Some of the fondest memories of my teenage years would have been spent hunting out music. A large proportion of that time would have been spent in record shops – shout out to Music Box in Blaydon who took much of my pocket money and wages in those formative years- and also perusing the music section of our local library, a source of many a gem that could be borrowed for a small sum.
Nowadays things are different for teenagers. A lot of the time there’s no need to set foot outside of the house to find music; music comes to them. Whether it’s via a video on social media or an algorithm on a streaming service that whispers in their ear, ‘I’ve heard what you like, have you heard this though?‘ it feels like things are a bit easier these days.
That’s not to say that I resent today’s youth. As I said, rifling through the shelves in record shops was something I found immensely enjoyable in my teenage years. There was something about the whole immersive experience that just dragged me back for more week in, week out. I’m sure lots of us would say the same.
While record shops and the local library were where I discovered the majority of the music that shaped me, my parents and older sister were another valuable source. My parent’s love of the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, Chuck Berry and Dionne Warwick is still with me to this day and it was my sister who awakened me to people like Luther Vandross and Alexander O’Neill. I learnt that it was ok to like things that my friends might not have deemed ‘cool’.
These days, as a father, the pattern is beginning to repeat itself as my son gets more and more into music. He’s been immersed in a lot of what we like and so has a healthy attachment to bands like Oasis, Embrace, Take That (we can blame Mrs C for that one) and The Bluetones as well as loads of what we now might refer to as old classics.
Recently though, he’s been telling me more about the music that he’s discovering. It’s great that he’s finding himself on the same kind of journey into music as I did at his age. At first, much to my delight, he’d mention bands like The Smiths and artists like Jeff Buckley, favourites of mine but not stuff that he’d been exposed to that much by me. But now, he’s begun to tell me more about new music, bands and artists that I’ve literally never heard of and I must admit that it’s made me curious. It’s great to see that he’s discovering new stuff and finding his own way. His headphones seem to have been surgically attached without my knowledge after all, so they may as well help him discover new music.
One night recently, after another music discussion, I got him to write a few recommendations down so that I could give them a go. And then I thought I’d tell you, dear reader, about what I found. I mean, any excuse for content, right?
He was very keen for me to listen to someone called Alex G. The name alone being a reminder of Kenny G, I wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. However, I clicked away until I found myself listening to the aforementioned Mr G. What I heard instantly reminded me of Elliot Smith, so a very high bar was set. Sadly though, young Alex failed to live up to Elliot’s standard. My notes included ‘sounds like he’s singing through a sock’ and ‘could he not work out how to end this?’ and after a few songs I just gave up. Not the start I’d wanted and not the result that my son wanted. He was genuinely disappointed to hear that I hadn’t enjoyed it.
I moved on to Dead Butterflies and their track ‘Embers’ which had been recommended as a starting point. I found it a bit dull, so moved on to a live version to try and find a spark of some kind. Here are my notes. ‘What’s the girl doing? Why is he crouching on the floor? They’re standing up again. She’s playing a trombone?! Ooh, he’s screaming. Really screaming. Has he fallen over? What’s with the weird handsy thing?’
I was beginning to think that my enlightenment may turn into more of just a plain mistake but I didn’t want to just sit there mocking people’s music. So I tried ‘Embers’ again and then another few tracks. There’s more screaming in ‘Ramona, the hurt’ and in the end it felt like while they might be trying too hard, they were a band to come back to. There was something in the obvious devotion of their fanbase on live tracks that suggested there’d be more than meets the eye – or ear – here.
The next suggestion was King Krule and as I typed that into the YouTube search bar I had no idea if the king was a band or an individual. What I did know is that someone involved can’t spell, which upset me a little as an English teacher. But I was here to focus on the music and the track I’d been told to listen to was ‘Baby Blue’. My instant response to what followed was simply, Babyshambles. The singer – who may or may not be King Krule – reminded me a lot of Pete Doherty. I could hear the influence of Jamie T in there too. The song seemed quite disparate; my notes mentioned timing and rhythm as well as the words ‘jazz interpretation’, but I felt that I wasn’t getting the best of his highness so I moved on. Thankfully, it got better. I discovered King Krule at Glastonbury and on Letterman and while I kept getting Pavement vibes, the song Easy Easy reminded me a little bit of The Jam, which could only ever be a good thing.
Next up was MF Angel and I must admit, I expected much more. In the end my notes just read, ‘quite melodic, but could you speak up a bit?’ Safe to say I’m not going to be a devotee.
My new music quest was coming to an end. I’d been asked to have a listen to Modern Baseball and already there was a positive with the name. They’re what I’d call a traditional American indie band and there were definitely hints of The Pixies and Pavement to be heard. Ben Kweller sprung to mind too. I listened to ‘Re-do’, ‘Tears Over Beers’ and then ‘The Weekend’ and I have to admit that I liked what I heard. It all seemed tuneful and there was an enthusiasm that was quite engaging too. A lyric from ‘The Weekend’ stuck in my head and there hadn’t been many of those in the experiment.
“You got a smile that could light this town and we might need it, cause it gets dark around here, real dark around here”.
Proof that while I might not enjoy so much of the modern music I get to hear, the art of song writing definitely didn’t die out just yet.
So what conclusions can I form about new music? Well, essentially not many, really. I mean I was fishing in a small pool, after all. But there have been glimmers of hope in what I’d listened to, most notably with Modern Baseball. And there were others I’d revisit. And I think that was the point here. Things need a chance. It took me ages to get the point of bands like The White Stripes and there are many bands and artists that I rejected in my teens and early twenties that I’d happily listen to now. Furthermore, is it just that I’m the problem here? Is being a middle aged man an actual impediment when it comes to listening to music that is being aimed at people 30 something years younger.
I’ll head back to artists like Modern Baseball and King Krule. Others have made me curious too. There’s a band called Mom Jeans and I just love the name so will definitely have to give them a try. And so, armed with more suggestions from my new music guru – my son – I’ll be heading back into the unknown sometime soon. And I’ll be sure to update you on episode 2.
