Hope For the Generations

            

I believe that one of the biggest generation gaps is music. Music is what really sets the younger generation apart from the older generation. Many people over 30 can't stand modern music.

“What is this? Where are the instruments? That's not singing! Turn that crap off,” that is only a few of the things I hear in my household on a regular basis. However, just because they didn't have autotune and dubstep 20 or 30 years ago doesn't mean that they are nothing alike. However, that doesn't mean that all elders are opposed to dubstep and such, I'd say that the majority don't enjoy it. In fact, I'd say that the generations might have more in common that we think.

             Think back to the ‘60s. Without a doubt, the biggest band then, and probably ever, was the Beatles. It's hard to believe that parents hated the Beatles and considered Rock n' Roll the Devil's music. But when you think about it, the majority of music before R n' R was Blues and Jazz. So when Elvis came with his hip gyrating and the Beatles with their long hair, it was a big change. And yet the younger generation accepted them almost violently.

            Nowadays, it's normal for girls to freak out over bands. It's normal for girls to obsess over the member of a band and know everything from their favorite color to whether they wear boxers or briefs. It's common seeing girls camping out for days in order to purchase tickets or to get good seats at a concert. Girls fainting because they saw so and so in person is actually not unheard of. But Justin Bieber and One Direction were not the beginning of this. It wasn't even the earlier boybands like N'Sync or Backstreet Boys. No, the Beatles were really the birth of the fangirl. It's hard to think that women who are in their or ‘50s or ‘60s now screamed and cried until hysterical way back then.

            And yet, even when the Beatles had such a reaction and such a big following, there are kids today who don't even know who the Beatles are. However, there might be hope yet. In this video, there are several kids who both know and love the Beatles.

Even the ones who aren't quite familiar with the band liked at least one of the songs that were played. It makes me happy thinking that Rock n' Roll, and actual bands with real instruments aren't dying out. It also makes me happy to think that not every “old person” hates modern music and not all “kids” hate older music. My dad has plenty of Train, Maroon 5, and Jason Mraz on his iPod. And I know I have about four times as many Beatles songs as One Direction songs on my iPod.