Just to start off, I would like to clarify that this has nothing to do with the actual generations. This is a simply discussion on when the music scene was targeted towards certain age cohorts and comparing it with other countries. Also, when I refer to "American Music", I am simply talking about American releases. I'm not talking about songs from other countries which were popular in America, just songs released by American bands/artists. The same applies for the British and Australian sections. Anyway, here is my take on it:

Gen X Cultural Era:

American Music: 1982 -1998
British Music: 1981/82? -1997
Australian Music: 1983 - 1998

American Music:

Although you could pinpoint the launch of MTV in Late 1981 as being the starting point for the Gen X cultural period in American music, I would generally begin it in 1982, as 1981 was still predominantly Gen-Jones targeted music. Although it could be argued that Late 1996 showed the earliest glimpses of Millennial-targeted music, the Gen-X cultural period in music didn't truly end until about Mid 1999. I won't go into it too much, because you've read it heaps of times before.

British Music:

I'm not exactly sure about when the Gen X cultural period started in British music. I know that the cultural '80s started a lot earlier in the UK than it did in the US and Australia, but i'm not sure if that corresponded with Gen X becoming the focal targeted group at that time as well. Even though the cultural '80s started in 1979/1980 in the UK, Gen Jones may have still being the focal point for music. I don't know. #Infinity might know a bit more about it.

As for when it finished, again, it is hard to truly determine. I'd say that it ended roughly around the same time as it did in the US.

Australian Music:

The earliest Gen X influences in Australian music can actually be traced back to 1980, when Icehouse (then known as Flowers) emerged onto the scene. 1981 and 1982 was a transitional period. The Divinyls emerged in 1981 with their breakthrough debut hit, "Boys in Town", while INXS emerged into the mainstream the following year. However, it wasn't until 1983 that Australian music began to truly target Gen X over Gen Jones.

Unlike the US and UK, the Gen X cultural period in Australian music ended pretty quickly. If you go to 38:47 in this video, you'll notice that music was still predominantly targeted towards Gen X. However, in 1999, the Millennials became the complete outright focus in Australian music. There is a massive contrast between the two years. In fact, you could probably even argue that 1999 was more of a "2000s year" in Australian music.

Millennial Cultural Era

American Music: 1999 - 2013
British Music: 1998/99 - 2013
Australian Music: 1999 - 2015

American Music:

Mid-1999 was the point in which American music became completely Millennial-focused, which was at the time when teen-pop and Nu-Metal were at their commercial peaks. I think Millennial-focused music ended in 2013, but from a 2017 point of view, it's still a bit hard to determine when it truly ended.

British Music:

Millennial-targeted music began in British Music around 1998/1999. There's really not too much more to add, except that it would have ended around the same time as it did in the US.

Australian Music:

As I mentioned in the Gen-X paragraph, Millennial-targeted music started right on queue in 1999 and the Gen-X influences disappeared from Australian Music really quickly. The Millennial cultural era in music didn't end until last year, but that's simply because of the unhealthy state the Australian music scene is in at the moment. Ever since the introduction of streaming to the charts, the ARIA chart has simply become over-saturated with American music. In fact, this year marks the first time an Australian song hasn't charted within the Top-10 since over 25 years! It's truly bad at the moment. :(

I didn't add a discussion on when the Baby Boomers targeted-era in music started, because I think it's safe to say that it began approximately in 1963 for American, British and Australian music. I would really love to hear other people's opinions on this, not just on the American music scene, but also in regards to the British and Australian music scenes as well. Ideally, I would like to have a good discussion about a topic like this. :)

Just to start off, I would like to clarify that this has nothing to do with the actual generations. This is a simply discussion on when the music scene was targeted towards certain age cohorts and comparing it with other countries. Also, when I refer to "American Music", I am simply talking about American releases. I'm not talking about songs from other countries which were popular in America, just songs released by American bands/artists. The same applies for the British and Australian sections. Anyway, here is my take on it:

Gen X Cultural Era:

American Music: 1982 -1998
British Music: 1981/82? -1997
Australian Music: 1983 - 1998

American Music:

Although you could pinpoint the launch of MTV in Late 1981 as being the starting point for the Gen X cultural period in American music, I would generally begin it in 1982, as 1981 was still predominantly Gen-Jones targeted music. Although it could be argued that Late 1996 showed the earliest glimpses of Millennial-targeted music, the Gen-X cultural period in music didn't truly end until about Mid 1999. I won't go into it too much, because you've read it heaps of times before.

British Music:

I'm not exactly sure about when the Gen X cultural period started in British music. I know that the cultural '80s started a lot earlier in the UK than it did in the US and Australia, but i'm not sure if that corresponded with Gen X becoming the focal targeted group at that time as well. Even though the cultural '80s started in 1979/1980 in the UK, Gen Jones may have still being the focal point for music. I don't know. #Infinity might know a bit more about it.

As for when it finished, again, it is hard to truly determine. I'd say that it ended roughly around the same time as it did in the US.

Australian Music:

The earliest Gen X influences in Australian music can actually be traced back to 1980, when Icehouse (then known as Flowers) emerged onto the scene. 1981 and 1982 was a transitional period. The Divinyls emerged in 1981 with their breakthrough debut hit, "Boys in Town", while INXS emerged into the mainstream the following year. However, it wasn't until 1983 that Australian music began to truly target Gen X over Gen Jones.

Unlike the US and UK, the Gen X cultural period in Australian music ended pretty quickly. If you go to 38:47 in this video, you'll notice that music was still predominantly targeted towards Gen X. However, in 1999, the Millennials became the complete outright focus in Australian music. There is a massive contrast between the two years. In fact, you could probably even argue that 1999 was more of a "2000s year" in Australian music.

Millennial Cultural Era

American Music: 1999 - 2013
British Music: 1998/99 - 2013
Australian Music: 1999 - 2015

American Music:

Mid-1999 was the point in which American music became completely Millennial-focused, which was at the time when teen-pop and Nu-Metal were at their commercial peaks. I think Millennial-focused music ended in 2013, but from a 2017 point of view, it's still a bit hard to determine when it truly ended.

British Music:

Millennial-targeted music began in British Music around 1998/1999. There's really not too much more to add, except that it would have ended around the same time as it did in the US.

Australian Music:

As I mentioned in the Gen-X paragraph, Millennial-targeted music started right on queue in 1999 and the Gen-X influences disappeared from Australian Music really quickly. The Millennial cultural era in music didn't end until last year, but that's simply because of the unhealthy state the Australian music scene is in at the moment. Ever since the introduction of streaming to the charts, the ARIA chart has simply become over-saturated with American music. In fact, this year marks the first time an Australian song hasn't charted within the Top-10 since over 25 years! It's truly bad at the moment. :(

I didn't add a discussion on when the Baby Boomers targeted-era in music started, because I think it's safe to say that it began approximately in 1963 for American, British and Australian music. I would really love to hear other people's opinions on this, not just on the American music scene, but also in regards to the British and Australian music scenes as well. Ideally, I would like to have a good discussion about a topic like this. :)
Let me guess, you can't sleep? :P

So I guess music right now is Gen Z?

Let me guess, you can't sleep? :P


No, it's actually a topic I was thinking about and I was hoping to hear other people's opinions on it!  :-X

No, it's actually a topic I was thinking about and I was hoping to hear other people's opinions on it!  :-X


I'll get to it soon, I just couldn't attend to it right away because I was at work!

I would probably push the end of Millennial music closer to 2015 or 2016 than 2013.  Songs like "Stressed Out" by Twentyone Pilots are Millennial anthems and aren't typically associated with Gen Z.  Gen Z music is more stuff like Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, Selena Gomez, etc.  Taylor Swift is half and half in my opinion.

No, it's actually a topic I was thinking about and I was hoping to hear other people's opinions on it!  :-X
I just like teasing people when I see they are awake late at night. :P

Greatest Generation 1918-1946
Silent Generation 1945- 1965
Baby Boomers 1964 - 1983
Generation X 1982- 1998
Millenials 1998- 2015
Generation Z 2014-

Baby Boomer Era:

US: 1964 - 1974
UK: 1963 - 1974

Basically, this began with the emergence of the Beatles and lasted until the counterculture fell off and a new generation of bands got huge.

Generation Jones Era:

US: 1975 - 1982
UK: 1975 - 1980

In the United Kingdom, Thatcher became the Prime Minister two years before Regan entered the White House. Not only were classically 80s genres like synthpop and new wave much bigger there sooner than they were in the United States, music videos also caught on sooner. By 1981, most of the huge names in the UK were 80s.

Early Generation X Era:

US: 1983 - 1991
UK: 1981 - 1989

Gen-X music was creeping into mass consciousness in America since 1979, but the success of Michael Jackson's Thriller was what really cemented its dominance over popular culture. By 1983, MTV-fueled bands were all the rage and older artists were changing their styles in order to retain chart relevance. In the UK, things had already gotten much more futuristic by 1981, a year dominated by synthpop and music acts like Duran Duran and The Human League which had not yet cracked the US market.

Late Generation X Era:

US: 1992-1998
UK: 1990-1997

In the United States, the two phrases of Generation X music can be split with the grunge explosion of the early 90s, which occurred simultaneously with rap's evolution into a much more dangerous genre. In the UK, grunge was less of a big deal, but around 1990, the charts were suddenly dominated by madchester and house music, not to mention the Stone Roses got really popular. However, the second half of 1996 thru most of 1997 is a bit odd to categorize because even though mainstream pop very quickly started going more millennial than Gen-X, the Britpop movement was still seen as the dominant rock culture until after the failure of Be Here Now and the success of post-britpop albums like OK Computer and Urban Hymns.

Early Millennial Era:

US: 1999 - 2008
UK: 1996 - 2004

I suppose I see this era in the United States as having really been solidified by Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time," as well as nu-metal, post-post-grunge, and pop punk bands, and although trends technically changed over the course of this period, the general noughties theme purveyed.

Music in the UK worked a little differently, however. The real harbingers of change there were the iconic Spice Girls, who were not only even bigger natively than they were abroad, but remained relevant into the 2000s thru their former members' solo careers, as well. In addition to the Y2K teen pop movement being firmly solidified by the last third of 1996, eurodance got overtaken by more modern electronic dance music, which dominated the late 90s and early 2000s and which was basically established by the turn of 1997. Music acts such as S Club 7, Robbie Williams, Ronan Keating, Steps, Texas, and Radiohead were a huge part of this period in addition to the stuff being imported from the US and mainland Europe.

Late Millennial Era:

US: 2009 - ???
UK: 2005 - ???

Right now, I still don't have a firm grasp of what explicitly distinguishes early Generation Z music from late millennial music. There's not yet really a "face" of Generation Z music in the same way the Beatles solidified Boomer music or Britney Spears solidified early Millennial music.

That said, I do have a general sense of where the Millennial era is divided between the US and the UK, respectively. In the United States, Lady Gaga and electropop's breakthrough in 2009 were really important because they signified the decline of 2000s culture in music, with former rock and r&b musicians now changing genres in order to keep up with the trends. The change wasn't yet totally complete in 2009, but there was definitely a new zeitgeist evident by that time. Also, the thug image that dominated rap got overtaken by more the likes of Kanye West and Drake during the late 2000s.

I've defined this era quite differently in the UK because the debut of The X Factor in the last third of 2004 was a critical turning point for music culture there, not to mention hipster rock got a firm new lease on life with the breakthru of the Arctic Monkeys in late 2005 (hipster culture in general was a big thing much sooner in the UK than in the United States). While American Idol was a television phenomenon in the United States, The X Factor is such a huge deal in the UK that it has literally influenced the whole music industry there, having produced several of the nation's leading music acts, such as Leona Lewis, One Direction, Little Mix, and James Arthur. The show is declining in viewership in recent years, but in general, it was a far more important development than Lady Gaga was, considering electronic dance music was already mainstream prior to her commercial breakthru.

Thanks for the response #Infinity. :) I'll respond back to your post properly tomorrow, as it's 11:30pm here and I need to go to bed soon.


I've defined this era quite differently in the UK because the debut of The X Factor in the last third of 2004 was a critical turning point for music culture there, not to mention hipster rock got a firm new lease on life with the breakthru of the Arctic Monkeys in late 2005 (hipster culture in general was a big thing much sooner in the UK than in the United States).


Generally speaking, the United States was the only western country in which indie-rock wasn't a dominant mainstream force throughout the Mid-Late 2000s. The indie scene was massive in Australia, even more so than it was in the UK at the time. It was also quite popular in New Zealand at the time as well, although not to the same extent.

I know this is entirely subjective, but speaking of the era in question, I personally believe that the Mid-Late 2000s were a much better time in British and Australian music than it was for American music. I think America became too caught up in over-commercialised pop and hip-hop songs. Meanwhile, there were some genuinely great songs that came out of the UK and Australia at that time.


I would probably push the end of Millennial music closer to 2015 or 2016 than 2013.  Songs like "Stressed Out" by Twentyone Pilots are Millennial anthems and aren't typically associated with Gen Z.  Gen Z music is more stuff like Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, Selena Gomez, etc.  Taylor Swift is half and half in my opinion.


I tend to agree actually. The main reason for me originally marking 2014 as the starting point for Gen Z music, is because it was around the time Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande became popular and I remember there was actually a change in the cultural vibe as well. However, in retrospect, mainstream music at the time was still mostly targeted towards Millennials.


I just like teasing people when I see they are awake late at night. :P


Haha, fair enough. I'm guilty of going to bed really late, to be honest. :P

Thanks for the response #Infinity. :) I'll respond back to your post properly tomorrow, as it's 11:30pm here and I need to go to bed soon.

No problem, I look forward to hearing what more you have to say!

Generally speaking, the United States was the only western country in which indie-rock wasn't a dominant mainstream force throughout the Mid-Late 2000s. The indie scene was massive in Australia, even more so than it was in the UK at the time. It was also quite popular in New Zealand at the time as well, although not to the same extent.

I did tend to hear indie rock constantly growing up, but that could be a result of my social background. A good chunk of my classmates at my private high school listened to indie rock and were not unfamiliar with stuff like "Young Folks," "New Shoes," or "Is It Any Wonder?".

I think it's likely that indie rock's chart success in America suffers due to redneck and working class masses not identifying with it at all, whereas the shoddy pop hip hop did find more of a way in. Even in the rural Deep South, 2000s hip hop was obviously huge with white audiences because of the emergence of bro-country in the 2010s.

I know this is entirely subjective, but speaking of the era in question, I personally believe that the Mid-Late 2000s were a much better time in British and Australian music than it was for American music. I think America became too caught up in over-commercialised pop and hip-hop songs. Meanwhile, there were some genuinely great songs that came out of the UK and Australia at that time.

The "over-commercialized" pop was way better in Britain and other countries, too. While Channel 933 (93.3 FM) force fed me abominable snap music like "Lean wit It, Rock wit It," "Chain Hang Low," and "This Is Why I'm Hot," in addition to other atrocities like "Grillz," "Grind with Me," and "Bossy," the UK was treated to a goldmine of pop classics by Rachel Stevens, Girls Aloud, Mika, Take That (though like comeback-era Backstreet Boys, they were a pop rock band in the late 2000s), Robyn, Sugababes, and many others who I would have traded the bad exclusively American stuff in for immediately. Pop music in the UK and other parts of Britain at the time had not lost any of its former dignity the way so much American pop, even much of the stuff that made it overseas, i.e. "My Humps," "When I Grow Up," "Wind It Up," had.

Despite being an avid fan of Now That's What I Call Music! since 2002, I quit following the Top 40 in 7th grade (2005-2006) because I had lost so much faith and was so pissed all the good stuff was being left in Europe. Had I grown up in the UK, there's no way I would have been driven away from the pop charts in the same way, and it's likely I would have even been much more in-tune with mainstream culture in general throughout the rest of middle school and early high school, as opposed to being completely and utterly driven away to obscure stuff I could only discuss on Internet forums, not with classmates.

I tend to agree actually. The main reason for me originally marking 2014 as the starting point for Gen Z music, is because it was around the time Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande became popular and I remember there was actually a change in the cultural vibe as well. However, in retrospect, mainstream music at the time was still mostly targeted towards Millennials.

Right now, most everyday people are still referring to current stuff as millennial culture, which to me suggests Gen Z culture has not yet developed a solid enough identity for artists like Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande to have any solid classification. They could just as easily be cusp artists for all I know.

Baby Boomer Era:

US: 1964 - 1974
UK: 1963 - 1974

Basically, this began with the emergence of the Beatles and lasted until the counterculture fell off and a new generation of bands got huge.


I agree. 1975 is a good candidate for the starting point of Gen Jones-targeted music, due to the emergence of the Bay City Rollers, Kiss & KC and the Sunshine Band, Queen popularising the music video with the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Disco becoming a major cultural force. However, i'm sure plenty of Baby Boomers were still able to enjoy plenty of the releases of the time as well.

Early Generation X Era:

US: 1983 - 1991
UK: 1981 - 1989

Gen-X music was creeping into mass consciousness in America since 1979, but the success of Michael Jackson's Thriller was what really cemented its dominance over popular culture. By 1983, MTV-fueled bands were all the rage and older artists were changing their styles in order to retain chart relevance. In the UK, things had already gotten much more futuristic by 1981, a year dominated by synthpop and music acts like Duran Duran and The Human League which had not yet cracked the US market.

Even though the vast majority of the releases during this era were targeted at Gen-X, I believe there was still a residual Baby Boomer/Gen Jones influence throughout most of the '80s. I actually think you could make a case for 1983-1985 being a Gen Jones/Gen-X hybrid period and the Live Aid concert of 1985 as being the closing chapter for Gen-Jones music. 1986 seems like more of a starting point for Gen X music, IMO, due to the emergence of bands such as Run-DMC and Pet Shop Boys in the mainstream, as well as the growing popularity of hair-metal. I know a lot of people use the date of MTV's launch as the starting point of Gen X culture, however i'm not entirely convinced. It doesn't make sense that the Gen Jones era in music would have only spanned for 7-8 years at the most.

I agree with your other boundaries for the cultural eras in music. I do believe we are currently in Early Gen-Z targeted music, however, as you pointed out, it's hard to really pinpoint who the defining artists/bands are at this stage. That being said, I think it is possible to name a few possible future characteristics of Early Gen-Z music. 2017 has seen the greater return of rock in the mainstream, through the releases of singles such as "Sign of the Times", "Malibu", "Believer" and "Feel it Still". I've also noticed that a lot of the pop releases this year have been less-electronic influenced and more piano-driven.

Right now, most everyday people are still referring to current stuff as millennial culture

I'm not really sure if everyday people are a good indication of the current state of pop culture, to be honest. I know there hasn't been a complete change in pop culture yet, but to everyday people, anyone who was born/young in 20xx and everything that was released in 20xx equates to "Millennial". It probably won't be until at least 2024 or 2025 when the general public finally realise that the term "Millennial" can't be applied to everything.

The "over-commercialized" pop was way better in Britain and other countries, too. While Channel 933 (93.3 FM) force fed me abominable snap music like "Lean wit It, Rock wit It," "Chain Hang Low," and "This Is Why I'm Hot," in addition to other atrocities like "Grillz," "Grind with Me," and "Bossy," the UK was treated to a goldmine of pop classics by Rachel Stevens, Girls Aloud, Mika, Take That (though like comeback-era Backstreet Boys, they were a pop rock band in the late 2000s), Robyn, Sugababes, and many others who I would have traded the bad exclusively American stuff in for immediately. Pop music in the UK and other parts of Britain at the time had not lost any of its former dignity the way so much American pop, even much of the stuff that made it overseas, i.e. "My Humps," "When I Grow Up," "Wind It Up," had.

Despite being an avid fan of Now That's What I Call Music! since 2002, I quit following the Top 40 in 7th grade (2005-2006) because I had lost so much faith and was so pissed all the good stuff was being left in Europe. Had I grown up in the UK, there's no way I would have been driven away from the pop charts in the same way, and it's likely I would have even been much more in-tune with mainstream culture in general throughout the rest of middle school and early high school, as opposed to being completely and utterly driven away to obscure stuff I could only discuss on Internet forums, not with classmates.

Yeah, I could only imagine what it must have been like. Of course, we had the exact same songs on our airwaves as well, but at least there was also British and Australian music to mix it up a little bit. It must have been horrible! :( I hated a lot of the songs which were released at the time as well. I used to listen to my parents music more than the radio, because it just generally wasn't any good. Also, the city I live in is literally the "Top-40" capital of Australia. We have two commercial stations, but they only play new music with the odd '80s or '90s song thrown in. You can also receive Sydney stations from here too, but I wasn't aware of that at the time, so I didn't know any better.

I really don't understand why America generally isn't as accepting of songs from overseas. I've actually listened to a few American radio stations before (thanks to livestreaming :P) and I can't believe how lopsided the majority of the playlists are. It's America and America only.

I agree. 1975 is a good candidate for the starting point of Gen Jones-targeted music, due to the emergence of the Bay City Rollers, Kiss & KC and the Sunshine Band, Queen popularising the music video with the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Disco becoming a major cultural force. However, i'm sure plenty of Baby Boomers were still able to enjoy plenty of the releases of the time as well.

As is the case for any trend, really. It's not like everybody from one generation thinks the music targeted to the subsequent generation is utter garbage.

Sometimes, it just depends on your age. You could just as easily have had somebody from the high school class of 1976, who entered middle school at the height of the counterculture movement, right after Woodstock, and graduated high school when it was all about disco and rock bands primarily popular during the second half of the 70s and beginning of the 80s. There's no reason they couldn't have felt attuned to both.

Even though the vast majority of the releases during this era were targeted at Gen-X, I believe there was still a residual Baby Boomer/Gen Jones influence throughout most of the '80s. I actually think you could make a case for 1983-1985 being a Gen Jones/Gen-X hybrid period and the Live Aid concert of 1985 as being the closing chapter for Gen-Jones music. 1986 seems like more of a starting point for Gen X music, IMO, due to the emergence of bands such as Run-DMC and Pet Shop Boys in the mainstream, as well as the growing popularity of hair-metal. I know a lot of people use the date of MTV's launch as the starting point of Gen X culture, however i'm not entirely convinced. It doesn't make sense that the Gen Jones era in music would have only spanned for 7-8 years at the most.

Actually, the thing about Generation Jones is that it's not technically a full generation, but rather a cultural description for the latter half of the Baby Boomer Generation. People from Generation Jones did not typically grow up really embracing 60s counterculture and instead had their adolescence during a period that the impact of the 60s had comfortably integrated itself into the mainstream and the only real counterculture of the day was the first wave of punk, which would similarly influence more mainstream culture by the 1980s.

That said, I may sort of agree with you that the mid-1980s had somewhat of a residual Gen Jones feel to their music, just because some of the biggest artists of the late 70s were still achieving commercial success at the time. However I still don't think it was dominant at all, since the overwhelming majority of Gen Jones icons had changed their musical style to tailor more to the MTV Generation. If anything, the stuff from the mid-80s that you're thinking of as Gen-Jones could have simply been more targeted towards older audiences, in the same way adult alternative and adult contemporary were targeted towards, well, adults in the 90s, not teenagers.

My dad is a quintessential member of Generation Jones. He was born in 1960, and despite being politically progressive, he was never really a hippie type at all. He got particularly hooked on music on his 15th birthday in 1975, and all of his favourite bands and albums seemed to be ones that peaked during the mid-to-late 1970s, with maybe a few from the very start of the 1980s. His music collection contains records from Buckingam/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen (he's way more into his early stuff than Born in the U.S.A.), Dire Straits, Billy Joel, and others whose creative peak was mostly around the time he was in high school. He never got into MTV new wave or hard rock, which got huge in the 1980s, however he was a fan of some of the older-targeted musicians from the 80s and 90s like John Mellencamp and the Dave Matthews Band.

I agree with your other boundaries for the cultural eras in music. I do believe we are currently in Early Gen-Z targeted music, however, as you pointed out, it's hard to really pinpoint who the defining artists/bands are at this stage. That being said, I think it is possible to name a few possible future characteristics of Early Gen-Z music. 2017 has seen the greater return of rock in the mainstream, through the releases of singles such as "Sign of the Times", "Malibu", "Believer" and "Feel it Still". I've also noticed that a lot of the pop releases this year have been less-electronic influenced and more piano-driven.

I'm not sure if there's really any significant difference. Most of the really popular stuff is still trap and EDM. There was already a decent handful of big "rock" or piano-driven hits in the mid-2010s like "Take Me to Church," "All of Me," "7 Years," and anything by Adele. Harry Styles' new album got forgotten super quickly, while Zayn and Liam Payne are still dominating the charts. I'm actually kind of weary of all these "rock is gonna make a comeback" posts being made on this thread because it seems like there's just not enough of a cultural foundation for it to really rise above the status of partial influence to occasional hit song. Electronic, synthesized instruments are really the wave of the future, even with pseudo-rock bands like twenty one pilots and Imagine Dragons.

I'm not really sure if everyday people are a good indication of the current state of pop culture, to be honest. I know there hasn't been a complete change in pop culture yet, but to everyday people, anyone who was born/young in 20xx and everything that was released in 20xx equates to "Millennial". It probably won't be until at least 2024 or 2025 when the general public finally realise that the term "Millennial" can't be applied to everything.

I think it's possible we're in the Gen-Z era of music right now, but again, it's not at all crystal clear yet. The mere fact that everything current still attains the same millennial label that Y2K era culture got suggests that Generation Z has not yet distinguished itself from late millennials, or at least not enough.

Yeah, I could only imagine what it must have been like. Of course, we had the exact same songs on our airwaves as well, but at least there was also British and Australian music to mix it up a little bit. It must have been horrible! :( I hated a lot of the songs which were released at the time as well. I used to listen to my parents music more than the radio, because it just generally wasn't any good. Also, the city I live in is literally the "Top-40" capital of Australia. We have two commercial stations, but they only play new music with the odd '80s or '90s song thrown in. You can also receive Sydney stations from here too, but I wasn't aware of that at the time, so I didn't know any better.

I really don't understand why America generally isn't as accepting of songs from overseas. I've actually listened to a few American radio stations before (thanks to livestreaming :P) and I can't believe how lopsided the majority of the playlists are. It's America and America only.


American exceptionalism, as they say. It's too bad a country that prides itself on multiculturalism is so averse to foreign stars making it big, hence why a figure as internationally gigantic as Robbie Williams is pretty much a nobody out here.

In all fairness, a lot of music popular in America has tended to struggle abroad. The biggest examples would be contemporary r&b and country, which have both had massive followings in the United States but only limited crossover appeal abroad.