“I can’t believe the music the kids these days are listening to”. That might be a phrase many of us students have heard countless times from our older friends and family members with regards to our music tastes. But is it really that simple?
Many expect a typical student in their late teens to early 20s to listen to nothing but music released within the last few years, yet for me this simply isn’t true. Students have a wide variety of music tastes that often go unnoticed. I would say therefore that yes, there certainly is a place for music from decades gone by to occupy space within the music library of a young university student.
My question, in fact, is really about why it is so rare to hear music from previous eras being played in places such as pubs and clubs where students spend much of their time. To answer this question, I needed a bit of help from some students. Students who would much rather hear the sound of Duran Duran than Dua Lipa when they walk into their local pub.
Being brave enough
Mark is a 20-year-old university student who lives and breathes student life. Pub trips, club nights and house parties is the name of the game for Mark. Yet I know he wouldn’t mind me saying that his tastes tend to be a little different to that of what many would consider a typical student. In fact he was kind enough to share with me his thoughts on how he feels about being a lover of older music at university.
‘Most pre-drinks, with good close friends, that I go to consist of music from bands like the Beatles and the Smiths,’ Mark said.
Here he states that many more people are keen to listen to a variety of music than you might think. It’s only the social expectations that young people must listen to music of their era which is holding many other students back.
He added that he feels that ‘a lot more people listen to it than you think, you just don’t hear about it. You hear modern music, but it doesn’t mean people aren’t thinking about older stuff’.
So really it takes that one person to be brave enough to play this music in front of a crowd of others to unearth the classic music lovers. Happily. I know just the man.
Trends change but taste remains
I’m not ashamed to say that an individual who goes by the name of James is a close friend of mine. I also know he won’t mind me saying that he can often captivate a gathering of students at a house party with his sensational singing voice.
Once again however, it’s not the likes of Ed Sheeran or Bruno Mars that compel James to burst into song. He is a man of real music variety, stretching all the way back to the 1940s. James did not hold back in his assessment of why modern music seemingly rules the roost within general student life.
‘Music trends tend to change over time, and always have done, so it’s no surprise that clubs play more modern music,’ he said. ‘Even the modern definition of “retro” only goes back to the late 1970s, once mainstream songs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s aren’t part of the Zeitgeist anymore they will be forgotten”. Certainly a damning indictment of the attitudes of some students towards old music.
To summarise, yes, there is a place for music from times gone by within the music library of a young student. However, many who favour this genre may wish to talk less about their love of the classics for fear of judgement. But really, we shouldn’t judge, because plenty of us have love for all varieties of music from both the past and the present. And if there is one thing that can certainly help to bring us just that little bit closer together, it’s music.