as passionate about music as I was when I started this blog in 2006. But I don’t want to be a music critic, and I’m not exactly happy about the current state of music. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m getting older (29 as of last month), or if music has actually been getting worse. This discussion has come up quite often lately with my friends and loved ones, and although the consensus is that quality music is on a steep decline, I have to wonder… is all this nostalgia just a side-effect of growing up?

Every generation has a past generation who doesn’t quite get what the new generation creates. But to my generation’s credit, we tend to have a better understanding and appreciation for both the past and present. Look at the top 5 of anyone my age, and you’re bound to find a song or 3 that their parents and/or grandparents listened to. And it isn’t just because we heard it growing up. Hell, I’ve surprised my parents with some of the things I know, and even taught them a thing or two about their own generation’s music. But I’m at a total loss when I try to comprehend the musical ignorance of today. (I can’t even count how many times at my day job that I’ve seen artists sample some pretty stellar classics, and then they don’t even have a clue of who they’re sampling.) It just feels like the heart and soul of music is fading, and this ass-shaking and gyrating mess that passes for music today is the unfortunate successor.

Christ, that last sentence did sound like an old person ranting, didn’t it? Well, nonetheless, I am getting older and (hopefully) wiser. But that’s not to say that the youth of today are entirely lost, and it doesn’t mean I’ve been rid of my love for music. This blog will continue on in the hopes of reaching both the youthful and jaded, and keeping on for the sake of keeping on. But as I’ve noted here, I really don’t want WNR to start feeling like a job again. So the new format is whatever… whenever. Whether it’s a new musical infatuation, what I’m thinking about, or a looped video of a dude getting whacked in the balls… I’m still here.

LB as JP

LB as JP

So what I’d like to know is, how do you feel? Do you think that the quality of music is in a recession? Are we just getting older and set in our ways? Or do you feel that music is fine in it’s current state? Voice your opinion in the comments, and please enjoy this playlist I’ve put together for you.

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The 6ths – Falling Out Of Love With You

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The Clean – Getting Older

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The Verve – This Is Music

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The Chameleons – Nostalgia

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David Bowie – Changes

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Violent Femmes – American Music

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Dead Kennedys – Take This Job And Shove It

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Tears For Fears – Change

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The Doors – When The Music’s Over

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The Who – Music Must Change

http://thecultureofme.com THE CULTURE OF ME

MISSED U.
Petergarland007

ch ch changes
TolgarNYC

I do think that most of the music that is topping today’s charts is terrible. Bland, forgettable, exchangeable. But on the other hand, in today’s world the music scene has become terribly fragmented. So while it might be harder to find, as long as people make music there will always be some fantastic band or artist that is just waiting to be discovered and loved by you. At least that’s what I live by.

I find it even more tragic when people get older and no longer even try to discover new music at all. It happens all around me. The friends that I grew up with are mostly listening to music from their own youth, and only mix it with the crap their 13-year old children are listening to. Now that’s horrible.

So good to see you back!!
http://twitter.com/myiPodisDying when did I dl this?

Having just turned 30 in August, I totally understand the feeling that we might be turning in to our parents after all. The thing is, I’m always looking for good new music and I don’t think that will change. But I think you’re right, it’s a bit harder to come across right now. While I like a few of the new releases this year, I’m growing wary of all the damned electronic laptop pop. Where the hell is the good rock’n'roll these days?

In the end though I think everything is cyclical. More good music is just around the corner, or so I hope.
Paul POP!

The simple fact is that “kids today,” have no sense of history, no sense of nostalgia, and no desire to investigate the past. Music is no longer prized and adored. Instead it’s churned and disposed of. The art of discovery or the pride/joy of finding something rare has now been replaced by aggregators and zip files. I thank god I’m older and am of the generation that’s smack dab in the middle of two cultural revolutions. I feel bad for kids in their 20′s because they’ve missed a golden age that created all that they take for granted.

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