Confessions of a Boomer

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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:28 What IS a Boomer?
01:41 What IS good music?
05:18 My Lens: Example one
08:34 My Lens: Example two
11:13 Bad Lyrics
13:47 The OTHER music from the 80s
15:40 Being a YouTuber.
16:38 What’s the Point?
18:05 Like What You Like
18:42 Credits
19:04 Conclusion

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[YvesChaput]

I'm a boomer born in '57. And I'm in total agreement with your point, Mike. I do think today's music is rubish but that feeling belongs to me not to the world. Today's music is today's kids music, just as "classic rock" was my music when I was a kid. I do like and listen to other genres of music too. As you get older, you tend to broaden your tastes, you don't identify to only one style of music. When you're a kid, that's your identity, it's part of what makes you part of the gang, your peers. We all have our biases that inform what we like. We have to respect each other and accept that we all like different stuff.

[robwakelin]

All the 80s bands you mention were mainstream and associated with cultural/social movements. A huge factor IMO as to why the bands existed in the first place, they were generally easier to slot into a genre and cultivate a following more quickly. It extended into magazines, clubs, bespoke record shops and the TV programmes on which they appeared. Today, music in the main is divorced from all the above elements. And is rarely experienced in a group setting. Making it easily accessible and disposable of by the individual. I am lucky enough that one of my bands, an originals 60s Psych band, has the services of the current keyboard player of The Selector. Superb musician and top bloke! 🙂

[ShiningHourPop]

I loved The Jam. They were the most important band in Britain and were the soundtrack to my youth. Paul Weller’s solo stuff has been hit or miss for me but his new album 66 is good. There is an amazing amount of great music out there. It’s not usually in the charts though. Only the other day I discovered Soft Launch who are shaping up to be very interesting. The Delines are fabulous, The Lemon Twigs are brilliant, A Girl Called Eddy’s 2 albums are a masterclass in songwriting. Some fella called Mike Enjo released a wonderful song called “Superman”!

[kadiummusic]

HAI is the clue. Human Artistic Intelligence. Stick a few talented musicians in a room with a talented producer all with the same desire to create a great song and magic can happen. There's a million examples to prove it. Stick a DJ and a rapper in a room with the same loops, samples and drum machine as everybody else, restrict them to melodies of less than three notes because the singer can only rap, compress and limit it to hell and see what you as a wise man once said, "it ain't rocket science"! 🙄

[JadeStarr]

Fantastic Video. Love the passion. You know I love this side of you Mike! Thank you for the shout out, great conversation of recent times and friendship!! And not one mention of Mr B LOL

[Kev]

Geez Mike....just when I thought I had the whole music thing figured out you come along and mucker it all up! LOL. Great video. Born in 1959 I grew up to all the great music of the 60s and 70s and for me nothing can compare. I now have 4 grandkids who, when I play the Beatles, look at me like I just fell out of a tree. I think 'Don't you get it? This is the best band EVER! You have to love them!' Are you trying to tell me they don't have to love them just because I do? seems Thanks Mike. Stay well. :)

[daverobertsonandthekisslist]

Great take Mike. I recently listened through the vinyl collection I inherited from my parents, and was reminded there is no shortage of atrocious (to my taste) music across the 20th century. However, I do think there was a sonic purple patch from roughly late 60s to mid 90s – after recording tech got really good, but before the Loudness Wars chopped off so much glorious peak energy.

[JoeyFTL]

I don't think people generally are making the point that no garbage music existed in days past, rather that popular music in particular has never had so few skillful artists and well produced "hits" as it were.

[yrakca]

Thanks for sharing your passion Mike. Very human and current. Love it!

[The-Skyking]

I thought you were gen-x! Thanks for the video and insight. I was the youngest person in my band and the other guys were always suggesting songs and I didn't get them. But now I look back at those songs and reminds me of the band days and while I didn't like the songs then, I like them now.

[abj]

Nice take. Thanks for the Gibran. Along the same train of thought, I like to quote a particular...um...mantra, if you will, from "A Course In Miracles" which asks, "Would you rather be right or would you rather be happy?" Until it's absolutely essential for me to be right (which is rare), I choose happy.

[goodtimejohnny]

I think my lens is a kaleidoscope. I listen to all genres of music. I particularly hone my attention to the drums. Many of the beats translate well in multiple genres. For example my buddy was very excited about punk music and loved the fast drum beats. I pulled out one of my grandma's polka records to a song I knew had the same beat and tempo. He was blown away and confused. Anyways I appreciate it all.

[mikebooth]

I grew up in the 50s and have always loved music. I am a huge Beatles fan but before that there was Elvis and Neil Sedaka. I have moved along with music throughout my life and there is ALWAYS great music. Right now I believe there is more great music than ever before. Pick your era, 70s, 80s, 90s or whatever, and there is new music that is at least as good. But you'll never be able to attach it to your experiences so you may not think so. But it's there now as it ever was through all my 77 years of life.

[garygriffith]

Excellent as always Mike! I have a few years on you (I'm 71) so I come from the era of the "best music"! Ha ha!. I also believe that those of us who are long time experienced musicians and maybe even educated (music theory, etc.) tend to feel that we know everything! In any case, I have finally come to terms with receiving pleasure from friends, family, and fans when they actually remark about a band that I love and that they have come to love as well! I think triteness has also found its adoring listeners and I simply have to accept it and move on!! Again, great video Mike!

[doodaman]

Being a part of the "Baby Boomer" generation that you spoke about, I must agree. A story I thought about was one evening, I was practicing, and my father yelled down the stairs, "...why don't you play, Far, Far, away!" To which I played, "Swanee River" in the style of Jimi Hendrix. My father was definitely not part of the generation who enjoyed music during the late 60's - early 70's, so he was not very appreciative! So yes, absolutely, culture had a large impact on what you enjoy!

[itisflat]

Yup, agree with all that, '63 here so an actual .. got to add that my (now adult) kids do still like some of the music I played (luckily) but some developed a taste for "house" and their own era of music which to this day aren't my favorites :) Grand children too.. they'll have their own tastes and I'm not going to try to force my love for ELO/Supertramp etc on to them 🙂

[wadesummers]

I'm an "old guy" (55) and I think there is plenty of great music out there today to discover. Lots of of not so great music too. And stuff I don't like one bit, but is extremely popular. Love the B-boppa-lu-la clip. Let it be known the Beatles (my all time favorite) covered that tune! My older son (18) has discovered a lot of the music I loved as a kid, and still love - (The Smiths, Velvet Underground to name just two).

[soundmations]

Thank You Mike -
I too have been thinking about this as well for quite some time now.
I have to admit I have always felt “Blessed” to grow up near S.F. in the late 60s to early 70s in what I think were the best days for music-music being played for the love of it! Finally a breakaway from the 50s to being creative and anything goes seemed to rule the scene at the time. I felt a part of it by giving it my full attention and encouragement and the others around me seemed to feel more like brothers and sisters than they do to me now.
I guess I am trying to say …“family.”…For me that was my religion. I felt like the band could feel the love. (Not meant to sound sappy) I also felt like this was artistic license for them. to create more with original ideas! When Yes and Zeppelin and CSN and Janis and countless other world class bands are to town, I had an obligation to myself to go as it was a full sensory experience. OK, now I am rambling here. I think you get my point?
For me, most the bands of today seem to be rehashing ideas thinking they are new. I will get to verse 2 now and be so bored I will skip to the next song. I miss the experimentation! This does not mean it has to be atonal just surprisingly interesting enough to take me along.
Last thought: I stumbled upon listening to Traffics
“Low Spark of High Heel Boys” (which I also saw live in SF just after it’s release.)
I had not heard this in many many years but I was struck of how this simple 4 note riff could unfold into an entire musical journey that never got boring, it’s totally amazing really. I am not sure of it’s length but I think it’s over 7 minutes? Makes me get back to the point of - it’s not about production or tools or gear it’s about getting creative minds together and working out ideas so they are not boring but creative enough to make a mark in history.
Thanks for reading! Michael Santa Rosa CA

[dougkidder]

If we only spent the time finding the good in it (because it's probably there) as opposed to dwelling on the bad of it.

[edzielinski]

Very insightful, and the personal perspective and willingness to accept other points of view is very refreshing. I've watched a slew of videos on this topic recently, which seems to be trending, and have just about reached saturation. I think one of the most interesting and relevant points you bring up is that music is contextual. Your experience of a song and your judgment of a song is a combination of your own background, your stage in life, the events surrounding the first encounter with that song, and all sorts of other stuff. Songs have no meaning without listeners, and what is a performance without an audience? So as soon as you start trying to separate the two, and talking about "objective" features of songs, that's fine, but that's a completely different ballgame, and you're leaving the world of music and art, and venturing into criticism and judgment. That's fine, but when it hinders the ability to appreciate and understand things that are different, novel, challenging, avant-garde, or when it feeds into the desire to be "right" and feel good about yourself, or to protect yourself from uncomfortable experiences, watch out!