If Music Could Talk

You still have me. I barely even work at work.

I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

Dr. Medulla wrote:I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

My yardstick for scary ass young since 2003 or so has been eumaas, and now he's almost 30. God damn it.

Wolter wrote:

Dr. Medulla wrote:I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

My yardstick for scary ass young since 2003 or so has been eumaas, and now he's almost 30. God damn it.

Pretty much everyone here could be my kid, assuming I got married right of college.

I asked everyone to name their favourite song and band, and damned if two-thirds didn't pick stuff from the 60s or 70s. Very surprising. Only a couple people into distinctly comtemporary music. Generally, a pretty enthusiastic group of kids.

Wolter wrote:

Dr. Medulla wrote:I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

My yardstick for scary ass young since 2003 or so has been eumaas, and now he's almost 30. God damn it.

The kids in my classes are often ten or so years younger than me. This was particularly obvious today, when the kids in my class didn't have real memories of 9/11 happening. We're talking four to six years old when it happened. Maybe up to seven or eight, but not many.

The TA in that class is my age. I may even be older by a few months. Oy.

Dr. Medulla wrote:

Wolter wrote:

Dr. Medulla wrote:I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

My yardstick for scary ass young since 2003 or so has been eumaas, and now he's almost 30. God damn it.

Pretty much everyone here could be my kid, assuming I got married right of college.

I asked everyone to name their favourite song and band, and damned if two-thirds didn't pick stuff from the 60s or 70s. Very surprising. Only a couple people into distinctly comtemporary music. Generally, a pretty enthusiastic group of kids.

Ooooh...tell us the bad ones!

eumaas wrote:The kids in my classes are often ten or so years younger than me. This was particularly obvious today, when the kids in my class didn't have real memories of 9/11 happening. We're talking four to six years old when it happened. Maybe up to seven or eight, but not many.

The TA in that class is my age. I may even be older by a few months. Oy.

I'm ten years older than my supervisor. She isn't an especially forceful personality and I know my being so much older than her makes for a weird dynamic where I tend to dominate our conversations.

Also: I have a kid in my class who's from Durham, NC. Small goddamned world.

JennyB wrote:Ooooh...tell us the bad ones!

To the good, no one mentioned Nickelback. But one kid named Rush as his current favourite band (sigh—there's always one). And a girl who got an incomplete in my class last term is in this one. She's a Smiths fan, so that's redeemed her a bit.

Three people heard of Wire. Sigh. You guys are gonna have to do better …

Because I'm a compulsive record keeper, I entered my notes from last night on students' favourite bands and songs. Some that stand out:
Bowie (in case Wolter is interested, "Life on Mars" and "Word on a Wing" were favourite songs), The Band, and Pink Floyd each got two mentions.
Other mentions: Beatles, Van Morrison, Sam Cooke, Zep, Eagles, Jonathan Richman, Queen, Rush, New Order, Simple Minds, The Smiths, Radiohead, Bon Jovi, Pavement, GNR, Crue, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Strokes, The National, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Sigur Ros, Weezer, Beck, Magnetic Fields, Usher, 3 Doors Down, Lady Gaga.

What surprised me is how many of these bands existed and/or their career peaked before these kids were born. (Maybe Simon Reynolds has a point in bemoaning the fact that there's nothing "new" for young people to get excited about.) Also, no one mentioned Elvis or Broooose or any punk bands (unless you want to put Nirvana in that camp). And other than one guy who said he was into metal—GNR and Crue—no metal bands either. Plus only one hip hop fan.

Dr. Medulla wrote:What surprised me is how many of these bands existed and/or their career peaked before these kids were born. (Maybe Simon Reynolds has a point in bemoaning the fact that there's nothing "new" for young people to get excited about.)

Definitely falls in line with what Mark Fisher says in Ghosts of My Life as well.

Dr. Medulla wrote:Because I'm a compulsive record keeper, I entered my notes from last night on students' favourite bands and songs. Some that stand out:
Bowie (in case Wolter is interested, "Life on Mars" and "Word on a Wing" were favourite songs), The Band, and Pink Floyd each got two mentions.
Other mentions: Beatles, Van Morrison, Sam Cooke, Zep, Eagles, Jonathan Richman, Queen, Rush, New Order, Simple Minds, The Smiths, Radiohead, Bon Jovi, Pavement, GNR, Crue, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Strokes, The National, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Sigur Ros, Weezer, Beck, Magnetic Fields, Usher, 3 Doors Down, Lady Gaga.

What surprised me is how many of these bands existed and/or their career peaked before these kids were born. (Maybe Simon Reynolds has a point in bemoaning the fact that there's nothing "new" for young people to get excited about.) Also, no one mentioned Elvis or Broooose or any punk bands (unless you want to put Nirvana in that camp). And other than one guy who said he was into metal—GNR and Crue—no metal bands either. Plus only one hip hop fan.

3 Doors Down? They are like the American Nickelback.

JennyB wrote: 3 Doors Down? They are like the American Nickelback.

Huh. I've heard the name before, but that's it. I think he's also the Rush fan.

I have some sort of learning disability that doesn't allow me to comprehend a single post on this thread. I tried like 6 times.

tepista wrote:I have some sort of learning disability that doesn't allow me to comprehend a single post on this thread. I tried like 6 times.

What's to understand?

Dr. Medulla wrote:

Wolter wrote:

Dr. Medulla wrote:I am currently sitting in my classroom with about half the students here. They're scary ass young!

My yardstick for scary ass young since 2003 or so has been eumaas, and now he's almost 30. God damn it.

Pretty much everyone here could be my kid, assuming I got married right of college.

I asked everyone to name their favourite song and band, and damned if two-thirds didn't pick stuff from the 60s or 70s. Very surprising. Only a couple people into distinctly comtemporary music. Generally, a pretty enthusiastic group of kids.

What's the name of your class again?