I think it’s safe to say that most people my age (mid-to-late 30s, Atari-era Generation Xers) are familiar with musucial artists from previous generations, even if we don’t like or never heard their music. I’ve heard of Elvis, Frankie Avalon and the Four Seasons, the Shondells, Little Richard, and going back to the time when my parents were maturing, the biggest acts of their era like Glen Miller, Guy Lombardo, Lawrence Welk and Tommy Dorsey. Granted, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a performance by Glen Miller versus Guy Lombardo, but you get the idea.
Likewise, even though today’s popular music doesn’t speak to my generation, I’m familiar with Britney Spears, Christine Augilera, and Avril Lavigne. My parents not being familiar with JUST THE NAMES of Fleetwood Mac, Journey, the Rolling Stones or Boston would be the equivalent of my going “huh?” if a teenager talked about Jessica Simpson or Justin Timberlake.
I’ll admit that I’m not familiar with obscure bands in today’s indie scene, and I wuldn’t expect my parents to be intimately familiar with successful but lesser acts of my era such as Kansas, Patti Smith, REM or Devo. Still though, for an older baby boomer or even someone who went to high school in the post-WWII years to have no idea about who Elton John is would be akin to someone of my generation having no clue who jennifer Lopez is.
If I caught my mom doing that (other than worrying about her asthma…) I would have a newfound respect for her. I’m not much of an Elton fan, but Saturday Night rocks!
Anyways, I would liken lainaf’s mom not knowing who Elton John is to someone of our generation (30-ish, 40-ish) not knowing who Frank Sinatra is. Ok, he was parodied for a while on SNL… say Sammy Davis Jr. A HUGE international star. We may not know much about him, maybe can’t stand him (I think he’s great, man, a real cool cat! ) but everyone has heard of him. I think it speaks more to her fundamentalist views and close-mindedness than to her not ever hearing of Elton John. It’s not that she hasn’t heard of one (huge) pop star, it’s that she WILL NOT hear of him. It must have taken a major conscience effort to have shut out ALL of pop music for 40+ years…
Originally not meant as a rant… it just turned into that.
Okay, there’s aware that someone existed and actually having a minimal knowledge of who they are. Pretty much anyone can say “yes, I’ve heard of Glenn Miller/Elton John/Britney Spears” but could you do something like name what instrument they played, what their big break through hit was, name three of their songs, mention some facts about their personal life, etc? These people were all big enough that even if you weren’t a fan, you couldn’t help but absorb some knowledge of them just by living throught the era when they were popular.
lainf’s mother is 84, which would put her at about age 50 when Elton John broke in the U.S. My parents were about the same age, and they probably were familiar with the name, but little else.
After last night’s American Idol, Mom still likes the 2 white guys. She really liked the song that JPL sang (Jailhouse Rock), but I didn’t think to ask if she recognized it as an Elvis song. She just doesn’t get the “singing style” of the black contestants. She sort of liked “the girl who sang the song from the movie about the ship that sank.”
I’m making a list of people that I’ll see if Mom recognizes. So far the list is Jennifer Lopez, Brittney Spears, Stephen King, and Martha Stewart. Any suggestions?
) but everyone has heard of him. I think it speaks more to her fundamentalist views and close-mindedness than to her not ever hearing of Elton John. It’s not that she hasn’t heard of one (huge) pop star, it’s that she WILL NOT hear of him. It must have taken a major conscience effort to have shut out ALL of pop music for 40+ years…