The Kids are Alright

I witnessed an interesting thing at my 13 year old son's guitar recital the other night. Each performer (ages ranging from 10 to 17) was asked to pick any song that they would like to play with their instructor. Now with any group of budding rock stars you would think that their songs of choice might reflect what is new and showing up on today's active rock or pop charts. Apparently not! Outside of two Linkin Park tunes the rest where all classics from the Eagles, Gun and Roses, Journey etc. In fact halfway through the recital as my son’s guitar instructor introduced his next pupil and their song of choice, he made an interesting comment. He said, "Wow half of these songs where big when I was their age. Sounds like my students are spending more time with guitar hero than the radio. (Note to myself the radio programmer-ouch!). The recital ended by the way with some of the students joining the instructor for a rousing rendition of Journey’s "Don’t Stop Believing". After the show I asked my son, whose choice by the way was Lyin' Eyes- to show me his top 5 most played songs on his iPod. They where in this order:
Iron Maiden-Run to the Hills
Cheap Trick-Surrender
Bad Religion-No Control
Sex Pistols-God Save the Queen
The Eagles-Hotel California

Later on I asked to see my 17 year old son’s top 10 most played titles on his ipod and again I was in for a surprise by what I found. Here they are:
Def Lepperd-Photograph
Led Zeppelin-Misty Mountain Hop
Lynyrd Skynyrd- Freebird
Boston-More Than a Feeling
Lamb of God-Laid to Rest
38 Special-Caught Up in You
Queens of the Stone Age-Make it Witchu
As I Dying-Meaning in Tragedy
Tool-Vicarious
Disturbed-Stricken

My oldest son graduates this year, and when I asked him what songs he would remember as the soundtrack to his last year in high school he told me, “you just saw them on my iPod”. "More than a Feeling" and "Freebird"- part of a 17 year olds "high school soundtrack" in 2009? You bet. And it’s just not just my son’s either. I checked with his friends and what I found was a lot of classic rock, some country and smattering of hip hop. Rush, Skynyrd, Boston, Bad Religion, the Sex Pistols are a BIG deal and rank with importance right next to-Tool, Disturbed and Green Day.

Peer to Peer, mp3 Players, Internet Radio, and now Guitar Hero have become the real tastemakers with today’s 20 and under crowd and what an interesting set of taste buds its created. Unfortunately radio is only having a small cameo in all of this. If radio wants to get serious about trying repatriate youth back to the dial, cutting a wide swath across musical genres will be a good start.