Kids These Days

Hello

I don't remember connecting musically with my elders when I was young. My mother had, and still has, a love a music, but we never shared the same music. I do have to say I pilfered some very cool LPs from my older (ten plus years) siblings; CCR on that heavy gauge vinyl, early Billy Joel, Love, CSN, etc. I never had shared musical experiences with them though. It has been a different story with my own children,

I have been broadening their musical horizons since they could hear. I am sure growing up with a music snob has not been easy for them. The other day my eight year old was in the backseat of the car with her new friend explaining that her favourite band was Fountains of Wayne. Her friend seemed perplexed, and asked "Don't you know who Michael Jackson is?" Then my daughter asked me "Dad is he one of the ones our family doesn't like?" I started to worry I was raising another music snob. I went PC and told her MJ was ok, but that I just didn't listen much to his music. Then the little girl asked my daughter about the Beatles, and I had to defend why they weren't the bees knees in our family.

Not to worry though, my children haven't turned into little music snobs like me. They turn me on to the new sounds kids listen to these days. Like that new TV show craze "Glee," and the wonderful new songs they have introduced to my children; "Don't Stop Believing," "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and some Barbara Streisand song I don't even want to think about. I have so enjoyed remembering why I hated these songs the first time round. My children just love this. They love to play the game of let's find the old songs that drive dad crazy and load up our i-pods. Songs like "Eye of the Tiger" and "We are the Champions." So far I have succeeded in hiding the band Boston from them.

Then there is this phenomena of Broadway taking pop collections and making shows out of them. They've done it with Billy Joel, Queen, and now even Green Day. But I will never forgive them for making me re-live all those Abba hits on my daughter's musical theater heavy play list.

There is a huge upside though of my my musical influence on my children. Yeah they like a lotta crap, but they all thoroughly enjoy music in their lives and are passionate about what they like and don't like. They have wide and varied tastes, and have the smarts not to just like what commercial radio, or their dad, says they should. Despite my efforts, or maybe because of, they have developed their own musical styles. Luckily that includes great new music I can experience with them, like Rhett Miller, Dar Williams, and yes Fountains of Wayne. Now if I can just get them to let me listen to Jonathan Richman when they are in the car. "Ice cream man, comin' down the street......."