Four More Years
Four years makes a much larger cultural difference than one might expect, as we found out during this week’s Todcast. Although I’m not much older than Todd DeHart, my co-host, and he’s not much older than Mark Huey, our semi-permanent audience member, we have a cultural disconnect that has to do with the fact that we all went to high school at different times. Before and after high school a four-year age difference is negligible but the difference between an 18-year-old’s experience and that of either a 14- or 22-year-old are almost irreconcilable.
We brought this into pretty significant relief when we started talking about MCA’s death. MCA was a member of the Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys were a pop-rap group in the late 1980s. If the 80s were defined by its pop-music alone it could be erased from musical history and all of our lives would remain mostly unchanged.
It isn’t that there weren’t cool things going on, but if you weren’t in college in the 80s mostly you were stuck with Madonna or Twisted Sister. If you’re not familiar with these groups, I won’t be the one to poison your experience by discussing them.
Todd, being a member of the emerging skater scene had access to the Beastie Boys beyond what was on MTV (Fight for Your Right to Party, for example) and was able to develop an appreciation for them as innovators. Whereas for me they were Madonna and Twisted Sister’s unholy children.
Last week, we lost Mark on a reference to Captain Steubing and he got his revenge by pointing out that, as an Internet kid, he never had to rely on radio for music in his entire life. In fact, mine might be the last generation who had to develop their music taste in terms of genre radio.
By the time he was listening actively Napester was his primary source of music. He’s part of the cherry-picking generation, consuming his media based solely on disposition and unfettered by access or a filter. It’s fractured but as least he’ll live and die without being subjected to “We’re Not Gonna Take It”.