Who Were You? By Dobski

Rock 'n' Roll, Teddy-boys, Hippies, Mods and Rockers, Punk, Hip-Hop, Rave, just some of the globally recognised scenes popular culture has spawned since the birth of recorded music as we know it. Scenes created, nurtured, often by a few, picked up on by the masses, and willfully adopted worldwide. Most members of previous generations can instantly identify, when asked, which of these cults/ movements they associated themselves with as a youth. Even if it was a less popular scene, and probably more likely if it was, it will probably still have a relevance to many these days, and probably still have a hardcore following, who still attend specialised events pertaining to whichever genre they 'belong'.

Yet in twenty, thirty years time, what are any of the kids born since the mid nineties gonna hold dear, and say 'That was ours, we created that, that was our time!' You may disagree, especially if you're young, but I'll present my case. Let's have a look at some of the scenes that have been since say, nineteen ninety. Grunge, brit-pop, Emo, there ... I'm struggling already, there's been fuck all. There has of course been a continuation of cultures established before, (e.g. RnB, Metal, Dance) which have naturally progressed, but nothing new, not created from an embryo, not in the last twenty years that's gonna stand the test of time, not to my knowledge.

Granted there have, and always will be bands for generations, but they are less and less part of an explosion, and more and more it seems, identified with 'their own thing', the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Embrace, Coldplay come to mind. Yet, I would say highly individualised, and would dare to suggest that each would not want to be 'pigeonholed' into a bracket with each other. There maybe 'scenes' that I am unaware of, but wouldn't that strengthen my case?

My kids are all in their late teens, early twenties, and they agree with me. I certainly have influenced them, but I don't sit in their bedroom telling them what to play, I don't even live with them, but they mostly listen to music from twenty years ago, e.g. The Smiths, some 'Modern soul', The Clash, music that people will still be listening to in fifty years time, simply because they stand the test of time.

Maybe that's the problem that the music of today is so disposable, any associated cult/culture doesn't have time to develop and grow, 'attach its limpet to the rock of legend', so to speak.

So what d'yer think? Am I an old fart lagging behind the times, and just like every generation, thinking 'our time' was better than everyone who preceded them? Or have I got a point, what are you gonna tell YOUR grandkids was YOUR time?

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