What’s the Next Classic?

Do you ever wonder which pop star or R&B artist of the current age will last the longest, or be remembered and recognized long after his or her career is over?   Why do we still listen to and idolize artists dating all the way back to the 50’s and 60’s? Why do these “old” bands and artists live on forever and the artists and groups in the past two decades seem to die off or be forgotten shortly after they release their last album?  Or maybe even their first.

There is always a place to find artists and bands like The Beatles, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, The Clash, Stevie Nicks, and many more iconic groups and artists, some of whom date back five decades.  We all admit to recognizing these artists. Not only do the highlights of their career seem to live on everlastingly, but so does the music they left behind. You can still catch many radio stations that play classic rock and old music non-stop. You can find dedicated fans to these bands from the past, as well as merchandise that is still being newly created for such groups and artists. Many in our generation still know and listen to and relate to many of the artists and bands from the past.

You cannot, however,  find any stations that play music from the 90’s through 2012, and for the future, it doesn’t look good for the preservation of today’s music.  It is hard to imagine that in twenty years people are still going to be talking about Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Drake, or just about any of the artists this generation is consumed by. In fact, in twenty years people will probably still be talking about, remembering, and listening to artists from the 50’s through the late 80’s.

Think about it this way; when was the last time you heard “Pimpin’ All Over the World” by Ludacris? It made the Billboard’s top 100 songs of 2005 and not only do many people not recognize the song or the artists, but you won’t hear that song on the radio today. In 1980, “ABC” by The Jackson 5, and “Let It Be” by The Beatles made Billboard’s top 100. Do you still know who The Beatles are? Do you still know the words to “ABC”? The answer is most likely ‘yes’. The music is relatable to so many varied situations and emotions as opposed to todays “hit” tracks that go on about drugs, alcohol, money, and the same old love song.

If songs from the past two decades aren’t focused on drugs, smoking, etc., they are remixes or remakes of the songs from the past. The artists now use background music from famous songs from the 50s-60s, as well as steal the chorus or rework the words. Real original, right?

You can’t beat the classics, and unfortunately it seems as though the age of classics stopped in the very early 1990’s.