Friday, September 01, 2006

Talkin' 'bout their Ge-Ge-Generation

Route 1 reader Dave B. provided this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
What do you consider to be *THE* song of your generation?
Dave B. -- As a true 80's obsessive music lover, I think the song that best describes my generation would be "Fight for your Right" by the Beastie Boys. Party hard and defy your parents and society as a whole.
Diane H. -- "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. It came out when I was a freshman in college and I can still remember the first time we saw the video while sitting around in a dorm room drinking beer. That was back when MTV still played videos.
Scout S. -- Much as I am loathe to admit it, I think it has to be "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Not because I don't like the song -- it's a great song. It's just that I know this choice falls squarely into the preconceived notion the media has created about my generation. It also hurts because the song is FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, which means that *I* am officially old. Stupid kids; get off my lawn.
Mike D. -- Anthem-wise, "Another Brick in the Wall" was probably a fitting song for the tail-end of the baby boom generation and its cog-in-the-machine mentality. Party-wise, "My Sharona" was a fun tune, heralding the passing of disco and ushering in the New Wave genre of the early 80s.
Bob H. -- I think *THE SONG* of my generation (now known as traditionalists) must be "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Although, it was one of my favorite rock and dance tunes in high school, I was more into jazz and traditional music, like Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are" or "Misty." Or like Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and MJQ's "Django" or "Fontessa." Oh, for the good old days.
Clint A. -- Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The song totally moved grunge to the mainstream and helped define the music scene of both Generation X as well as Gen Y.
Rick T. -- "My Way" by Frank Sinatra and Elvis.
Brian C. -- It's too hard to come up with just one song, and me "my generation" spanned significantly different eras. I'd say "She Loves You," which started the pop/Beatlemania/British Invasion in the U.S. and "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix. So different -- and yet they became popular just three-plus years apart (1964-67).
Rob K. -- "Satisfaction" by the Stones, "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees and "In A Gadda Da Vida" by Iron Butterfly. No particular reason. These were the first three that came to mind, what's left of it.
Erik H. -- When "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds swelled up out of the cinema speakers to open "The Breakfast Club," the moment became a touchstone for my generation. The song had that written-for-the-movies feel too it, so by itself it wasn't particularly special (and marked, for me, the beginning of the Glasgow group's creative decline). However, wedded to the film and its representational 80s suburban-teenage characters, the song became for me *THE* song of my generation.

1 Comments:

Blogger smacky said...

Did you know the Breakfast Club song was originally offered to the Pretenders, and they turned it down?

7:29 AM  

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