The Winds Of Change

My musical tastes have developed and broadened over the years - age can either free you or blind you.

Take for example, the mid-to-late 90's - a time of musical disruption that has not been seen since.

I am referring to the advent of what was to become grunge and gansta rap... two evolutions (devolution?) that had to occur, in the same vein that punk charged through the rock dinosaurs of the 70's - the younger generation displacing their ageing parents.

When I travelled in the car with my father I use to cringe at his love of country music - he would play Jim Reeves, Charley Pride, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash - over and over - wearing out those cassettes in a big way. (Little did I know that those infectious melodies were creating a blue-print in my brain, but that would surface at a later date.)

When I was growing up my music differed and reflected my older siblings, as well as the music of the day - I can clearly recall the Star Wars (disco) theme, the Nolan Sisters and Paul McCartney and the Wings and 'Mull Of Kintyre.'

My musical punch for my (local) generation was Rap music - Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Afrika Bambaataa and company, followed by Break Dancing - yes, I use to do back spins and dolphin dives...

But like most things, it got watered down to become more accessible, and for our sins we got MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice - but things took a different turn as time advanced... Gangsta Rap. For me, living in Glen Innes/ Panmure/ Pt England and a whole world away from the American Ghettos, I responded in an unexpected manner. Where my original heroes of Rap gave me an insight to their way of life and strife through clever social commentary, the new breed embraced and advocated this lifestyle - something that never sat comfortably with me.

This was also closely followed by the sudden earthquake that was Nirvana - blowing aside the stale safe rock of the 80's and bringing a grittier nuance to our generation. But where Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and the others that followed were aware of the musical vacuum left by the Beatles, Hendrix and Dylan - those that carried the torch on to today missed what made their music so unique - the hook. Much of the music that has followed is just as digitally/ sonically bloated as the musicians they had displaced.

My son listens to a lot of modern music - the love affair and dreams that carried the musical revolution of the 80's and 90's bravely to the forefront of popular culture has again been watered down, with no acknowledgement of past achievements of how they got where they are now.

I am wondering what type of musical revolution (are there any left to explore?) is waiting in the wings to kick-start a new love of music for what it really is - pure expression that makes you and moves you - and not some wet dream of Simon Cowell...