if it's too loud, you're too young

It's not enough to say the music of today sucks, it's derivative, soulless... people have been saying that for generations, and it comes across as only one thing: you're old, and cannot let go of the snippet of fun you had between the ages of 16 and 23.

i was curious about The 1975, as i thought it was a good name for a band. Good, not great, but it never ceases to amaze me how little thought is put into a band name. But, that's a topic for another time. Because the lead singer is about to date Taylor Swift, a venture that will wrap up in a matter of months when she has enough material for a new album, i recalled that curiosity. i found a few of their songs on youtube and listened. And i started to go down the path- they're derivative, soulless...and i paused. It's not my thing but that doesn't mean that they're not someone else's thing. There is a 14 year old (or hundreds) out there right now who feel that The 1975 say what they cannot, that the band's music somehow clarifies a part of them that sits as a ball of confusion within them. That is how Pink Floyd were for me, then REM, then a number of bands.

i can't help but chuckle when i see the bumper sticker: i am not old, you're music really does suck. But it's not a manifesto, it's an observation that seeks to assure those of us aging that we had a heart one time, and the world didn't understand that heart, and fuck 'em, we're going to make them see it anyway.

That is what each generation is trying to do, no matter how lame their music is.