One of the things that I hold Baby Boomers most responsible for is the idea that popular rock music should be "meaningful" - and meaningful, of course, in the Baby Boomer sense, which means "to stare yearningly at one's navel". Another thing that I hold Boomers responsible for is the idea that the music that one listens to is now part of one's easily purchased identity, since we're all free* of the former bounds of social class and convention now.
* No, we're not.
So just like Rolling Stones-fan Boomers saw themselves as a group apart from Beatles-fan Boomers, I now know people my own age - which is to say, mid-30s - who classify themselves into goofy groups according - in part - to what kinds of music they listen to:
I am a Hot Mom! I listen to Top 30 Pop!
I am a Soulful Mom! I listen to morose, vaguely folky female singers!
I am a Hip Mom! I listen to alternata-stuff!
I am a Country Mom! I listen to country music, although NOT AROUND BECK!
Of course, we're just like our own moms, who listened to Fleetwood Mac and Carly Simon on the car's 8 track player and thought that they were all young and with-it and then we went and made them feel all old by liking The Cure and Depeche Mode. It amuses me to see people trying to ward off the inevitable by assuring themselves that their tastes are so great that their kids will certainly want to listen to THEIR music and not, like, Miley Cyrus. Certainly.
I'm going to be The Grim Ghost of Lameness Present and tell you right now that you probably already DO like old people music, unless you're really into youth culture in a big, creepy way. If you're in your mid-30s, you probably are already listening to stuff that makes ACTUAL young people roll their eyes and if you're not, you're like the oldest guy at the bar. Remember him? The 42 year old hitting on the 19 year olds? NOBODY WANTS TO BE THAT GUY.
This idea that what we listen to has some big significance, that it's part of some important personal identity, would be kind of cute if it wasn't an overall symptom of our cultural yearning towards perpetual adolescence. But teenagers - even 35 year old ones - don't make good parents, and a lot of the messages in a lot of the music that people I know (me included) listen to are not appropriate around young kids. And I'm not talking just about references to sex and drugs (although yes, those too) - I'm talking about the cynical attitudes towards relationships, the nihilistic attitudes towards life, and the oblique references towards suicide and death. I don't want cynical, nihilistic, suicidal, prematurely jaded children, don't want little kids burdened with a shallow veneer of storebought faux sophistication. So I think that part of good parenting is being as careful about music as we are about any other form of media - music is so much a part of our background noise now that it gets an unearned free pass, but it SHOULDN'T.
And I also don't want to create a needless conflict with my future teenagers (THREE YEARS! I WILL HAVE A TEENAGER IN THREE YEARS!), to cause their growing sense of their adolescent identities to clash with their parents, the official and longstanding teenagers in residence. But as long as my identity revolves around a shallow, commercially-driven youth culture, I will inevitably be disenfranchised when my children are old enough to be the actual youth culture. The whole idea of the counter-culture - how our culture is burdened with these Baby Boomer relics! - was that we could create a new culture that was more meaningful than the old one, but that hasn't HAPPENED. Now we all have these shallow dopey ideas about ourselves and everyone thinks they can stay young and people get all whiny when it's suggested that perhaps drug-addicted, hard-faced high school drop-outs shouldn't play a part in your child's childhood, that maybe being a good parent means turning the freaking stereo OFF.
(IMPORTANT! This is not an anti-music post, and I think that it's probably a good thing to expose your kids to different kids of music. This is a post about using music AS AN ADULT as a form of identity, and attempting to impose that identity on our kids.)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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67 comments:
La, la, la, la, I can't hear you because I'm listening to my ultra-cool Soul/Hip mom music so I can stay young forever. It will work, right?
Anyway, although I do pay attention to the meaning behind lyrics, I still feel it's important to vary my child's music experience whether that means stuff I enjoy (Beatles or Death Cab) or stuff I don't (country, heaven forbid).
I grew up listening to varied music (Stones, Chopin, or Neil Diamond) and I think it helped increase my appreciation for the art of music.
Thanks for the food for thought but not for making me feel OLD.
-Abby
My mom listened to Lawrence Welk and Perry Como. I listened to Fleetwood Mac as a tween. As a 43-yr-old mother to a 4-yr-old daughter, I harbour no illusions that I will ever be cool.
Also, music? I used to love it silly but now I crave silence more often than not.
Certainly I wouldn't listen to someone like Eminem around my kids (I don't listen to Eminem on my own). And I won't listen to certain morning programs on the radio when they are in the car, but we listen to the CD's we like around them and the radio is often on when my husband is home. We have widely varying musical tastes and I like the notion of exposing them to all sorts of music.
I do remember singing along to my parent's music as a kid, knowing songs off by heart, but not really assigning any meaning to the lyrics. It wasn't until I splintered off to my own Smiths/Cure/Depeche Mode world as a teenager that I started analyzing the meaning behind the words.
Okay. This is sooooo funny (and embarrassing) because I was just thinking how much I enjoy the fact that my big kid (almost 17) listens to a lot of the same music that his father and I listen to (mostly his father). Of course, my husband and I are listening to music from the 60s and 70s, so I don't know what that means. (The BAND rocks!)
My husband and I had this conversation about lyrics when Colin was in about 5th or 6th grade and he began listening to classic rock. I thought we needed to be careful about the songs he listened to and my husband had an extremely strong opposing point of view. He is a musician and the MUSIC is the thing. At the very least, I did not want my son repeating lyrics that he did not understand.
I lost that battle. With my daughter, it is a little different. Because my husband doesn't consider most of that pop stuff as "real" music. It isn't as much of an offense to his artistic sensibility.
Okay, this is getting ridiculously long and ramble-y. (I DO have a paper to write and I'd rather not.)
Okay. Signing Off. (Good post. Excellent points.)
Ouch! I asked for a rant and now you're ranting at ME!
Well, except that I don't listen to the music I listen to to try and keep young (um, not that even *I* have any illusions about THAT, which you'd have to believe if you ever saw my iTunes song list), but because I like the way it sounds. I have about seven decades of "modern" music and a few centuries of the mostly-wordless stuff that came before that in my rotation. Fortunately, my kids are homeschooled, so their peers aren't going to taunt them for liking Patsy Cline and the Beatles and Gustav Holst better than whatever it is they play at school dances nowadays. (My favorite artist as a preteen, until I was shamed by kids at school out of listening to him for YEARS, was Roger Whittaker. So I am not merely imagining the taunting.)
The kids' innocence thing is definitely something to think about but I think in my case the "damage" is probably already done. I put damage in quotes because while it *is* a little unnerving to hear my 9-year-old singing along with some of the stuff she can sing along with, I grew up singing along with everything from "Misery and Gin" to "Sharp-Dressed Man", and while it may have eroded my childlike innocence a tiny bit, I don't think the overall harm was very great. Like Janet, I don't think I analyzed words much until middle school and Def Leppard.
And I say, Amen. I enjoy a few nostalgic reminders of my music past now and then, but I subject my children to National Public Radio, or the classical music station.
You're probably right, BUT I smile when my 3 yr old sings along with the All American Rejects - Hope it gives you 'ell (the letter L, is what he thinks they are saying). We're a video game family, too, so we've got everyone singing all things Rock Band - sending out an SOS, Roxanne, Dirty Little Secret, something by nine inch nails, Weezer ...
But y'know, even listening to Dr. Laura can be pretty risky ... I say it's good to expose them to lots of music and be there to talk about it. I'll be listening to whatever my kids like, the less appropriate, the louder I'll sing along, thus making it SO not cool.
I hope.
Oh where is my hair brush ...
Since I'm considered Very Cool by my teen students because I love Pink Floyd AND Death Cab...
I, of course, cannot possibly count as one of those people you're talking about.
At all.
I dare you to say otherwise.
This post ROCKS! :)
Seriously, lots of good stuff in here, and lots of thought behind it, obviously. And I totally agree.
I have seen some of what you are referring to first-hand, and YES, it is embarassing, even to me, to see people trying to be at least as cool as their kids. I call it "living vicariously."
It makes everyone uncomfortable. I can't imagine how the kids must feel.
Well, actually, I know how MY kids feel, watching it... they come home and laugh. Not exactly what I'm going for, myself...
In fact, now that I think about it, that behavior in itself BECOMES a dividing line, destroying whatever attempts have been made to erase the years and their differences. Ironic.
Personally, I find it slightly amusing when I hear a suppressed sigh behind me when Fleetwood Mac starts playing in the old mini-van. My husband and I were just saying the other night that we are happy to grow older, thanks, and we welcome the benefits of aging. :)
I loved Depeche Mode!
I wouldn't call myself a "hip" mom (which is kind of an oxymoron, but moving on!). My musical tastes run the gamut from motown, 70's funky stuff, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, right up through the 80's techno and all the way to (gulp) Kanye West, TI Paper Trail and (SORRY) Eminem. However, if I listen to the words too much I feel revolted. I don't listen to any of the latter three when my kids are around ever since a disastrous incident in which my older son, two at the time, informed my mother that he got no money so he couldn't get no ho's. Oops. Bad mommy.
Um, anyway, I agree that really, when you are a grown person, the tunes you like shouldn't really be an integral part of your identity - that's what the teen years are for.
Jennifer - People who try to be cool to teenagers always remind me of this one really embarrassing mom we all knew who drank with us when we were teenagers. We told her she was cool because she bought us beer.
Woman At The Well - You dare me to say otherwise? Well, I don't know you at all, so I probably wouldn't.
Mrs B Roth - I like your loud singing suggestion.
Allysha - I don't know what NPR is like, but we actually have a CBC ban in our house because it gets on some non-child-appropriate topics quite frequently. So strict! We are so strict!
Rachel - I KNOW you're not making up the taunting! I remember being a 10 year old Cat Stevens fan. Oh, the mockery.
Mary-Lue - I think there's a difference betwen censoring a teenager's music and watching what a young child is hearing, really.
Janet - Argh! I'm imagining you at 15, analyzing the lyrics of Depeche Mode. Hahahah.
Mad - Yes, it's funny how we do grow out of that desire to have our ears constantly filled with SOMETHING.
Sweetbabboo - I agree with you. I do think it's important for our kids to have a variety of musical experiences - but I also think that it's important that we pay attention to the message of the media that we allow around our children.
I'm actually sitting here feeling sorry for myself at the moment because all we manage to listen to around here are Mandarin children's CDs. Think Raffi or Veggie Tales, but slightly more grating. I think it's time for me to reclaim the radio.
Nicole - I'm going to point to your 2 year old w/out the money to buy ho's and say SEE? SEEEE!? when people disagree with me. And we have a very similar story, which is what started us on The Path of Austerity.
A Tonggu Momma - We listen to a lot of Raffi and Veggie Tales around here, so I'm wincing in sympathy. Still, reclaiming the radio will probably only last for a few years - kids get opinions before you'd expect.
Music is so much a part of ours girls' lives. From Lion King and The Sound of Music, to Taylor Swift and Cypress Hill (it's a ballet on Sean's FB you must see), Yo Gabba Gabba and the clang of the wind chime as played by Fin with a wooden spoon. Honestly, we're just trying to expose and, as Sean very wickedly says, avoid the pole.
In my 20s, I worked in a night club in Boston. I remember seeing 30 yr olds that would periodically venture in to see a band and I would think "What are they DOING here?!" I thought they were so OLD and pathetic. Here I am at 43 and I listen to anything. If it has good vocals, awesome harmonies and the lyrics aren't just stupidly throwing harsh words around, I'm usually all over it.
Your post sums it all up so well - as usual. I keep warning all my young nieces and nephews to take it easy on us "old" people. Because they'll sneeze and be here.
EVERYTHING cool morphs to dorky with time. EVERYTHING. And amusingly enough, I've been around long enough to watch nostalgia turn DORKY things into cool. Blows my mind how selective memory comes into play. I watch shows on the 70s or 80s and they show all these things that most of us in those decades thought were stupid then and even stupider now. But they are usually paraded in front of the viewer as the defining thing of that decade. And I'm like, "Hmmm...no...my friends and I all laughed at Pet Rocks and Chia Pets when they first came out."
I'm rambling. This post rocks.
Ha! Love this post! And I was recently bemoaning the fact that Ilsa thinks Miley Cyrus' version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" is better than Cyndi Lauper's! Is not! I told her. And I'm right.
No, I don't even try to be cool. Or hip. I know it's a lost cause. I wasn't even cool (or hip) in HIGH school. I'm just quietly and happily amazed that the kids like 80s music. Cuz I like 80s music too. AND I can sing along.
I spent most of my teenage years trying to define myself by my music, and only in my mid-twenties have I started getting over that. I recently repented of all the eye-rolling and gagging I have done at Nickleback when a bunch of people I follow on Twitter ripped Coldplay (one of my favorite bands) up one side and down the other. Then I remembered my favorite phrase from Latin class: De gustibus non disputandem est. (Translation: In matters of taste, there is no argument.)
Anyway, I already listen to lots of NPR, classical and mellow folky stuff that would have made my 15 year old self bored to tears.
ugh so thought I would never get old and conform but alas it has happened as I drift to "old people music".
I vaguely understand the music identification lure, but only in the general sense that is "decade music." For example, it's fun to talk about '80s hits to a group of mid-30s, because it's something we share, loosely, in common.
But the rest of it? I never understood, really.
Stupid baby boomers. (Wouldn't it be fun to do a whole baby boomer bashing post?)
I have a 14 year old daughter. I'm shocked by how much suicide creeps into the music she listens to. We talk about it a lot but she doesn't understand what a negative influence this is on her (she doesn't have a problem with the sex/drug/bad language issues--she stays away from that stuff). It's tough when they have those ear buds tucked in at all times. We shouldn't have bought her an Ipod but when they get older, it is tough tough tough for Santa to come up with any good ideas.
Music has been a huge part of our family life, and it is now part of our children's lives as adults. I absolutely don't listen to music to self-identify. My music is eclectic, and I listen to different artists depending upon my mood at any given time. The music can be anything from classical/church music to alternative to classic rock to 60's tunes. (Never country, I'm afraid.)
I was very careful about exposing my children to bad lyrics, but that was not a problem for me because I've never liked them for myself either, so it wasn't an issue.
I did expose my kids to Cat Stevens, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Neil Young himself, James Taylor, Temptations, etc. etc. They still love all that goodl old 60's stuff.
=)
Are you saying that there are people who listen to music, not because they like it, or because it's good music, but because of the "cool" factor? That's weird.
THANK. YOU.
Well, Beck, I have been known to flip to a different station when certain "news reports" come on and the kids are around. I like to think of myself as strict as well! (My husband calls our movie collection puritan, and I say right on!)
Firstly, being in my thirties is suppose to give me license to be lame. I'm going to enjoy that power to the fullest extent of my elastic waisted jeans and not feel the need to pretend that there is some sort of value to the pop drivel churned out by breathy boy bands and prematurely-sexualized, Disney employees.
Secondly, we really monitor the music the boys listen to. High School Musical? No. Protest songs from the sixties? Yes. Music from other cultures (ie Putumayo dics)? All the time. American Idol? Over my dead body. Jazz? Yes. Classical music? It's on in the background for at least 12 hours a day. And so on...
I'm quite hearing impaired, music to me all sounds basically the same. My itunes consists of stuff my husband likes and stuff my kids like.
So, i never thought of this before, but since my kids are able to actually hear the lyrics I should start to more carefully select what is on the i-tunes when they are around.
Thanks for making me think!
I'll listen to whatever sounds good when the moment and the mood intersect.
That means I know the secret to happiness: Dolly Parton is a great lead-in to the Eels, which leads me to want to listen to Duran Duran. Suddenly, I just gotta hear that Johnny Cash song. I'll conclude the drive to school with Beyonce and the question, "How did I get here?"
Nobody would listen to my radio station.
wow....how timely was this post?! i was sitting with my kids at a stop light this afternoon and had to put our windows up b/c i didn't want them to hear the song blaring from the car next to us. it didn't catch my attention at first - it was all r&b kind of sounding or something - i'm not sure b/c i won't listen to the most current station with the kids in the car, which means i never listen to it. some girl was singing over and over about how she needed a boyfriend, a real boyfriend. then suddenly there was the "n" word! it made me jump! i wasn't expecting it from the whiny female vocalist. and it made me angry. that kind of music desensitizes are kids to so much - hate, violence, drugs, anger, unhealthy relationships, promiscuity, and makes light of words and ideas that are so hurtful and hateful. like it's ok to say those sort of things, but it's not. it's not ok.
I definitely do not use music as a form of identity. I wasn't aware that many people do that?
We don't allow vulgarity or inappropriate media in our home. I do however expose my daughter to a very wide range of various tunes. I think it will help her to appreciate the various artists, styles and art of music in general.
For once a post that makes me feel good about being a music ignoramus!
(I do like music and have a few favorites, but at 37 it feels way too late to actually educate myself on popular music -- there's so MUCH of it.)
so far my wee kids prefer music they can jump to. anything else that we like gets nixed on account of its lack of back-beat.
Isaac hasn't quite blossomed into his own tastes, yet...but I feel it coming any minute. We are not a Disney Channel famiy, so most of his Miley/Jonas Brothers exposure comes via other kids at school.
Most of his hip-hop exposure comes from his father and most of his soulful and or pop exposure comes from me.
I fear to face how un-cool he will prove us to be in very short order, once he hits his stride. Hopefully, we will laugh ourselves through it and age gracefully. I know my boomer parents did not. They pushed back hard against their age -which just about embarrassed me and my sisters to death. At least we lived to tell the tale & learn the lesson.
My coolness factor right now revolves around learning mario cart.
For awhile after my son was born I listened to the same music I'd listened to before he was born, but then he started asking QUESTIONS about the lyrics. And I was all, there are lyrics? Because for me music is just background... Anyway I put away those CDs.
I got an iPod for Christmas and I downloaded a bunch of stuff that I would never listen to around my kids, which has been kind of interesting. My favorite is what I call Female Sexual Empowerment Music. (Lady Gaga.) It's good for doing dishes.
HAH! You are right, I already listen to old people music. And you are also right that I form my identity around listening to A LOT OF types of music. Some call that sophisticated and now I know it is SILLY!
Well my kids are currently trying to pretend they know the lyrics to that Slum Dog Millionaire song Jai-ho, despite the fact that they're sung in Indian. Pretty darn hilarious. No idea on my musical identity--I'm not sure I've ever had one.
I'd also add that the hipster parents I see whose children are wearing ironic message tshirts, or tiny Cure or Blondie shirts need to be reminded that their children are not accessories.
I had a Boring Music Mom who listened to the lamest Christian music station possible. :)
I have no theories on music and parenting, but I do know I'll never be the Hot Mom or the Country Mom. I might have some future Soulful Mom and Hip Mom leanings though.
CDP - I totally agree with you, however, when my firstborn was an infant, my brother gave him a teeny tiny Ramones shirt, and I thought it was so hilarious and cute, and also vaguely inappropriate, that I put it on him every chance I got. Of course, he outgrew it in about three weeks, so I didn't have that many chances. Still! It was funny...
I was a vitim of ABBA. I know, but don't pity me I learned to love them when my own first car had a factory installed 8 track player.
As far as my kids... I'm 6 years away from teenagers... They are STILL listening to their Christmas music.
*sigh*
Now you can pity me. ;-)
Ah, Beck ... I just love this post. Took the words right out of my, uh, mind ;o)
I am so NOT cool and the gray hair almost taking over my head (hey, at least I have lots of hair) will not allow me to have any illusions of youngness. Youth is overrated anyway, yes?
Greetings, Beck!
A am Tracy@unlessthelord's 18-year old son. I love reading your blog and following your tweets. And I commend you on being picky about music. My question is: "What do you enjoy listening to?" It can be hard to find "good" music with good lyrics. I personally enjoy Derek Webb, Jars of Clay, and Disappointed by Candy. They all have some pretty solid lyrics, and are very enjoyable musically as well.
Thanks, Mac!
I like... uh, let's see. I'm listening a lot to Doug Burr, The Welcome Wagon, The Innocence Mission and Wilco these days.
Nice rant. Have you read "The Worst Generation," by Paul Begala? BEST. ANTI-BOOMER RANT. EVER.
http://www.superseventies.com/worstgen.html
Also, it's been interesting picking music as our boys (now 4 & 2) get old enough to pick up lyrics and sing along. We do censor some things, but ultimately my goal is to teach them critical consumption skills-- as you so rightly said, it doesn't get a free pass.
so i think the "our culture's relationship to youth" content here is really interesting. but, um, let's just through out there, right, that dark lyrics are...NOT, NOT, NOT a product of baby boomers, or any contemporary "fall from grace." i listen to a certain amount of very old folky stuff, and have spent my share of time looking at old old old ballad lyrics, and that stuff is DARK. the past? it was violent. it was violent.
which is not to say that we don't need to be careful about media, or that our own moment doesn't have its own particular issues with media saturation. but please. the baby boomers? those sheltered children are the LEAST of our problems.
Oooh! I am going to have to come back and read the comments when I have less stress and more time. Right now, I am cleaning water from my carpet...
Great points. But you still haven't written about how much you love me. Why? Why not? DON'T you love me? Could this be your way of saying, "Tracey, it's not you, it's Me. I just need my space! We should see other blogs!" Is it? IS IT BECK?!?
Yes. I have had a long day. Why do you ask?
I actually listened to my parents' records as a teen. I suppose that explains a lot about me.
Well, there certainly is a LOT of music that kids nowadays listen to and that I can't stand, but there are a lot of songs that I love. I have a music widget on my blog, and the first song varies with my mood. Right now it's "If today was your last day" by Nickelback, and I LOVE it! But a few days ago was this hot Chilean singer who had an awesome band in the 80's and now sings solo. That's my #3 right now. In my list I have music from Argentina (mainly from when I was a teenager), Puerto Rico, Brazil, etc. I have so many different genres, from disco to new age, to reaggeaton, to classic, to the backyardigans. My favorite band of all times is an Argentine group called Soda Stereo. I remember when I was 5 years old my dad got their first CD for his birthday, and I've been in love with their music ever since.
I don't want to live vicariously, but some bands attract all age groups. For instance, my husband and I went to see Coldplay live, and there were people of all ages, from little kids to really old people. I think it all depends on the attitude--if you listen to modern music to look cool, or because you genuinely like it.
There's always music here...mostly Broadway cast recordings and folk stuff like Trout Fishing in America. I need to figure out a name for that particular span of musical taste...which should keep me from doing anything meaningful for a good week.
Thanks Beck!
It would never even occur to me to put my tot in a mini band shirt (see previous comment about my being a music ignoramus) but CDP did remind me I need to dig out the Trogdor onesie for the new baby.
Amen, Beck!
I'm sure some of the music my husband and I listen to and is thoroughly enjoyed by the kids - from Johnny Cash to James Brown, from Abba to Wilco - wouldn't be listened to if the kids would understand the lyrics. They do not speak English - and they basically listen to what we choose to listen to, no ipods or personal stereos here. It is a blessing - my then 5 year old girl once asked us what Johnny Cash was singing about in that song he sings about being a child on a train with his mom's coffin by his side (can't remember the title)...
Sarah, I know that Baby Boomers didn't invent gruesome music! I can think of dozens of gory old folk songs. The olden times = gross.
What I blame the Boomers for is cultural vacancy, and the idea that my identity should be wound up in the music that I listen to - oh, and this idea that striving for youth is somehow both possible and the best goal in life.
When I was 16 I listened to classic rock. Now that I'm 34, I'm kind of digging Beyonce.
I do think I'm still kind of hip, and not in an ironic way. In a, my dad listened to folk, my mom listened to Abba, and I listen to everything kind of way. I was a Grateful Dead show two weeks ago. I might be the only one that thinks I'm hip.
Once, we were flipping through the radio stations on cable, and had a hard time finding anything. Finally, we heard Pearl Jam. Then The Tragically Hip! Then Dave Matthews! Then CCR! Then the station identification came on, and we realized we had been listening to the most AC station Galaxy had to offer.
We are there. It's fine, cuz so is everyone around us.
'...and I listen to everyhting kind of way...'
WTF? Do you have any idea what I was talking about, because I don't.
We solved this dilemma by only listening to old folkie stuff; it was around before I was born (and as my daughter says I am oooollldd). We also have Vivaldi/Mozart/Bach/Beethoven, etc. So now we have a daughter who is tragically out of touch with her contemporaries when it comes to music and none of us care. (She does like Joan Jett's Bad Reputation which I have to admire.)
Music? This geeky mom has been listening to too much NPR lately.
My husband is always trying to broaden the musical horizons of our youth group looking for new Christian music that doesn't suck or blend together. They don't think we're cool exactly because we are obviously ANCIENT but the random rap followed by bubblegum pop mix is so odd that they do ask us what we are listening to (and not only in the WHAT are we listening to way that only a teenager can get away with...)
My parents listened to a lot of Peter, Paul & Mary and Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger when I was growing up. Old people music. Roll my eyes when the tape goes in music.
This Christmas I asked for Arlo & Pete's cd "Precious Friend." I think my mom cried tears of joy.
well, after your post saying this post was something everyone disagrees with I was hoping to find something to get all up in arms about. But no, it's good old sensible Beck, who I just want to hang out with... and maybe listen to old fart music, and maybe not, but please, for the love of all things, NO MILEY CYRUS.
i think i'm the hippest mom because i don't listen to music at all. i listen to TALK RADIO. so cool.
This is why I only let my kids listen to the alterna-Christian station. My husband thinks the music is lame at times, but at least I know they're not getting a bad message from it...
I'll save the identity-creating stuff for when they are out of their childhoods.
Hm, balance, always balance. I love that my parents "imposed" classical music on me and I find it very sad that most of my friends have absolutely no ability to comprehend or appreciate classical music unless it's in a movie soundtrack. But at the same time, I love a whole lot of modern music that my parents would probably hate. Nothing wrong with sharing music you love with your kids, teaching them that just because something is new it's not necessarily good - but nothing wrong with letting them discover the new.
That's not really what you were talking about, though, was it? Hm.
Long story short: a friend's band's bass player fell out of a tree and broke his back (and other bones) and is out of commission at least until Sept. I agreed to fill in.
It's a country band. (heavy sigh)
And all their songs are either about drinking or breaking up (or both).
My daughter (16yrs) is looking at me askance. I know, right?
I knew I was officially old and un-cool when I was with a group of teenagers who were describing Michael W. Smith as "that old guy." Sigh. I REMEMBER when he was new and hot and young and my older sister and all her friends were in love with him.
My eighteen-month old loves Hayley Westenra, Raffi, Michael Buble, and Robin Mark. In that order. And she will dance to Andrea Bocelli, but oddly enough she can't stand Il Divo.
Hip and cool, we are not. But at least we don't have any Miley Cyrus or Jonas Brothers music in the house.
Ha! I listen to show tunes and 80's pop. I was old and outdated a couple decades before my early-late-thirties.
I like Enya even though I think she's very odd. I can't remember a single lyric to a single song, and somehow I think that's why I like her music.....
My musical tastes are so all over the map, if they represented my personality, I'd be Sybil.
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