The Ongoing History of New Music, encore presentation: What a drag it is getting old musically
[I’m on the road with a speaking tour for the next couple of weeks. In my absence, here’s another listen to one of the most-requested episodes of the last couple of years. – AC]
Decades ago, I was the best man for my buddy Charlie and placed in charge of driving the bridal car from the church to the reception. The happy couple was in the back seat. Next to me up front was the bride’s sister.
When I started the car, “Welcome to the Jungle” started playing on the radio. The sister freaked out.
“What is this garbage? Turn it off!” she shrieked.
I looked at Charlie (a giant fan of the Gunners). He looked at me and shrugged. No sense in making waves. To keep the peace, I switched to a pop station, But the sister’s violent reaction to the gunners stayed with me.
Then not long ago, I was in the car with a friend when Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” came on the radio. I instinctively turned it up because it’s an awesome song, right? But my friend did not appreciate that.
“What is this [bleep]?” she said. “It’s awful! You can’t possibly like this crap!”
I was slightly taken aback. We go back a couple of decades, and she came from an alt-rock radio background, too. Her life used to be filled with this kind of music. How could she not like Rage?
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe I’m just getting old. I prefer softer stuff these days.”
Ah. There it was again: an example of how someone’s musical tastes evolve with age. This is something that just happens with most people. Most of us quietly take that as a given, even if it’s an unconscious process.
Not me, though. The musical evolution of our tastes as music fans has always fascinated me. There must be some kind of science behind why we listen to different types and styles of music as we go through life,
So I tracked down this science and I now have some answers. We’ll call this episode “What a drag it is getting old musically.”
Songs heard on this show:
- The Ramones, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
- The Killers, When We Were Young
- The Cure, Just Like Heaven
- The Pursuit of Happiness, I’m an Adult Now
- Eugenius, Easter Bunny
- Blink-182, Dammit
- Greta Van Fleet, Highway Song
- Oasis, Live Forever
- Alphaville, Forever Young
And here’s the playlist from Eric Wilhite.
The Ongoing History Music can be heard on these stations. Don’t forget that there’s a podcast version, too, in case you miss any episodes. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.
- 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
- Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
- Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
- 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
- FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
- Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
- 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
- Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
- The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 8am and 9pm
- The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
- Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
- WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm
Don’t forget about my other podcast, Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry. If you love true crime with your music, you’ll love this. Get Uncharted wherever you get your podcasts.
