WHAT'S WITH KIDS TODAY ?

About 15 days ago, SEB WOOD wondered if it were possible to change the kids' taste from Muse to listenable indie bands. It is, but not with the indie bands we grew up listening to. I mean, they don't want to listen to Sonic Youth, they already have Placebo. What they need is a band that will make them enter the wonderful indie world.

A couple of things you need to take into account:

1. they're smarter than you think, but they don't know it yet
2. some of them are just stupid and will never stop listening to Muse
3. listening to The Vines doesn't necessarily mean that you're full of shit, it may mean that you don't know anything about music (yet)
4. the curious, broad-minded ones will out-indie you and end up liking music you don't understand

Two solutions, one passive, one active:

Solution one:
let them be, they'll slowly get over Muse and realise how stupid they were back then in 2004.

solution two:
make them listen to great albums of great young bands. If you happen to have a youngster in your family, get him/her a good album by a good new band for its birthday instead of that Placebo dvd. DO NOT get him/her the latest album by your favourite band. When my uncle bought me Dire Straits' On Every Street for Christmas, I felt like killing him. 

What about Weezer ?

Even if the Weez' are getting more and more popular, if you hadn't listened to Pinkerton you wouldn't be listening to Maladroit now. To young hipsters today Island in the Sun is as uncool as November Rain was to us when we had Nirvana. 

What about Nirvana, then ?

Just like all the great seminal bands we all cherish and love, they'll end up listening to it someday if they step on indie territory, and remember, that's the point of this article. 

Besides, buying a Nirvana album now would be giving money to Courtney Love's dealer. Just wait a couple of months and, when she finally ODs, you'll be free to buy albums to pay for Frances Bean's psychotherapy. 

My Picks:

If my little sister were 15 years older, I would get her the Dresden Dolls' debut album or Patrick Wolf's Lycanthropy. Kids have always needed more than good music. They need attitude, something they can relate to. I say give them a sad girl in panties and striped stockings or a quite confused wolf-boy unsure of his taste in lambs and see. If everything goes according to plan in a few years a whole generation will be bisexual. 

As far as cds you can actually find in records store go, I guess that Franz Ferdinand could entertain girls and Cex could become this generation's new nihilistic and self-indulgent hero.

here's an illustration:

vs
vs

I hope i made my point clearer.

Now, the final test!

Kevin's a young man now, he's got an eyebrow ring, two girlfriends, blink 182 posters in his room and he's looking forwards to joining a frat house in the college campus. 

Now look at me straight in the eyes. YOU ARE HIS UNCLE/AUNT. He wants you to buy him a Sum 41 cd. WHAT DO YOU DO?????? WHAT DO YOU DO?????????

a. I get him a Sum 41 cd
b. I get him Xiu Xiu's Knife Play
c. I get him Greenday's highly underrated Nimrod
d. I get him nothing and buy myself some popsicles

ok, think and take your time.

..

..

..

ok. the answer is.......

.....

.....

D! yes. there was a trap. This "young man" is obviously lost for humanity. He already has two girlfriends (according to statistics, more than 50% of 21 years-old indie boys still haven't talked to a girl), wants to be a frat boy (indie boys secretely despise/envy frat boys because they listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and still manage to get the hottest girls), and has an eyebrow ring (piercings are not indie anymore). The best you can do is save your money, or beat the shit out of him while he's still young and defenseless. 

JUST REMEMBER : WE CAN MAKE IT IF WE TRY

thank you

Barbara H

/apr 15th 2004/