How to bring good music to teenagers

I believe that a good song is a good song, it's timeless material and sometimes we lack to translate that music to make it approachable for our teenagers. Times have changed and teenagers feel music in a different way. Not all of them like our old records.

Over the last days I heard my son singing a song that I knew...it's one of my favourite songs of all time...I then asked him how he get to know that song and he told me about that TV series where they played that song.

I think it's a good example of how to put an old song into a modern format without alienating it in total and to make it important music to our kids, too.

Check out what I mean here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9d28q_glee-dont-stop-believe_shortfilms

Yeah, I like when a good old song gets resurrected by a new treatment or due to inclusion in a show etc. And it is not only in modern TV. Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's, most good jazz artists performed "standards" but put their own spins on them. Some of those songs are being brought forward to this day.

But sometimes, a not so good one gets brought forward too. My daughter into this one right now. Not my favorite.


:thwap:running


She likes it though.

I've actually discovered a lot of new music through TV shows. Not all of it has withstood the test of time, but I agree that it's a good way to get kids to notice music. For that same reason, I think it's a major road to success for bands that get played on TV series a lot.

There is a whole category of music that I think of as "Gray's Anatomy" music. Stuff I did not hear on our radio stations or otherwise. Now I might hear a song and not know whether it was featured on Gray's or not, but think that it sounds like Gray's music. Not saying whether it is all good, but it is another example of TV shows being an outlet for newer bands. Of course it is more likely to be accessible type pop, but sometimes thats ok.

Here is another example of a modern show bringing back a good old tune with a new treatment by the original artist:

As record labels sign fewer and fewer new artists and radio station playlists seem to be programmed by some bean-counting marketing focus group, TV, film and commercials is the "new frontier" for artists to get songs placed and gain exposure for their music. With diminishing "advances", the decline of the "record deal" and CD sales in a tailspin, the "Grey's Anatomy" medium has proven to be fairly lucrative for emerging artists.

sunvalleylaw said:

There is a whole category of music that I think of as "Gray's Anatomy" music. Stuff I did not hear on our radio stations or otherwise. Now I might hear a song and not know whether it was featured on Gray's or not, but think that it sounds like Gray's music. Not saying whether it is all good, but it is another example of TV shows being an outlet for newer bands. Of course it is more likely to be accessible type pop, but sometimes thats ok.

Here is another example of a modern show bringing back a good old tune with a new treatment by the original artist:

Click to expand...

Currently watching Scrubs Season 3. Scrubs is so far one of the best examples of fresh, new and mostly brilliant music.

Dig out some good older rock music that hasn't been played to death 60 times a day on some tired 'classic rock' station. Just play it around teenagers without saying anything about it and especially without some sermon on how great music was then and how it sucks now. Then just watch the reaction...

Good music stands the test of time. We came to our tastes by just being exposed to the music we eventually came to like. If someone from a previous generation had tried to force it upon us we probably would have rejected it...just because...

I love classical, jazz, big band/swing, and especially blues, to this day because I used to hear it at home and came to like it on my own, without any coercion from my parents. Good music is good music no matter when it was composed. If one truly loves music they'll know it when they hear it and feel it, as long as they're left alone to actually hear it and feel it for themselves.

Hypothetically, if not everything the teenager in question listens to is crap, one could listen to what they're listening to and see how previous music influenced that and then play the older music for them and discuss the similarities. Music doesn't exist in a vacuum. Everyone has influences. Find the influences of the music the kid listens to and show it to them. They'll thank you later.

Bloozcat said:

Dig out some good older rock music that hasn't been played to death 60 times a day on some tired 'classic rock' station. Just play it around teenagers without saying anything about it and especially without some sermon on how great music was then and how it sucks now. Then just watch the reaction...

Good music stands the test of time. We came to our tastes by just being exposed to the music we eventually came to like. If someone from a previous generation had tried to force it upon us we probably would have rejected it...just because...

Click to expand...

I like that approach, and I think those are the right ideas. Seems like it doesn't happen all that much though, huh?

I've been encouraged lately by what the teenagers have been listening to. Older Kid Kat is a HUGE Beatles fan, and has the whole catalog of Beatles albums. At the college that I attend, there are a number of students that listen to "good" music, that was created with real instruments and vocals.

Real music will find real fans, when they tire of hearing the same fluff day in, day out.