maumann
Well-Known Member
I think about this sort of juxtaposition every now and again....when you look at a list of music from (in this instance) 50 years ago and you realize many of these songs still get airplay and/or appear in the zeitgeist, does it mean pop culture has actually slowed down its development, because in 1970 was any music from 1920 being played on the radio or found in pop culture? I don't think so.
I've had those same thoughts. For example, the time span between the 1927 Yankees and the 1968 Tigers is shorter than from the 1968 Tigers to now. So I'm now my grandfather, blathering on about the Swingin' A's or seeing Hank Aaron's 715th on TV.
The reality is probably more that there are still so many of us Boomers out there. We've influenced all aspects of society for the past 60 years, and popular music is definitely a key touchstone of all our shared experiences. No matter where in the country we lived or the demographics, chances were good that we heard and purchased the same hit songs in San Francisco, Detroit, Miami and parts unknown.
I find I have more shared experiences -- same music, same clothes, same yearbooks, same proms -- with someone from North Carolina or New Hampshire who graduated from high school in 1976 than I do with my sister who is 10 years younger than me.
Even into the 1980s, with the rise of MTV, Night Tracks, New Wave and the Second British Invasion, I'd say that was still the case. After that, music (and radio formats) fractured into sub-genres that rarely crossed over. Popular music is still popular to the current generation but it has less influence because radio no longer is the only avenue for music listening.