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Ageless

Kyle Crockett
I hear all the time that music just isn't good anymore. Even more troubling, I hear it the
most from those who are older than me. This is my most hated form of patronization.
These comments usually precede more remarks about an older generation and obvious
musical names (the first ones their brains can muster) from said generation peppered in.
They come with Sinatra, or Beatles, or Clapton, or Burnside. Their argument is simple
enough: the creative sphere in today's music world is not on par with generations past,
and the young generation is an apathetic audience content with mediocrity.
With the most respect I can summon, I must disagree. I'm one of music's biggest
advocates and most of my musical heroes have come from generations past, so what's the
problem, here? How can I disagree with them if The Band, Miles Davis, Otis Redding,
and Neil Young are all in my Top Five?
Obviously this older generation has a point, right? I'm still not convinced. In my music
library, and in the libraries of many other young people, you'll find not only a wide
collection of music from years past, but also a plethora of equally great music that
belongs to our own generation.
I think the problem with this is the comparison itself. We often place new music into the
context of its influence as well as our own influence, citing a predecessor a new group
has mimicked. I think this constant comparison can detract from the quality of the music
at hand, focusing not on the fantastic new music we hear today, but rather on the proven
legends who shaped it. As far as this is concerned, I'm guilty as sin.
This concern is also my very favorite thing about music. I sit in amazement as I hear
Stevie Wonder's soulful voice in a groundbreaking verse of Frank Ocean's. I'm forced to
smile when I hear Levon Helm's bold percussion driving Wilco through their albums, by
way of Glenn Kotche.
I refuse to accept a charge that my generation is specifically less musically creative than
the last. I think past generations share an advantage of withstanding time, but I believe in
35 years we'll speak about our generation's musicians with the same reverence with
which we honor our musical forefathers now. Music allows for all these heroes to live
eternally; we hear them every day in today's musical torch-bearers. The music we have
today is great and vast, and while quality is harder to find of late, it's worth researching.
Our generation has done extensive research into past musical greats, so perhaps older
generations should follow suit with today's musical sphere before saying anything brash.
Besides, the creative realm we have today is a product of the creative realm we loved
from years past.
I remember watching Apollo 13 with my Dad when I was a kid. Perhaps more
importantly, I also remember that James Brown cover of Jimmy Forrest's classic Night
Train on the soundtrack. Even then, at no more than 8, I adored that song. I watched that
movie, and loved that movie, thanks largely to the dance-happy horns on Brown's cover.
The song remains one of my very favorites. This is what music does; omnipresent and
effervescent, it is incapable of producing a generation absent of creativity. Music is
ageless. It is inherently self-propelling. So many years ago, Night Train resonated with
a child completely unaware of its age, because music has none; it's a world within itself,
a language we all understand.

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