We have a local classic rock radio station around these parts that largely plays '70s and '80s music (hard rock, prog rock, arena rock, hair metal, etc.). Over the last five years or so they've been injecting increasingly more '90s rock into their playlist (in particular grunge and early post-grunge like Bush and Live), which is understandable now that early '90s music is steadily approaching 30 years old.

But imagine my surprise a few months back when I suddenly heard this song blaring from my speakers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ui_Q4qBDJY

That's right, a song that saw the peak of it's popularity come during the 2000-01 school year is now being played on classic rock radio! At first, I thought that this might just be an isolated situation, but over the last several weeks I've heard that same station play these other early '00s rock standards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=araU0fZj6oQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4SWFa4s_IQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgT9zGkiLig http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPnK39ax_AM

So, I wonder what all of this means going forward. Is this a phenomenon just related to this one particular radio station, or are we beginning to see some signs of early '00s rock being pushed into the classic realm? It's really hard for me to even fathom post-grunge music from, like, 2001 being considered "classic" at all, but we are inching closer to the Y2K era being 20 years ago, so I guess it kinda makes sense.

I guess maybe they thought 15 years was nostalgia for them. I'm not sure how it works for them.

I consider the Emo and Pop Punk from 2000-2002 classic.

My rock station plays 70s/80s/90s, but they did play Hanging By A Moment one time.

There's a new station that launched in Toronto recently, they play 90s/2000s "throwbacks" like Hollaback Girl. It's terrible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFXJ-FM#93.5_The_Move_.282016-present.29

I consider a lot of music from the early '00s to be classics. The sound of music back then is different from today along with their being different trends in music. And it's been around 15 years since those songs released. But I've always been seen early '00s "throwbacks" or "blasts from the pasts" play on the radio.

I'd say to Millennials and younger, yes. But for Generation X and before, no. In essence, the rock of the Y2K era is likely the Millennial generation's definite sound (at least the first half who were teenagers at the time). Still, "Classic Rock" always tends to go forward sooner than the more gold-based classic hits (Oldies to any Baby Boomers) stations play. For the most part, those classic hits still are mostly '70s/'80s, with a few late '60s/early '90s sprinkled in. This isn't unlike the mid-90s when early '80s were common on classic rock stations, but weren't being played on the classic hits/oldies at the time. Of course, most people associate this era with the later portion of the Nu Metal era along with Pop Punk and early Emo. It won't attract many viewers currently over 40 since by the time this music was popular, they were starting to "age out" of the current scene. Basically, you now have three distinct generations of "Classic Rock", with some overlap between them. Baby Boomer classic rock is basically your '60s/'70s rock, with Arena Rock and Punk being the pivotal overlap between Boomers and Generation X in the late '70s/early '80s. Generation X also includes the New Wave, Hair Metal, Heavy/Death Metal, and Grunge/'90s Alternative. It seems like the overlap between X and Millenials comes sometime in the mid-late 90s. A band like Third Eye Blind is a good example of a band that is liked by both Generation X and Y, while "Classic Rock" or "Throwback Rock" is basically most of the 2000s for the Millenials along with the end of the '90s. That said, rock becomes increasingly alternative and indie as time goes on, so it won't be as generation-defining as it was to the Baby Boomers and to nearly the same degree, Generation X. That's because Millenials grew up with a much more diverse musical landscape, from hip-hop to dance to trance to R&B to video and computer game music. I personally draw the line at the moment at when Nu Metal became popular around 1998, since I feel most of the '90s as being truly old school and vintage, though I'll probably grow to accept the Y2K era. That said, as a teenager during that era, I didn't really appreciate that music when it was current and preffered what my parents and older cousins were enjoying, so its not for everyone. I just don't like the hi-tech effects and raunchiness of 21st century rock compared to the true classics, it all feels cold and soulless with a few exception.

Well, in the mid-1980s, classic rock stations were mostly playing things from the 1960s through the early-1970s.  By the late 1990s, they added all the late 1970s and 1980s rock.  By the mid-2000s, they were playing early-90s rock.

So, if you keep that pattern, then logically they should be adding early-00s music to their format right about now.  But to me it's really f-ing WEIRD.  Meanwhile, most of the 60s music has been relegated to the oldies stations, which is SOOOO wrong.  To me, oldies mean stuff like Glenn Miller, or the Andrews Sisters, or Frank Sinatra.  Maybe Elvis.  I've always thought of the Beatles and The Who as the New Music.

_FawMg0NXpg

Actually, I think what's going on is that the people who decide these things aren't thinking so much about what makes sense artistically, but what makes sense from an advertising revenue point of view.  The advertisers don't really care about the music.  They want to sell a certain product.  They know what demographic group is most likely to buy their product, say elderly black females, or middle aged white males, or white female teenagers.  They then figure out what kind of music their potential customers are mostly likely to listen to, and then put their ads on the appropriate stations.  The radio station management probably shapes their format in part to cater to certain demographic groups in order to make it easier to match themselves up with potential advertisers.

I'd say to Millennials and younger, yes. But for Generation X and before, no. In essence, the rock of the Y2K era is likely the Millennial generation's definite sound (at least the first half who were teenagers at the time). Still, "Classic Rock" always tends to go forward sooner than the more gold-based classic hits (Oldies to any Baby Boomers) stations play. For the most part, those classic hits still are mostly '70s/'80s, with a few late '60s/early '90s sprinkled in. This isn't unlike the mid-90s when early '80s were common on classic hits stations, but weren't being played on the classic hits/oldies at the time. Of course, most people associate this era with the later portion of the Nu Metal era along with Pop Punk and early Emo. It won't attract many viewers currently over 40 since by the time this music was popular, they were starting to "age out" of the current scene. Basically, you now have three distinct generations of "Classic Rock", with some overlap between them. Baby Boomer classic rock is basically your '60s/'70s rock, with Arena Rock and Punk being the pivotal overlap between Boomers and Generation X in the late '70s/early '80s. Generation X also includes the New Wave, Hair Metal, Heavy/Death Metal, and Grunge/'90s Alternative. It seems like the overlap between X and Millenials comes sometime in the mid-late 90s. A band like Third Eye Blind is a good example of a band that is liked by both Generation X and Y, while "Classic Rock" or "Throwback Rock" is basically most of the 2000s for the Millenials along with the end of the '90s.


Arena Rock is totally Baby Boomer in my opinion. Sure, Toto's "Hold the Line" may be a great example of Arena rock, but Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" from 1971 sounds a lot like an Arena Rock record. I actually see that song as a foretaste to that coming genre, which emerged around 1976. I also have to disagree with Punk.

Actually, Punk and New Wave (and heck, maybe even Arena Rock) are totally Generation Jones (b. 1955-1964) in my view. That kind of music was popular in the late '70s/early '80s before being replaced with synthpop and metal in the mid '80s (around 1983/4).

For X/Millennial overlap, I consider it strictly late '90s. I agree with you that Third Eye Blind is perhaps the first band with a fan base of those two generations mixed. However, I don't go any earlier than 1997. Just the year before, in 1996, you had rock artists like Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Tragic Kingdom era No Doubt, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Insomniac era Green Day, 311, and Garbage; those are totally Generation X artists (made by X for X). As a matter of fact, I actually consider 1996 as the last quintessential year of the most important period for Generation X popular culture (1991-1996).

No.

My rock station plays 70s/80s/90s, but they did play Hanging By A Moment one time.

There's a new station that launched in Toronto recently, they play 90s/2000s "throwbacks" like Hollaback Girl. It's terrible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFXJ-FM#93.5_The_Move_.282016-present.29


NNNooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

Arena Rock is totally Baby Boomer in my opinion. Sure, Toto's "Hold the Line" may be a great example of Arena rock, but Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" from 1971 sounds a lot like an Arena Rock record. I actually see that song as a foretaste to that coming genre, which emerged around 1976. I also have to disagree with Punk.

Actually, Punk and New Wave (and heck, maybe even Arena Rock) are totally Generation Jones (b. 1955-1964) in my view. That kind of music was popular in the late '70s/early '80s before being replaced with synthpop and metal in the mid '80s (around 1983/4).


There's definitely some crossover between Boomers and Jonesers when it comes to Arena Rock.

My dad was born in 1964 and, to me, he's the living proof that "Generation Jones" is something distinctly different from Gen X. He was in high school from 1978-82 and he loves all of that cheesy Arena Rock stuff like Boston, REO Speedwagon, .38 Special, Styx, and so on. He also loves hard rock from that era like AC/DC and later Led Zeppelin, as well as early Hair Metal like Motley Crue and Night Ranger, and early New Wave like Blondie and the Talking Heads. When it comes to the later Synthpop stuff you mentioned, or really anything made after 1983 for that matter, he's usually not a fan.

No, classic rock is music from the 70s-80s.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-classic-rock-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/

http://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/hickey-feature-classicrock-41.png

The article was written in 2014, so the definition of classic rock might've pushed slightly forward. 1991 is the last year that registers higher than 1%, mostly Nirvana and U2 as the article explains. The last year that looks significant is 1994. 57% of classic rock comes from 1973-1982.

Nope, it's just dated!!! Y2K era rock is just early millennial ear music I'm tired of the early Yers trying to make themselves feel hella old.
Classic rock is still 60s, 70s, and 80s. Hell I don't even consider grunge to be classic rock... YET.

Nope, it's just dated!!! Y2K era rock is just early millennial ear music I'm tired of the early Yers trying to make themselves feel hella old.
Classic rock is still 60s, 70s, and 80s. Hell I don't even consider grunge to be classic rock... YET.


;D

Nope, it's just dated!!! Y2K era rock is just early millennial ear music I'm tired of the early Yers trying to make themselves feel hella old.
Classic rock is still 60s, 70s, and 80s. Hell I don't even consider grunge to be classic rock... YET.


But grunge and many of the 90s rock are being played by many of the classic rock stations today.

But grunge and many of the 90s rock are being played by many of the classic rock stations today.

The grunge is old but it's NOT 60s, 70s, or 80s old... YET. I'd say probably the next year or two we can DEFINITELY start to consider it classic. But hat's just... HARD to imagine.

Nope, it's just dated!!! Y2K era rock is just early millennial ear music I'm tired of the early Yers trying to make themselves feel hella old.
Classic rock is still 60s, 70s, and 80s. Hell I don't even consider grunge to be classic rock... YET.


I stopped trying to make myself feel older when I turned 16. By the time you start getting close to 30, the last thing you want to do is feel older. ;D

But, anyways, I agree in that I don't see early '00s rock (or even '90s rock for that matter) as "classic" either. It's the stuff I grew up listening to after all, so it's pretty much impossible for me to envision any music post-Nirvana as being old. It's just that I have started to notice an increasing amount of songs from the '90s-early '00s getting played on classic rock radio, so it seems as if some stations are moving in that direction.

I stopped trying to make myself feel older when I turned 16. By the time you start getting close to 30, the last thing you want to do is feel older. ;D

But, anyways, I agree in that I don't see early '00s rock (or even '90s rock for that matter) as "classic" either. It's the stuff I grew up listening to after all, so it's pretty much impossible for me to envision any music post-Nirvana as being old. It's just that I have started to notice an increasing amount of songs from the '90s-early '00s getting played on classic rock radio, so it seems as if some stations are moving in that direction.


Not sure why people always want to make themselves feel older. I don't see how it'd make things better for them. If there is one thing I'd prefer is for things to feel current/modern as I'd wouldn't want the things that I like to be seen as old and outdated (or forgotten).

As for classic rock the last era to have classic rock to me is the 80s. The 60s-80s has classic rock. 90s-10s does not.

I can't wait until Nu Metal becomes the classic rock of choice.

http://www.nyrock.com/img/2000/papa3.jpg

WHEN I SEE HER EYES LOOK INTO MY EYES THEN I REALIZE THAT SHE CAN SHE CAN SEE INSIDE MY HEAD SO I CLOSE MY EYES...

I can't wait until Nu Metal becomes the classic rock of choice.

http://www.nyrock.com/img/2000/papa3.jpg

WHEN I SEE HER EYES LOOK INTO MY EYES THEN I REALIZE THAT SHE CAN SHE CAN SEE INSIDE MY HEAD SO I CLOSE MY EYES...


Gonna have to wait until around the 2020s-2030s for that to happen (if it ever happens).

Gonna have to wait until around the 2020s-2030s for that to happen (if it ever happens).


C'mon, Toon! Why don't we kickstart it to happen a lil' earlier? 8)

People used to confuse me for a Nu Metaller all the time in the ole days. That was traumatizing.

I can't wait until Nu Metal becomes the classic rock of choice.

http://www.nyrock.com/img/2000/papa3.jpg

WHEN I SEE HER EYES LOOK INTO MY EYES THEN I REALIZE THAT SHE CAN SHE CAN SEE INSIDE MY HEAD SO I CLOSE MY EYES...


June 19, 2027 08:43AM ---

Jordan turns on classic radio station to listen to all the greatest early 2000s classic rock hits.

Special
You think you're special
You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me...

June 19, 2027 08:43AM ---

Jordan turns on classic radio station to listen to all the greatest early 2000s classic rock hits.

Special
You think you're special
You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me...

Man that's gonna be sickkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!! :D

June 19, 2027 08:43AM ---

Jordan turns on classic radio station to listen to all the greatest early 2000s classic rock hits.

Special
You think you're special
You do
I can see it in your eyes
I can see it when you laugh at me
Look down on me
You walk around on me...


"Finally, 2000/2001/2002 are being accept for the frosted tip greatness they were."


I was so much an outcast
No one ever liked me cause I wasn't wanted
I was so different from the rest of them all
f*cked up on the drugs, from all the speed
And I never got no sleep
Cause I kept on trippin' over what they said
And everything that my mom said made me mad
And everything that my dad said made me sad

"Finally, 2000/2001/2002 are being accept for the frosted tip greatness they were."


I was so much an outcast
No one ever liked me cause I wasn't wanted
I was so different from the rest of them all
fudgeed up on the drugs, from all the speed
And I never got no sleep
Cause I kept on trippin' over what they said
And everything that my mom said made me mad
And everything that my dad said made me sad


Are you sure this is the future you want?

Are you sure this is the future you want?


Yeah, I would love to relive the early 00's. I've already done the real 00's, now I will do the early 00's:

2000/2001/2002 in a nutshell:

http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/566857389-adema-performing-astoria-london-britain-15-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=9QMziWNtBI6whP66vhs4oWqfLdR%2BC4XSZ%2FBdvoIxY6GM%2BwlXhH%2Fz2LKwrMSKd1FrF1yzHLqY0DDvAPJuAXqZtg%3D%3D

Yo, homie do you listen 2 Nu Metal?

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/200405977-001-teenage-nu-metal-fan-standing-on-his-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=7biWWOM7xKcSCsgIy8cwanpEG37usgNUs8LaRLH9OWggAQr3ehVNc9%2F5GcXTmb0W

"You f*ckin' stupid? Yeah I listen 2 Nu Metal. Papa Roach for life, you dumbass!"

http://weecdn.com/Uploads/2013/3/9/2135/2135_28065.jpg

"homies please relax. We can all chill at my place and frost our tips while we watch Spider-Man."

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/spiderman-films/images/e/e7/Spider-Man_Poster.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121104090100

http://cache2.asset-cache.net/gc/566857389-adema-performing-astoria-london-britain-15-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=9QMziWNtBI6whP66vhs4oWqfLdR%2BC4XSZ%2FBdvoIxY6GM%2BwlXhH%2Fz2LKwrMSKd1FrF1yzHLqY0DDvAPJuAXqZtg%3D%3D

"Yo spiderman is sick. Those rap metal songs on the soundtrack speak to my soul. I remember when my mom didn't give me my allowance and I was so pissed that I had to break stuff!!!!"

http://waytofamous.com/images/pierre-bouvier-03.jpg

"Hey guys!!! Can I come along!? Sum 41 have rap on their CD's so I must be pretty Nu Metal, too!"

http://www.xxlmag.com/files/2010/08/juggalos3.jpg

"Dog you betta stay at tha warped tour becuz only tha tuffest chain wallet carryin' muthaf*ckaz come around here and watch Spider Man!"

As long as you accept that This is How I Beat Shaq will be on the radio as well.

Wait, why does that guy have vines on his hair?!

As long as you accept that This is How I Beat Shaq will be on the radio as well.


But so will What We're All About, Fat Lip, What's My Age Again, She's Anti, Get Back, Holiday (Unwritten Law, not the sh!tty Green Day song), Girl All The Bad Guys Want and Sweetness. That is a good trade-off.


Wait, why does that guy have vines on his hair?!


Yes. It is Nu Metal after all.

Not sure why people always want to make themselves feel older. I don't see how it'd make things better for them. If there is one thing I'd prefer is for things to feel current/modern as I'd wouldn't want the things that I like to be seen as old and outdated (or forgotten).


I think teenagers often want to feel older because it's older people who get to do all of the cool stuff. If you're fifteen, you cant drive without another adult in the car with you, and you're still six years away from being able to go to a bar with your friends. You might feel like a adult personally, but society still views you as a child, and that really sucks.

But, yeah, after a certain age it just starts to get weird. On some pop culture discussion boards, I've actually seen some folks born in the mid '80s (now over 30 years old) fudging their memories of the Reagan administration/late Cold War era so they can be considered part of the X/Y cusp. Now that's pathetic. ;D

No, classic rock is music from the 70s-80s.


Exactly.

It's 2016 and most of the 90s are over 20 years old and we're getting closer to 2020, when the year 1990 will be 30 years old. Most classic rock stations should be playing any type of 90s rock today and have more 90s songs being played in the next few years, making classic rock being mostly 80s/90s by 2020 with a few late 70s leftovers and maybe a few early 00s songs will join them too.

It's 2016 and most of the 90s are over 20 years old and we're getting closer to 2020, when the year 1990 will be 30 years old. Most classic rock stations should be playing any type of 90s rock today and have more 90s songs being played in the next few years, making classic rock being mostly 80s/90s by 2020 with a few late 70s leftovers and maybe a few early 00s songs will join them too.


We already have so many people playing classic rock from the 80s and 90s. People would probably think the 2000s are old enough to be nostalgic enough, and then we'll hear mid 2000s songs on the radio in the near future.

It's 2016 and most of the 90s are over 20 years old and we're getting closer to 2020, when the year 1990 will be 30 years old. Most classic rock stations should be playing any type of 90s rock today and have more 90s songs being played in the next few years, making classic rock being mostly 80s/90s by 2020 with a few late 70s leftovers and maybe a few early 00s songs will join them too.

I don't think it works that way. Classic rock is a genre with a specific type of music that matches the 70s and 80s. Just because a time period gets more nostalgic and music gets older doesn't mean the definition of classic rock changes and it doesn't change what classic rock is. This is specifically about the genre. If you're just talking about music you think is classic then you can choose any period you want.

I don't think it works that way. Classic rock is a genre with a specific type of music that matches the 70s and 80s. Just because a time period gets more nostalgic and music gets older doesn't mean the definition of classic rock changes and it doesn't change what classic rock is. This is specifically about the genre. If you're just talking about music you think is classic then you can choose any period you want.


In Bowling For Soup's "1985" song they ask when did Motley Crue become classic rock, so I'm going to guess that 80s rock wasn't always considered classic rock.

Well, in the mid-1980s, classic rock stations were mostly playing things from the 1960s through the early-1970s.  By the late 1990s, they added all the late 1970s and 1980s rock.  By the mid-2000s, they were playing early-90s rock.

So, if you keep that pattern, then logically they should be adding early-00s music to their format right about now.  But to me it's really f-ing WEIRD.  Meanwhile, most of the 60s music has been relegated to the oldies stations, which is SOOOO wrong.  To me, oldies mean stuff like Glenn Miller, or the Andrews Sisters, or Frank Sinatra.  Maybe Elvis.  I've always thought of the Beatles and The Who as the New Music.

Actually, I think what's going on is that the people who decide these things aren't thinking so much about what makes sense artistically, but what makes sense from an advertising revenue point of view.  The advertisers don't really care about the music.  They want to sell a certain product.  They know what demographic group is most likely to buy their product, say elderly black females, or middle aged white males, or white female teenagers.  They then figure out what kind of music their potential customers are mostly likely to listen to, and then put their ads on the appropriate stations.  The radio station management probably shapes their format in part to cater to certain demographic groups in order to make it easier to match themselves up with potential advertisers.


You should really check out radiodiscussions.com for these topics. Last year, one topic was entitled Classic Rock: Evolve or Die that discusses the future of the genre. A key point is that the '90s and beyond are much more fragmented compared to the '60s-'80s. In that decade, rock formats had divided themselves into regular/mainstream, active, and alternative (later indie) stations. Plus, the share of non-rock listeners increased in addition. Also, the demographics that grew up with those don't appreciate traditional over-the-air radio compared to their older fellows. Regular radio is pretty much an biopoly of Cumulus and Clear Channel, meaning that the playlists will be rather small. 

That said, traditional classic rock will probably last another decade or so due to a large number of Boomers/Joneses still around and with plenty of ads for them such as pharmaceuticals, reverse mortgages, and life insurance. There are a few classic alternative stations around that cater to the '90s/early '00s crowd with an occasional '80s or later '00s track mixed in, but not as many as classic rock due to the smaller audience plus those people being more web-and XM geared. And we're certainly far enough along that a waxing nostalgia market for this is starting to build, targeted at the early part of Millenial generation who are now in their thirties waxing nostalgic for their teenage years. Just look at 15-year class reunions, this makes the perfect soundtrack for them!

In my opinion any rock song or album that is 20 years old is classic rock.