Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
By Athena Puri
I hear teens my age say that they wish they were born in a different decade, a lot. They say this with indifference towards modern day cinema, music and popular culture. It is more specifically, however, aimed towards their perception of the ‘decay’ of music.
Any teen, adult and even parent can think of at least five musicians that come to mind when referencing this idea, for instance that sporadic Miley Cyrus phase that surprised us all. However, it is undeniable that Miley is uberly talented. She created some iconic hits during this time such as Wrecking Ball and We Can’t Stop. Of course that is just my opinion. Some may have seen those music videos or heard those songs and thought they were absolute trash. That is respectable, because to each their own.
What I seem to struggle to understand is people who say that the ENTIRE music industry has deteriorated. The reason I struggle with this is because I find it hard to believe that there isn’t a single artist or song that they enjoy from the millions available from these past two decades.
These people who wish to time travel back to the 60s to get away from such ‘horrendous’ music, are the same people who look down on those who enjoy popularised music. I don’t think it’s an issue to have a preference, but choosing to be ignorant and shunning an entire industry is not the way I would want to go.
I am in no way shunning older music. I like all types of music. I can think of a song from nearly every one of the past few decades that I listen to, from Elivs to ABBA to Michael Jackson and even Bruno Mars. Music is constantly changing and people who refuse to accept this change are missing out on tunes from the modern day that they might actually enjoy.
