Day 7 - 47 -- Generational musical differences

While wandering through the household chores today, I pondered how central to baby boomer culture the guitar has been. This generation may have been the first to widely idolize men with guitars. Country and blues players from the early 20th century did have a following, but this wasn't anywhere the size of the global rock guitarists that grew with the boomers. The blues and country genres are still going strong with the original acoustic guitars being replaced by electric and acoustic with electric capability. Other generations of the later 20th century such as the early gen Xers, might have been exposed to some of the rock genres from the 1980s where guitars predominated, but millenials may be less exposed to stereotypical rock band styles as they stream music from many genres. Those exposed to the music of their parents -- the retro crew -- will have heard a very different sound than is common today. The music industry is heavily influenced by electronic music and the takeover of the hip hop scene -- each with far fewer guitars on stage.

Boomers identified themselves through the electric sound. It formed a soundtrack to life. When speaking with others of this generation, a song, and often just a guitar riff, can bring back memories of time, place, sound and emotion. In effect, the music helped to cement memories and now can help to recall memories years down the road. Huge stadium concerts became part of the boomer experience, something that may not translate well to newer generations. Music continues to be part of life for younger groups, but the way it is used has changed dramatically from that of the boomers.

I chose two songs to go along with the musings of today. The first describes the influence of a guitarist and the solitary aspects of the life of an artist. Since not all guitar players are male <smile>, the second song was chosen from a band fronted by sisters with singing, guitar, and song-writing roles. It contains some great guitar work. This song was the first US top ten hit for the band, and for some obscure reason has been stuck in my head of late. Enjoy!

Guitar man -- Bread

Magic man -- Heart