I wasn’t alive to see the civil rights movement or even the first British Invasion. I even missed out on Woodstock: an event that some call the crowning act of the 1960′s. To make matters worse, the extent of my knowledge on interesting cultural figures of the time, such as Wavy Gravy, is limited to the historical record and what little exposure I’ve had to Ben & Jerry’s Ice-cream. I want to relate, darn it, but the lack of direct experience is a barrier to the nostalgic self-gratification brought about by memorials of thought revisited by others around me. What is worse is that to folks who lived through the glory days of that generation, the temptation is always there to say, “Man, you missed it. You should have been there.” But, what exactly did I miss out on? And how do I even know I’m missing out, when I live in a time that is filled with technological advancements that were not around back in the 60′s. It reminds me a little of an old Bruce Dickonson song where he talks about black and white television being up to date. To the children of today, that would probably seem more like a punishment than a joyous time to reflect on.
In the absence of direct experience, should I pretend to relate to a generation that really had nothing to do with me at all? The cultural connection just isn’t there. It isn’t that I’m not interested in learning about that time in our history. I actually possess quite an interest in some of the music of that generation, even if I was never overly familiar with all the significant events that took place back then. But, if you were to ask me about the MTV music revolution of the 1980′s, that is something I can certainly relate to. The “I was there” factor makes the experience real, if only in faded memory today. But, faded memories or not, it was a significant part of the culture in which I had grown up. However, to the kids born in 1991 and later, the music revolution of the 1980′s is as removed from their culture as the music revolution of the 1960′s and early 70′s was removed from mine.
So, is there anything useful later generations can learn from the experience of former generations, concerning what truly drives the music industry to the point of an industry revolution, that would be relevant in modern times? Absolutely! For example, what radio could never do for the music industry, VJ’s and music videos certainly did. For the first time, you not only had music to listen to, you could also see your favorite bands hamming it up every day on MTV. As a teenager I could hardly wait to get home from school. You never knew what new band was going to drop the latest hit music video on the world stage. What a powerful cultural connection that created in its own right. The music industry had finally given us something we didn’t even know we couldn’t live without. And although much of the glory of the 1980′s has drifted off into obscurity, being lost to a new generation that was simply not there to experience it, it was certainly a time to live to those of us who still carry the torch and refuse to let the flames die. Another point to consider is that we understood what it meant to have lived before 1981, when you didn’t have this cultural connection that was brought about by the music video revolution. So, there is some sense of cultural pride in being able to say that we were the first generation to experience VJ’s and music videos as a mainstream form of entertainment. Unfortunately, it seems today that the music industry has lost sight of how much fans need a revolution with a real direction and real leaders in order to keep the industry alive and kicking.
Now, almost two decades beyond the closing moments of the 1980′s, we are on the brink of yet another music revolution. We can feel it in the air, like the way the weather changes in autumn, even if we aren’t exactly certain how it will manifest itself. We are just looking for a leader in the industry to provide us with that special something that we didn’t know we couldn’t live without once again. The atmosphere is ripe for change. The economy sucks and the music industry as we know it is all but dead, but the technology is here to forge a new revolution that may simply turn out to be the flower child of the pirate generation. All of the piracy going on today is really nothing more than the fans trying to get the fires burning, but the industry refuses to take the bull by the horns and figure out a sound strategy to properly brand the new revolution and make money off of it in the process. But, with or without the industry executives getting on board, the revolution is coming. And maybe someday you will be able to tell your kids, “You should have been there.”
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