I really like OK Computer, and Kid A, but so does everyone. I have quite a few lives shows of theirs, and … I like the OK Computer and Kid A stuff. I try, but… I guess I’m just too white. It’s like liking CSI, LOST or any other piece of shit mind leech show (unlike the shows I like)….
I guess I have to admit defeat. I always want to appear current w/ the stupid noise the kids call “music” these days, but… I hate it. I like what I like, and getting me to give something new a try is like blowing up the Death Star. You need skill, grace, and the help of the enlightened dead.
I’m totally sympathetic–my friend lent me a copy of Radiohead’s latest album, and I just couldn’t get into it. I also like OK Computer and Kid A, but it’s hard to get into their other stuff.
Honestly, while every generation has its “pop” music (and I’ve hated 99.9% of it since the early 1980s), there are always a few bands that stand out–but they seem to be fewer and fewer. For instance, when I heard Elephant by the White Stripes for the first time, I was totally blown away–I think there’s only one album of theirs that I don’t like at this point. But it’s really the exception rather than the rule.
In short–it’s not that you’re old, it’s just that music has become SO commodified that most popular music just plain sucks. You have to look to the indies to find any talent.
Thanks for the commiseration. I think you’re right about indies, but I have neither the time, nor the gumption for new music seeking. I tend to seek depth in the music I like (live stuff, bootlegs, etc) than seek out new music. The White Stripes is a perfect example. I like some of their songs, but their albums never hooked me. I hear Jimmy in Jack’s playing, in phrasing mostly…. but I can’t get past the girl drums. I love the Velvet Underground, but they had a little more junk in the trunk, musically. It’s hard to beat a Welsh viola player.
I wondered when I was going to pass that point when it became “my” music and “their” music. I guess for me, it came when I couldn’t get away from it. Like the bumper sticker said: I listen to hip-hop – ever time I come to an intersection. I just can’t get away from it.
‘Tis true that the music industry has killed the music industry. (gee, I think there is a Rush song in there somewhere). Don’t get me wrong, I like the bee-boppy flashes in the pan, but I certainly wouldn’t own any of it.
Believe it or not, I have been listening to primarily Country music lately on the radio. I really like the stories that most songs tell, It just seems (and I know it is only an illusion) that there is more of an independent spirit with some of the songs… not all of them sound the same and they aren’t nearly as whiney as most pop is today…
Wasn’t it in “high fidelity” where he starts with a monologue about how pop music has conditioned the American culture to expect things to be miserable?
You are Loved! (even is Robert Plant isn’t)