Mary CarreonSo, a certain editor of this blog thinks classic rock is totally bogus, huh?
See also: *Classic Rock Is a Cancer on Our Society
The point of his argument is that folks from our generation need to have their own taste, not be stuck in the past. But one can't deny that the music which emerged from the '60s and '70s was critical to the development of much of the stuff we all like.
Oh, and said classic rock? Yeah, it actually required talent.
Back then, without all of today's technology, it wasn't so easy to cover up the fact that one could not, say, play an instrument. You don't need a degree in music studies or whatever to know that when it comes to pure talent, folks like Hendrix, Van Halen, Bonham and Neil Peart sooooort of have it on lock.
Besides, what use is a big record collection of current stuff if you don't know who influenced all your favorite artists? Without an appreciation like of Jimmy Page and Neil Young, it's hard to really get the full story of Jack White and, say, Woods. Tame Impala's music has a direct influence from Cream and the Beatles, while Gary Clark Jr. credits Jimi Hendrix and Radiohead admits they owe a debt to Pink Floyd.
So are you saying we can enjoy these newer bands, but not the acts who shaped them?
I'm a huge classic rock fan, and I'm still in college. True, I came across many of many favorite acts from Rock Band and Guitar Hero. So what? And don't laugh at my taste — “Black Magic Woman” and “Sweet Home Alabama” are, well, classics.
These songs have “sapped our identity”? Please. If anything, the genre has created a well-rounded generation of people who can appreciate music from every decade. It's also unfair to classify the music of the '60s and '70s as our “parents' music.” Much like classic literature and painting, music doesn't belong to anyone, bra.
Undoubtedly there's tons of great stuff being made today, and there's no reason to expect that to change. So there's no “generational warfare” going on here. Great music, particularly that of the free love era, is about uniting all sorts of people. So c'mon. Get happy.
See also: *Classic Rock Is a Cancer on Our Society
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