Is anyone interested in talking about contemporary Christian worship music?
My wife and I listen sometimes on the algorithm, and songs will come up which bother me musically. When I check who they’re by, it’s usually _________ Worship and I can’t remember the name of the song. So last night, purposely for this open blogging, I put in “Hillsong” and after 2 top40 hits from them, came up “Raise a Hallelujah” from Bethel. I don’t think I’ve heard it before, but it exemplifies a couple of my peeves. Not in lyrics or melody or voices, but in chords and rhythm. Same single chord, and mostly one note, from the intro until played one last time after the singers stop. I’m pretty sure there was little or none of this particular annoyance in CCWM 20 years back or before. It’s likely I’m the only one bothered.
Idahoan,
I generally stay away from CCM in streaming and radio. I agree that the musical integrity is weak, boring, repetitive, bland, etc. I also object to the hamstrung theological content–so entry level, me-oriented, and often blasphemous. Further, it exists to stir emotion which can, in my opinion, be a relevant response to worship, but not an end in itself at the expense of the other reasons a human being should worship God.
I don’t listen to Christian music of any sort anymore, except some albums from Mississippi Mass that I still have. And I love Mississippi Mass. When I was into worship music, it was back in the Vineyard days, and there was so much of it, it was hard to not find tons of good stuff. So now I sound like an old man with old and new stuff of any of the styles I listen to. It ain’t like the old days. Rarely do I find new stuff that I like. The exception seems to be hard core rap and metal. There is some new Jazz to that I enjoy.
A serious question about pragmatism and daily life with respect to sects or divisions of the Church.
When I took my first overview of Church history class, which only lightly covered three main portions, first the brief period we where Catholic, then East and West split to now Roman (West) Catholic, to the main final split from RC and PROTESTant (me), it was interesting to say the least.
When I was a new believer, I was quickly taught about “us” vs. “Them” (both camps changed wildly over time and continue to), and poor Satan barely gets an honorable mention (sarcasm). That was and remains most if not all my teaching and functioning equipping with respect to the church as a whole. Most ministries in my sect won’t even fellowship or collaborate together.
My question is this, knowing I’m a protestant, former CC with a big dollup of we are the creme of the crop, I’m seriously questioning:
1) what functional good was most of that?
2) what functional good does it continue to be?
3) if none to either, what is the answer?
After 30 years trying to follow Jesus and the church (wildly different day to day), I’m questioning all the energy we’ve wasted on nonsense while Satan dances around us.
Here’s one concrete example, why attend the weekly “prayer” when ALL the rest of the time is spent on things Jesus never talked about or did?
Please only answer my larger questions (3).
I’m no longer interested in parroting business getting rich by dividing us.
Church history is a whole lot more complicated than that…
1. The functional good was that you had a lot of different eyes from different perspectives thinking deeply about the faith over a long period of time. It helps us realize there are very few “right” answers.
2. In places where thought is allowed and encouraged we continue to learn more about our sacred text and about God.
3. Your experience is mainly in evangelicalism, which is basically informed by a very limited range of thought about God. I wouldn’t waste my time in most of their churches. We live in a time when fellowship is hard to find, but necessary.
There are decent Anglican and Lutheran fellowships and some evangelical if you’re willing to sort through the mess.
Another thing is that church history should not be studied in a vacuum. One really needs study the geo-political, economic, social, and cultural environments of the time. Same thing goes with various historical periods in the Bible.
For example, the return of the Jews from Exile and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah should be looked in the backdrop of the Greco-Persian Wars and their respective “cold wars”/rivalries in between the armed conflicts. Was the return and rebuilding strictly because God convinced the Persian rulers to do so, or did geo-politics come into play as well (aka the return of Exiles means a friendly (or at least neutral) buffer state in a strategic area in the Persian sphere of influence)?
I have a minor in International Affairs to go with my STEM Bachelor’s degree, so I enjoy a chance to exercise that bit once in a while.
Here’s a question some might find interesting, to what degree is geography destiny when we discuss church history. Reading a very weird book about the Khazars at the moment.
I absolutely do remember Stryper and Holy Soldier! I had literally everything from Stryper, including some Japan releases and limited edition album covers. I saw them live on the “To hell with the devil” tour.
Holy Soldier? Meh… I had two of their albums on cassette, pretty bland band. They dressed better! Haha!
I saw Stryper at Knott’s Berry Farm in about ‘82 or ‘83. The venue wasn’t that big, so it was the loudest music I ever heard at a concert. Still is, after 40 years.
I have been listening to CCM stuff since I was about 14, just became a Christian at that age. My parents had no use for God in the house, but I found a radio station one night that was playing Christian music. Music from that station, and my own Bible studies were what fed my faith for years.
I have come to find that a fair bit of the CCM I listened to back then really doesn’t work well for my own Christian walk, so I have weeded out quite a bit of it. Still have some of my favourite songs that still help me stay grounded . I can agree with much of what some on this blog have said regarding the quality of the music produced then, and especially now. There is very little of the stuff that has come out in the past 10 years that I have liked, I would say I only have about 8-10 songs that I have found in that time frame that I have kept.
The older songs /artists I have held onto are selections that, over the years, still ring true as my faith slowly matures, and still push me onward towards Him.
Never really got into the whole Worship thing, and I agree with the above posts – thin and easily produced , and very little meat in the soup. Musically it’s something my youngest child could easily come up with on the keyboard in about 5 minutes. Lyrically I find most of it is about what Jesus can do for us and how we feel, very little about things like sacrifice on our part, change, etc…
Anybody have any favourite bands/songs from past decades of CCM?
CK, I think I still have one or two from Sweet Comfort. I do have a couple from Todd Agnew that I like, and a couple from Scott that my kids enjoy quite a bit still.
A few of my other faves from of old include Dion, Third Day, 2nd Chapter of Acts (and Annie Herring, from that group), DeGarmo and Key, Rez, Don Francisco…..
Yep, he does have a very distinctive voice, and he uses it well.
We saw Annie Herring once in Spokane, we were sitting in the front row. During her break she came down to meet audience members, and then sat next to my daughter(6 then). The two had a lovely conversation about music.
What’s your main musical taste (genre)? Ever try out Russ Taff?
I’m kind of all over the map. Not much into hard rock, rap or metal, but I like a little bit of everything else. Back in the day, I’d listen to Sandi Patty, then put on some Sweet Comfort, 77’s or Crumbacher. Bob Bennett, who stopped in at this blog a few times, is a favorite. If I’m in a country mood, Third Day. Some Casting Crowns and Mercy Me songs have a country influence. I also like a lot of classical music, esp. from the late romantic era, such as Chopin and Rachmaninov.
My tastes fit more with the first third of your list. I lived in Orange County for a few years, and Crystal Lewis, being a local girl, played frequently, both on radio and in person. She came and sang at the Christian bookstore I worked at.
Never could get into Carman. After a while, whenever they’d play one of his songs on the radio, I’d be like, “Not agaaaain!”
CK, been a long-time fan of Crystal Lewis…very dynamic and powerful voice. Also have some CD/tapes by Annie Herring, lots of Vineyard and Maranatha!, and quite a few others I cannot recall at this time.
Re: Carman…I was only a fan of the Champion album/tape, which I played alot in my earlier believing days. His other stuff I couldn’t get into…just more show than music.
Dan, I still listen to Living Sacrifice from those days. Great metal band, even among secular artists. I met a number of secular death metal and speed metal artists and they point to Living Sacrifice as an influence back in the day.
I have a side interest in metal, and forgot to check out Living Sacrifice (you mentioned them before). I downloaded Burial Extraction. Also there is Crimson Thorn…met their guitarist way back in the 90s when I was attending college in central MN. Cool guy and down to earth!
I interact with Millennials a lot. The ones I know well have left Hillsong, Bethel, etc and gravitated toward more folk/liturgical worship. Look up Porter’s Gate. If you are familiar with Josh Garrells, he’s in their “musical community”. For oldsters (like me) think of the early John Michael Talbot or even Paul Stookey songs. Simple music that can be led simply and no lights or smoke machines.
Terry, I remember fondly the “Enter The Worship Circle” folksy stuff. I still have that stuff in my iTunes library. It seems that style comes and goes and comes again. Pretty simple worship music that you can play in church or the living room.
Hillsong was very high production quality stuff. It was a time when wowing the audience was a big deal.
Minor bit of trivia. Michael Sweet of Stryper fame was the guitarist for Boston from 2007 to 2011 after Brad Delp passed away.
From Wikipedia:
Sweet performed lead vocals, background vocals, and guitar work for Boston. Sweet was asked to be a part of what was supposed to be Boston’s last performance on August 19, 2007. It was a benefit and tribute show and names such as Sammy Hagar, Mickey Thomas and Ann Wilson were among the invited guests. Tom Scholz was moved by what Sweet had written about the late Brad Delp and then heard Sweet sing and play guitar. Scholz was so impressed with Sweet’s talents that he invited him to join the band and become a permanent member.[6] Boston began booking a tour for 2008 with Styx as the opening act. Sweet handled lead vocals on roughly half of the set list and played guitar for the entire set and handled solo work as well. In August 2011, it was announced that Sweet had left Boston to focus on his priorities and contributions to Stryper.
CK,
You’re pretty much along the same lines as I am and was as far as artists. Tried metal a couple times, but it just wasn’t my thing, although I can see the appeal and talent.
I listened to some Carman early on, used to love The Champion, but the rest of his kinda seemed thin.
Dan – that’s quite a list! About the heaviest I ever got into was Petra, and I do still have a selection of WhiteHeart as well, they’re still a favourite. One of the Crystal Lewis songs I still listen to frequently was a live duet with Geoff Moore, “Keep Holdin On” – and yes, always loved her voice.
R’as, really interesting facts about Sweet, thanks for that. I really enjoyed Boston back in the old days, now I’ll have to check out that era you mentioned.
Sweet and his first wife (deceased) moved to Massachusetts sometime in the mid to late 1990s (as his father-in-law lived there). I actually heard him play as a solo act at the church I attended for one of the summer outreach fairs. Must have been in the late 1990s or early 2000s (after he had relocated to MA). Honestly don’t remember more than that.
I went way back and listened to Yellow and Black Attack/Soldiers Under Command. That seems to me, IMHO, when they were really good. I’m old now, my musical tastes have changed, so I figured I would give it a go. They could not have been older than early twenties. They kinda lost it after that, again, IMHO. It’s like Poison, great when they were “innocent” kids having fun, but then record labels and producers got hold of them…
I dunno. But it sparked multiple trips down memory lane, and I lost my mind all over again at how unbelievably awesome Def Leppard was when I was a kid!
Then I spiraled over Pantera… again… simply can not ever not love Pantera.
Boston! – went to see them live in Bloomington, MN for their Third Stage tour! Probably the best show I have ever been too, and Brad Delp was still with us.
As an aside, what is it with all these Gen-Z kids walking around wearing Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake, etc. T-shirts? Do they know anything about this music? Or is it something they picked up from their parents?
They actually know. I am around quite a few. I was on a job yesterday with a kid who could recite all of the Black Album like he was me. Pretty amazing. They regard it as better music than what is available today.
That is good to know. They also mention that it is their parents’ music and is that much better than the stuff now. While I do appreciate the fact they recognize good music, it is also sobering as it reminds me (and you) that we are getting old.
Kind of a corollary…I have a younger co-worker (about upper 30s to 40/41) who makes comments when myself and others talk about “classic rock” like Zepplin, etc. At first I thought he was just barging into a conversation with no knowledge of classic rock, but I give him credit as he knows his stuff. After all, access to all generations of musical styles has never been easier.
Yep, and my kids have amazed a few of their teachers with their knowledge of the 70s and 80s music that their parents grew up with. They’ll mention a piece from Supertramp or ELO and the teacher sais “wait, what? How do you know that?!”
I try not to think about how many decades have gone by since I had those LPs….. 😉
It’s all yours today…
Is anyone interested in talking about contemporary Christian worship music?
My wife and I listen sometimes on the algorithm, and songs will come up which bother me musically. When I check who they’re by, it’s usually _________ Worship and I can’t remember the name of the song. So last night, purposely for this open blogging, I put in “Hillsong” and after 2 top40 hits from them, came up “Raise a Hallelujah” from Bethel. I don’t think I’ve heard it before, but it exemplifies a couple of my peeves. Not in lyrics or melody or voices, but in chords and rhythm. Same single chord, and mostly one note, from the intro until played one last time after the singers stop. I’m pretty sure there was little or none of this particular annoyance in CCWM 20 years back or before. It’s likely I’m the only one bothered.
Idahoan,
I generally stay away from CCM in streaming and radio. I agree that the musical integrity is weak, boring, repetitive, bland, etc. I also object to the hamstrung theological content–so entry level, me-oriented, and often blasphemous. Further, it exists to stir emotion which can, in my opinion, be a relevant response to worship, but not an end in itself at the expense of the other reasons a human being should worship God.
Sounds like maybe at least some of this stuff is written by bots?
I don’t listen to Christian music of any sort anymore, except some albums from Mississippi Mass that I still have. And I love Mississippi Mass. When I was into worship music, it was back in the Vineyard days, and there was so much of it, it was hard to not find tons of good stuff. So now I sound like an old man with old and new stuff of any of the styles I listen to. It ain’t like the old days. Rarely do I find new stuff that I like. The exception seems to be hard core rap and metal. There is some new Jazz to that I enjoy.
A serious question about pragmatism and daily life with respect to sects or divisions of the Church.
When I took my first overview of Church history class, which only lightly covered three main portions, first the brief period we where Catholic, then East and West split to now Roman (West) Catholic, to the main final split from RC and PROTESTant (me), it was interesting to say the least.
When I was a new believer, I was quickly taught about “us” vs. “Them” (both camps changed wildly over time and continue to), and poor Satan barely gets an honorable mention (sarcasm). That was and remains most if not all my teaching and functioning equipping with respect to the church as a whole. Most ministries in my sect won’t even fellowship or collaborate together.
My question is this, knowing I’m a protestant, former CC with a big dollup of we are the creme of the crop, I’m seriously questioning:
1) what functional good was most of that?
2) what functional good does it continue to be?
3) if none to either, what is the answer?
After 30 years trying to follow Jesus and the church (wildly different day to day), I’m questioning all the energy we’ve wasted on nonsense while Satan dances around us.
Here’s one concrete example, why attend the weekly “prayer” when ALL the rest of the time is spent on things Jesus never talked about or did?
Please only answer my larger questions (3).
I’m no longer interested in parroting business getting rich by dividing us.
UnCCed,
Church history is a whole lot more complicated than that…
1. The functional good was that you had a lot of different eyes from different perspectives thinking deeply about the faith over a long period of time. It helps us realize there are very few “right” answers.
2. In places where thought is allowed and encouraged we continue to learn more about our sacred text and about God.
3. Your experience is mainly in evangelicalism, which is basically informed by a very limited range of thought about God. I wouldn’t waste my time in most of their churches. We live in a time when fellowship is hard to find, but necessary.
There are decent Anglican and Lutheran fellowships and some evangelical if you’re willing to sort through the mess.
Re: worship music – What fil said!!! And I’m an occasional worship leader.
Another thing is that church history should not be studied in a vacuum. One really needs study the geo-political, economic, social, and cultural environments of the time. Same thing goes with various historical periods in the Bible.
For example, the return of the Jews from Exile and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah should be looked in the backdrop of the Greco-Persian Wars and their respective “cold wars”/rivalries in between the armed conflicts. Was the return and rebuilding strictly because God convinced the Persian rulers to do so, or did geo-politics come into play as well (aka the return of Exiles means a friendly (or at least neutral) buffer state in a strategic area in the Persian sphere of influence)?
I have a minor in International Affairs to go with my STEM Bachelor’s degree, so I enjoy a chance to exercise that bit once in a while.
Here’s a question some might find interesting, to what degree is geography destiny when we discuss church history. Reading a very weird book about the Khazars at the moment.
Remember Stryper, anyone? And the matchbox version, Holy Soldier?!
I absolutely do remember Stryper and Holy Soldier! I had literally everything from Stryper, including some Japan releases and limited edition album covers. I saw them live on the “To hell with the devil” tour.
Holy Soldier? Meh… I had two of their albums on cassette, pretty bland band. They dressed better! Haha!
Reuben–it wasn’t hard to dress better than Stryper… 🙂
I saw Stryper at Knott’s Berry Farm in about ‘82 or ‘83. The venue wasn’t that big, so it was the loudest music I ever heard at a concert. Still is, after 40 years.
I have been listening to CCM stuff since I was about 14, just became a Christian at that age. My parents had no use for God in the house, but I found a radio station one night that was playing Christian music. Music from that station, and my own Bible studies were what fed my faith for years.
I have come to find that a fair bit of the CCM I listened to back then really doesn’t work well for my own Christian walk, so I have weeded out quite a bit of it. Still have some of my favourite songs that still help me stay grounded . I can agree with much of what some on this blog have said regarding the quality of the music produced then, and especially now. There is very little of the stuff that has come out in the past 10 years that I have liked, I would say I only have about 8-10 songs that I have found in that time frame that I have kept.
The older songs /artists I have held onto are selections that, over the years, still ring true as my faith slowly matures, and still push me onward towards Him.
Never really got into the whole Worship thing, and I agree with the above posts – thin and easily produced , and very little meat in the soup. Musically it’s something my youngest child could easily come up with on the keyboard in about 5 minutes. Lyrically I find most of it is about what Jesus can do for us and how we feel, very little about things like sacrifice on our part, change, etc…
Anybody have any favourite bands/songs from past decades of CCM?
Rueben,
Just checked out some Mississippi Mass – oh yeah!!
If that don’t get you movin, you dead….
Thanks!
Owen, just off the top of my head, Sweet Comfort Band, Todd Agnew and Scott Krippayne.
CK, I think I still have one or two from Sweet Comfort. I do have a couple from Todd Agnew that I like, and a couple from Scott that my kids enjoy quite a bit still.
A few of my other faves from of old include Dion, Third Day, 2nd Chapter of Acts (and Annie Herring, from that group), DeGarmo and Key, Rez, Don Francisco…..
Good stuff, Owen! I saw 2nd Chapter of Acts in concert once. They were amazing! I love Matthew Ward’s voice!
Yep, he does have a very distinctive voice, and he uses it well.
We saw Annie Herring once in Spokane, we were sitting in the front row. During her break she came down to meet audience members, and then sat next to my daughter(6 then). The two had a lovely conversation about music.
What’s your main musical taste (genre)? Ever try out Russ Taff?
I’m kind of all over the map. Not much into hard rock, rap or metal, but I like a little bit of everything else. Back in the day, I’d listen to Sandi Patty, then put on some Sweet Comfort, 77’s or Crumbacher. Bob Bennett, who stopped in at this blog a few times, is a favorite. If I’m in a country mood, Third Day. Some Casting Crowns and Mercy Me songs have a country influence. I also like a lot of classical music, esp. from the late romantic era, such as Chopin and Rachmaninov.
And oh yes, I do like Russ Taff. Now I’m gonna have Trumpet of Jesus stuck in my head!!
A few of my old(er) CCM faves:
Twila Paris
Wendy and Mary
John Michael Talbot
Crystal Lewis
Rich Mullins
Bruce Carrol
Carman
Regarding the heavier stuff, the mid-80s to early 90s were kinda on fire for me with:
Whitecross
Holy Soldier
Stryper
Bloodgood
Sacred Warrior
Vengeance Rising
And not to leave out rap/hip-hop:
D-Boy
Dynamic Twins
S.F.C.
P.I.D.
Freedom of Sould
Apocalypse
Micheal Peace
Good stuff, Dan.
My tastes fit more with the first third of your list. I lived in Orange County for a few years, and Crystal Lewis, being a local girl, played frequently, both on radio and in person. She came and sang at the Christian bookstore I worked at.
Never could get into Carman. After a while, whenever they’d play one of his songs on the radio, I’d be like, “Not agaaaain!”
CK, been a long-time fan of Crystal Lewis…very dynamic and powerful voice. Also have some CD/tapes by Annie Herring, lots of Vineyard and Maranatha!, and quite a few others I cannot recall at this time.
Re: Carman…I was only a fan of the Champion album/tape, which I played alot in my earlier believing days. His other stuff I couldn’t get into…just more show than music.
Dan, I still listen to Living Sacrifice from those days. Great metal band, even among secular artists. I met a number of secular death metal and speed metal artists and they point to Living Sacrifice as an influence back in the day.
Reuben,
I have a side interest in metal, and forgot to check out Living Sacrifice (you mentioned them before). I downloaded Burial Extraction. Also there is Crimson Thorn…met their guitarist way back in the 90s when I was attending college in central MN. Cool guy and down to earth!
Reuben,
Do you have a recommended album by Living Sacrifice?
I interact with Millennials a lot. The ones I know well have left Hillsong, Bethel, etc and gravitated toward more folk/liturgical worship. Look up Porter’s Gate. If you are familiar with Josh Garrells, he’s in their “musical community”. For oldsters (like me) think of the early John Michael Talbot or even Paul Stookey songs. Simple music that can be led simply and no lights or smoke machines.
Dan, “In Memoriam” is sort of a greatest hits album from all the years they played. Probably the best place to start.
Terry, I remember fondly the “Enter The Worship Circle” folksy stuff. I still have that stuff in my iTunes library. It seems that style comes and goes and comes again. Pretty simple worship music that you can play in church or the living room.
Hillsong was very high production quality stuff. It was a time when wowing the audience was a big deal.
Owen,
Mississippi Mass has stuck with me for decades regardless of my “spiritual” state.
https://youtu.be/k15ggpiX9G4?si=W-tDlzLst7gU1fCR
Oldie but goodie.
Reuben, now that made me smile!!
Minor bit of trivia. Michael Sweet of Stryper fame was the guitarist for Boston from 2007 to 2011 after Brad Delp passed away.
From Wikipedia:
Sweet performed lead vocals, background vocals, and guitar work for Boston. Sweet was asked to be a part of what was supposed to be Boston’s last performance on August 19, 2007. It was a benefit and tribute show and names such as Sammy Hagar, Mickey Thomas and Ann Wilson were among the invited guests. Tom Scholz was moved by what Sweet had written about the late Brad Delp and then heard Sweet sing and play guitar. Scholz was so impressed with Sweet’s talents that he invited him to join the band and become a permanent member.[6] Boston began booking a tour for 2008 with Styx as the opening act. Sweet handled lead vocals on roughly half of the set list and played guitar for the entire set and handled solo work as well. In August 2011, it was announced that Sweet had left Boston to focus on his priorities and contributions to Stryper.
R’as, that’s cool! Didn’t know about that!
I knew Sweet played for Boston, did not know the story. Thanks for that!
CK,
You’re pretty much along the same lines as I am and was as far as artists. Tried metal a couple times, but it just wasn’t my thing, although I can see the appeal and talent.
I listened to some Carman early on, used to love The Champion, but the rest of his kinda seemed thin.
Dan – that’s quite a list! About the heaviest I ever got into was Petra, and I do still have a selection of WhiteHeart as well, they’re still a favourite. One of the Crystal Lewis songs I still listen to frequently was a live duet with Geoff Moore, “Keep Holdin On” – and yes, always loved her voice.
R’as, really interesting facts about Sweet, thanks for that. I really enjoyed Boston back in the old days, now I’ll have to check out that era you mentioned.
Reuben,
Saving that one – added to my “moody” play list….
Sweet and his first wife (deceased) moved to Massachusetts sometime in the mid to late 1990s (as his father-in-law lived there). I actually heard him play as a solo act at the church I attended for one of the summer outreach fairs. Must have been in the late 1990s or early 2000s (after he had relocated to MA). Honestly don’t remember more than that.
R’as,
I went way back and listened to Yellow and Black Attack/Soldiers Under Command. That seems to me, IMHO, when they were really good. I’m old now, my musical tastes have changed, so I figured I would give it a go. They could not have been older than early twenties. They kinda lost it after that, again, IMHO. It’s like Poison, great when they were “innocent” kids having fun, but then record labels and producers got hold of them…
I dunno. But it sparked multiple trips down memory lane, and I lost my mind all over again at how unbelievably awesome Def Leppard was when I was a kid!
Then I spiraled over Pantera… again… simply can not ever not love Pantera.
Boston! – went to see them live in Bloomington, MN for their Third Stage tour! Probably the best show I have ever been too, and Brad Delp was still with us.
Reuben,
Def Leppard. Big 80s baby. Solid Gen-X here.
Steely Dan.
As an aside, what is it with all these Gen-Z kids walking around wearing Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Whitesnake, etc. T-shirts? Do they know anything about this music? Or is it something they picked up from their parents?
R’as,
They actually know. I am around quite a few. I was on a job yesterday with a kid who could recite all of the Black Album like he was me. Pretty amazing. They regard it as better music than what is available today.
Reuben,
That is good to know. They also mention that it is their parents’ music and is that much better than the stuff now. While I do appreciate the fact they recognize good music, it is also sobering as it reminds me (and you) that we are getting old.
Haha! Definitely!
Kind of a corollary…I have a younger co-worker (about upper 30s to 40/41) who makes comments when myself and others talk about “classic rock” like Zepplin, etc. At first I thought he was just barging into a conversation with no knowledge of classic rock, but I give him credit as he knows his stuff. After all, access to all generations of musical styles has never been easier.
Yep, and my kids have amazed a few of their teachers with their knowledge of the 70s and 80s music that their parents grew up with. They’ll mention a piece from Supertramp or ELO and the teacher sais “wait, what? How do you know that?!”
I try not to think about how many decades have gone by since I had those LPs….. 😉