An individual’s preference in music can give clues on which generation they came from.
Every decade seemingly has a style of music that defines it. The 60’s saw the rise of the Beatles, widely regarded as the best rock band to ever exist. The 70’s, the decade associated with the resistance movement of the hippies, had classic rock bands like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Popular punk bands such as The Clash and the Ramones also emerged during this time, as well as disco music.
The 80’s were a loud and flashy time in history, so fittingly, hair metal bands like Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi captivated the music scene. In the early 90’s, grunge rock became not only a revolutionizing style of music, but also the focal point of a new counterculture. Bands like Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains reigned supreme, as well as the legendary band Nirvana. The later 90’s saw grunge fade away, allowing newer music to come alive. Rap, punk and metal were the main choices of music leading in to the new millennium.
In the 2010’s, especially 2018, the most popular type of music is now rap and R&B. This genre of music, while not new, is more prevalent than ever before. Music has evolved over time, which explains why people in their 50’s might not like artists such as Logic or teenagers might not care for Johnny Cash.
Music really does provide a voice for a generation. A new youth movement is taking over not just music, but politics as well. The United States, and likely the rest of the world, is becoming more progressive with each new generation, in both music and politics. Whether that is a good thing or not is up for debate, but change is happening.
It’s common to come across people who feel like they were born in the wrong decade. Outliers definitely exist in society and not everyone can painted under one broad stroke of a brush.
But it is safe to say that new music has a history of characterizing a new generation. Our current time period is no exception, for better or for worse.
