Whenever I hear people say "Ah today sucks, it's all garbage and there's nothing good about it", I get the feeling we're comparing it to the past, instead of taking it on its own terms or comparing it to the still unknown (and possibly worse or even less familar) future. I'm guilty of that myself alot of the time too.

I guess it's a gut reaction, since my "home time" that I'm most comfortable with is the '80s and first half of the '90s.

No matter how cool pop culture could become or how perfect the world might be some years down the road, I'll never be a little kid in another time. I'll never wake up to the world and become aware of my surroundings, go to Elementary school or have carefree fun with my parents and family members, hear my first favorite songs or video games in any other decade. Yet on the same token, I don't want to be so wrapped in my childhood that I don't take in things I like from now either (which I'll probably be missing in 2020). I find myself even missing little mundane experiences which were no big deal as they were going on, and time passing has changed my attitude even on that stuff. Why? Nostalgia and familarity.

Sure, I'll never love 2008 the way I love 1994 or '91 or '85, but there's SOME stuff that appeals to me (besides tech) and I certainly don't across the board hate it.

Not really.

There's things from the past that was horrible and some things today that are good...vise versa

I read this - and of course it isn't decadeology ;)

I miss a lot of things of course, and there are other things that I wish I could forget.

The biggest thing I notice right now is obviously the fact that New Romantic Music has made a drastic comeback.... under a different name of course. EMO. The Son likes all kinds of music, but has taken a favorable step towards EMO - so I sat him down and played him some of The Cure, The Smiths, threw in some Sex Pistols, The Ramones, then finished up with Depeche Mode, New Order and Pet Shop Boys. The entire time he just sat here looking awed! He couldn't believe that the same sounds of today are from yester-year, just re-named.

Of course, he isn't into the EMO movement, per se. He is actually preferring Punk/Emo as opposed to straight up, heart wrenching EMO crap. So now I am thinking that it just might be time to get him a Johnny Rotten cd for Christmas, or something of the like. ;)

I read this - and of course it isn't decadeology ;)

I miss a lot of things of course, and there are other things that I wish I could forget.

The biggest thing I notice right now is obviously the fact that New Romantic Music has made a drastic comeback.... under a different name of course. EMO. The Son likes all kinds of music, but has taken a favorable step towards EMO - so I sat him down and played him some of The Cure, The Smiths, threw in some Sex Pistols, The Ramones, then finished up with Depeche Mode, New Order and Pet Shop Boys. The entire time he just sat here looking awed! He couldn't believe that the same sounds of today are from yester-year, just re-named.

Of course, he isn't into the EMO movement, per se. He is actually preferring Punk/Emo as opposed to straight up, heart wrenching EMO crap. So now I am thinking that it just might be time to get him a Johnny Rotten cd for Christmas, or something of the like. ;)


Thanks. :) I agree, there's good and bad in any time. When I think about it alot of stuff WASN'T that great (i.e. my parents separation in the mid '90s, or relatives dying) and sometimes I wasn't happy, but I guess nostalgia makes me miss everything.

It's amazing how much music that's either popular or still very well liked today (by the youth or people who weren't old enough to rememer it firsthand) is rooted in the early-mid '80s. I guess the only music people rip on is the stuff that isn't connected to any current style, like "We Built this City".

That's cool he likes alot of old-school punk. Yeah, he probably likes pop/punk which just is emo influenced now (but isn't emo technically)

Trust me, in 1987 if you listened to the Cure in podunk America, you were still a weeeeeeirdo!  It was all Bon Jovi all the time!
::)

Actually today does suck and it is full of garbage.  The only thing I truly love in today's times is music not popular in North America (aka Techno and British Rock). 

Musicwise, 99.9% of anything you hear on a radio today is trash and makes me long for the old days

^ I halfway agree. In one way yeah, I tremendously miss the popular radio music from when I was a kid in the '80s and up to '93ish. The rest of the 90s were pretty cool too, so I resent that passing, especially since there doesn't seem to be as much variety now. For instance, I like catchy pop ballads and there don't seem to be many of those now (unless they're really slow and boring like "Chasing Cars"). You also don't see many older singers and bands recharting like there used to be. There's lots of artists I like who probably won't be marketed or given as much of a chance to be mainstream ever again (since it's really youth oriented now), so I agree that sucks a bit.

On the other hand, even if i don't like as much current music in the last several years (since say 2002), I don't think its fair or very open minded to lump every single thing together as crap. Just because there's SOME bad music out there doesn't mean there's not good stuff too, that's just a snobby ignorant attitude. That's not a knock on you personally, but it just seems like alot of people do that, it's a pet peeve of mine. ;)

I think that's what the problem with these types of things are, there's a tendency to compare it to the past, since there's comfort in familarity. It's easy to view it that way, but...what about?

Katy Perry
Fountains of Wayne
Gwen Stefani solo, especially "What You Waiting For" and "Cool"
"Check Your Coat" by Oneal McKnight
The Killers
Pink
Jason Mraz
The Offspring (newer stuff - even if it's kind of been a modernized carbon copy of Americana)
this era's Green Day
Maroon 5
"Breathless" by the Corrs
"Too Late to Apologize" by Timbaland
Rooney
"Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" - Paula Abdul's newest song
Hard Fi
Rihanna
Kelly Clarkson
Jimmy Eat World

You can't say THAT stuff isn't catchy as hell, so there's lots of good music now too. Yet I see what you mean about nostalgia too. So yeah, call me John Kerry on this topic 'cause I agree a little bit with both sides of the argument. ;D

I've been a BIG fan of the Corrs since their break back in the mid 90s, and it's more music like that I wish dominated the charts, but there's so much rap, R&B and alt rock songs that all sound the same and they get played so much, what few good songs there are today get buried

Maroon 5, Five For Fighting and Hellogoodbye are also good, and among the first American groups I've actually enjoyed listening to since the 90s.  I wouldn't say I'm a big fan, but if I happen upon their music, I won't turn it away

Of the current 100 songs that are in the Canadian chart at the moment, I can only maybe see 5 or 6 that I like, which means that only 6% of today's music appeals to me.  Back in the 80s, I could find almost 100%

Actually today does suck and it is full of garbage.  The only thing I truly love in today's times is music not popular in North America (aka Techno and British Rock). 

Musicwise, 99.9% of anything you hear on a radio today is trash and makes me long for the old days


I'm not fond of most of the music that's played today either, there are some bands I do like from this decade, but not alot in general. I definetly long for the 90s to some degree, especially since there are some songs that I don't remember much of lyrically that I really enjoyed... I can't remember their names just because of the lack of known lyrics.