I noticed this statement recently on the page of a relatively recent BSU student who is involved in music.
It brought to mind a sentiment I see far too often in posts by people my own age (those who are Baby Boomers or close to it). That is the notion that no good music is made any more. Citing great musicians of their (our) own era, they will claim that nothing being performed today is as good. Or in fact, any good.
Today more music is available than ever before, since the music of previous generations is still mostly available in some form, and new music is added daily. Entire new kinds of music are added as well, as are collaborations between generations.
There is no need for cynicism, but it helps to understand how it arises. Music is associated with many of our memories -- especially with good memories of time spent with friends and lovers, especially in our youth.
There is nothing wrong with these good feelings, but we do ourselves -- and people of different ages around us -- a disservice if we allow ourselves to think that our particular generation has a monopoly on good music.
Student Participation
In the comments below, I invite students (or others visiting this blog) to share examples of the kind of comment I am referencing above. A day after this post, I saw a typical one, with a bit of a clever twist.
This appeared on the Facebook page of author Tom Bernstein and had been shared over 1,500 times in the first five days. I bravely clicked on the comments section, and found three interesting kinds of comments. Some objected to the premise, arguing that there is plenty of good music today that the writer was missing. Others expressed agreement -- "you got that right" and so on. And still others simply referenced some of that earlier music, such as that of CSNY.
Current students are also invited to provide links to evidence for (or against) the claim I make above, regarding the psychological importance of the music we enjoy in our youth.
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