Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Check It Out--Beastie Boys Redux
From my friend professor friend, M., out on the West Coast of the U.S.:
Re: Stale old Beastie Boys. Wait long enough, and they'll become "classic." One of the pleasurable discoveries of my long life is that young people haven't been as stupid as we were, not trusting anyone over thirty -- and have recovered musicians who performed so long ago that we might have scorned them if in the same position (unless they were black and played the blues, or maybe Jimmy Rogers or Bill Monroe).
They're still, especially the younger ones, keenly aware when something is so five minutes ago, but they also listen to whatever strikes them as good music. And they're much more flexible and inclusive when they stake out identity by the music to which they listen. My students who listen to Modest Mouse and Nelly and, I dunno, Diana Krall, also listen to Tony Bennett and Duke Ellington -- and one of them told me that after Johnny Cash died he and some friends stayed up all night listening to Johnny Cash recordings to pay homage (I hope they downloaded the CDs illegally, otherwise this is expansive but with these kids a little pasty).
I do think, however, that the Kingston Trio have disappeared from just about every soundscape in America except my older sister's record collection.
____
Re: Stale old Beastie Boys. Wait long enough, and they'll become "classic." One of the pleasurable discoveries of my long life is that young people haven't been as stupid as we were, not trusting anyone over thirty -- and have recovered musicians who performed so long ago that we might have scorned them if in the same position (unless they were black and played the blues, or maybe Jimmy Rogers or Bill Monroe).
They're still, especially the younger ones, keenly aware when something is so five minutes ago, but they also listen to whatever strikes them as good music. And they're much more flexible and inclusive when they stake out identity by the music to which they listen. My students who listen to Modest Mouse and Nelly and, I dunno, Diana Krall, also listen to Tony Bennett and Duke Ellington -- and one of them told me that after Johnny Cash died he and some friends stayed up all night listening to Johnny Cash recordings to pay homage (I hope they downloaded the CDs illegally, otherwise this is expansive but with these kids a little pasty).
I do think, however, that the Kingston Trio have disappeared from just about every soundscape in America except my older sister's record collection.
____
