I got home this Canada Day and tuned the TV to an episode of Scrubs. The episode included Dr Kelso dancing down a hospital hallway to a 1930's (or something) tune. This scene inspired me to think about what decade is my decade (musically speaking, at least)...
I was born in the early 1980s (1981 to be exact) and the first decade I truly remember is the 1990s. In high school, I was totally into rap and hip-hop. At least in my city, I was a little ahead of my time. Most of my friends either loved post-grunge rock (i.e. Creed, Staind, etc) or pop (i.e. Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, etc), but not me. By the 2000s, while the rest of the world seemed to be catching up to the hip-hop craze, my interest was waning. I drifted unhappily for a few years from Rat Pack jazz/big-band/pop to 1980s hair metal to whatever.
Today my interest is pretty evenly split between classic rock (1950s and 1960s), and modern indie rock. My favorite acts includes artists as diverse as Chuck Berry, the Beatles, the Hold Steady and Kings of Leon.
Having said that, my musical tastes still aren't that easily nailed down. I love acts like Howlin' Wolf, T-Rex, Talking Heads, Pearl Jam, and the Black Keys - recordings from the 1940s to this year.
So the question remains: musically speaking, to which decade do I belong?
The Swing era of the 1930s and 1940s always interested me, but it had nothing on the 1950s as ushered in by bluesmen like Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf.
Early rock n' roll (Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc) was the music of mid-1950s. But, in all honesty, I think I'm a little too conservative by nature to have gravitated to this emerging music.
By the mid-1960s, early rock and roll was giving way to rock. Chuck Berry and Elvis were slipping while the Fab Four, the Rolling Stones and the Who were gaining fame. Along with these legendary rock groups was the height of Motown- and Stax-style soul and rhythm and blues.
The break-up of the Beatles and epic live shows by Cream ushered in a new era of popular music. Arena rock and heavy metal began to dominate the 1970s.
By the late 1970s, punk rock, as pioneered by the Stooges, New York Dolls, Ramones, Sex Pistols, and the Clash, started to gain traction. Then punk mutated into New Wave with the success of acts like Talking Heads and Blondie. Arena rock mutated from T. Rex and Aerosmith into Van Halen and Bon Jovi.
The 1980s was dominated by acts like Bon Jovi, Van Halen and Guns n' Roses, along with pop superstars Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Then, in 1991/1992, Nevermind exploded onto radio and knocked Michael Jackson out of #1 on the album charts. Nirvana's ground-breaking album was followed closely by Ten, Core, Smash, Superunknown and other alt-rock/grunge records.
With the death of Kurt Cobain and the rebellion of Pearl Jam came the blandness of post-grunge pop-rock and the beginning of the 2000s. Hip-hop and generic dance-pop overtook popular music. Rock was relegated to also-ran status (with the exception of acts like Coldplay and Nickelback). Finding good music meant surfing the net and downloading as many indie rock songs as you could. With help from Napster, LimeWire and Pitchfork, indie-rock's gems began to surface.
So where in all this would I be most at home? The 2000s requires too much effort for me (unfortunately). I was around for the 1990s, but half-missed the best parts. Ten and Nevermind weren't part of my music collection until the past couple years. The 1980s contained too many power ballads and generic rock-anthems. The 1970s saw the debut of punk and alt-rock. The 1960s saw the shift from early rock and pop to the production value of modern hits. Everything before seems to lack connection to modern music and the modern world.
In the end, I think I was around for my decade. Perhaps I missed the best parts, but I was around. I think, with all due respect to the 1960s, my decade was the 1990s. Indie rock, which I currently love, was breaking out with acts like the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, and Soul Asylum. Punk had been distilled into its best (popular) form with Offspring, (early) Green Day and Rancid. And most importantly, youthful angst was expressed through noise-pop classics by Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, and others. For the Beatles lover in me, there was always Oasis. The 1990s seemed to be more open to eccentric music. It saw the peak popularity of riot grrrl and grunge, gave radio time to hyper-honest singer-songwriters (e.i. Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, etc) and allowed jam bands like the Dave Matthews Band to break out.
In retrospect, the 1960s is always remembered as the greatest decade, but for me, its the 1990s.
Honorable Mentions:
The 1960s are second: the Beatles, Stones, Sam & Dave, and others defined music's greatest decade.
The 1970s are third: early hard rock by T.Rex and Led Zeppelin had chops its 1980s followers lacked, while acts like the Clash and the Police created pop music with a conscience.
