Boomers and Gen X guys and gals you can join in if you want but this is more specifically for the Millennials.

Musically, do you 80s and 90s babies feel you were born in the wrong era?

People my era (born in 61) saw the greatest stuff ever throughout its time when music was better from the 60s-80s, saw the legends in their prime, the greatest albums ever produced, cultural moments and historical moments that changed everything, golden ages of many genre's and loads more to list.

How do you guys and gals feel?

I was born in '82 and yes, to some extent I feel I was born in the wrong era because I favour classic funk and soul with my 'Mt Rushmore' of artists being Prince, James Brown, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.

At the same time there are a whole load of artists either the same age as me, a bit older or a bit younger who I like a huge amount mainly because they are clearly influenced by the same artists I love from the 70's and 80's so I feel a connection to them through that. This includes Anderson Paak, Nao, Jai Paul, Janelle Monae, Frank Ocean, D'angelo, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Outkast, Miguel, Solange, The Internet, Little Dragon, Childish Gambino, Daniel Caesar, Jessie Ware and several more.

Based on some other posts you have made I suspect you'll tell me these artists are terrible and nothing compared to those form the 60s to the 80s. To some extent you might be right but, for the reasons set out above, I connect with them. Their music has bought me a huge amount of joy and make me believe I exist in the right generation at the right time.

On a slightly seperate note, I also think being born when I was helped me discover classic funk and soul. I come from the UK, went to a boarding school and basically had a very unfunky upbringing! If I had been born twenty years earlier withouth access to the internet, while i probably would have heard the 'Mt Rushmore' artists I list above, I don't think I'd ever have come across Parliament/Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Pre 78 Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly Stone etc. So thats another reason I'm gratful to have been born when I was.

funkypixie said:

Oh no I understand don't worry about it.

I was born in 1990 and no, I don't feel like I was born in the wrong era. If anything, I would like to have been born later. But I'm happy enough. I mean, yes, you might have lived through the moon landing, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the creation of classic movies, music and the invention of video games and all sorts of other cool things but it's not like my generation is missing out on that stuff. All that music and movies still exist. We can still enjoy it. And hopefully I'll get to live though things you'll never know about. (I'm not wishing you won't see these things but there's a good chance I will outlive most people of your generation). The cure for certain diseases, the first manned mission to Mars, the creation of future classic movies and albums from artists who aren't even born yet.

So no, I'm not envious of the older generations. I'm envious of my daughter and son. She's 9 and he's nearly 1. They're going to see things I couldn't even dream of.

EmmaMcG said:

Lol I was mainly talking about music

JayCrawford said:

Well, same sentiment applies. It's not like Elvis, Steely Dan, Prince and Stevie Wonder records have disappeared or anything. I was born well after these artists hit their peak but they're all among my favourites. And my daughter's favourite music is Earth, Wind & Fire. The advantage for having been born later is that old music is still available and new music will come that is good. Maybe not in the top 40 but it's not hard to find.

'94 baby here and yes, I do. I don't feel as strongly about it now but when it comes to many things, I wish I could have been born a few decades earlier, music is one of the top reasons next to trains.

Most of today's music is just paint by number, boardroom inspired drivel disguised as being the people's choice through streaming. Before album sales started hitting record lows in the late 2000s, the people's choices were far more clear to point out and far more prevalent than the biggest stars of today. No matter how many streaming records a Drake beats, he'll never carry the same commercial weight or star power of an '83 Michael Jackson, an '84 Prince, an '85 Madonna, a '76 Stevie, a '90 Janet, an '04 Usher, a '96 2Pac, a '92 Nirvana, a '71 Led Zeppelin, a '67 Beatles, an '85 Phil Collins, a '79 Donna Summer, I could go on...

JayCrawford said:

All the time though I was exposed to music and music videos early through my parents and played the videotapes and records we had for years before going out of my way to discover newer music

I still wish I was old enough to have gone to the jacksons victory tour though I saw them in concert a few years ago
[Edited 12/10/20 16:45pm]

MotownSubdivision said:

Record sales did hit an all time low in the late 00s didn't it? I remember thinking to myself (the internet is really hurting these artists)

To all my millennial friends, I understand your answers and I appreciate them but here's how I put it.

At least all of you were around when they were still around if that makes sense? Like Prince, Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and loads more if that makes sense?

Sure is not their golden days but at least they were still making records, still performing etc etc... Hell I know plenty of early 90s babies who have seen Prince live more times than I have lol! Same with Stevie wonder. Hell some of them got better with age when it comes to live performances.

My whole point is at least you can appreciate them regardless because you'll have some form of memories of them and they'll take you back to a certain place in life when you first heard them,

Good examples are Elvis fans... There is a massive generation gap of Elvis fans who will never know what life was like when Elvis was alive, they WEREN'T buying his records, seeing live on TV or shows in person etc etc. What memories do they have of Elvis? None.

That's how I see it.
[Edited 12/10/20 17:07pm]

JayCrawford said:

Sales were still strong for a good portion of the 2000s and held strong till the end but they were far from the peaks of the 90s as the internet, digital sharing, and CD burning became common. Now here we are where just going platinum is a major feat.

To give an example how bad it's gotten, in 2018, Taylor Swift's latest release at the time (which came out in November 2017) was the only and I do mean ONLY album to sell a million units, physical or digital.
[Edited 12/10/20 17:41pm]

MotownSubdivision said:

A million unit's? Looool! I bet she thought "yes that's million records I sold." Lol!

JayCrawford said:

I mentioned in your other topic that we Millenials heard these old school hits from a variety of media. Of course it all started on the radio, some of our parents had record collections, we had TV in which many shows old and current played many classic hits as well as music videos, video games which licensed certain songs though that's been in more recent years and of course, the internet which gave us platforms like YouTube where any song is a simple search or suggestion away.

In many ways, my gen was the last to be raised on many facets of what life used to be like Saturday morning cartoons, cable TV, playing board games and playing outside before and during a time when radical technological and societal changes were taking place so we were also the first to usher in the internet age.

I find the eras before my childhood and adolescence harder to get into. I have to be patient and let the songs grow on me.

If i had been born earlier i wouldn't have had easy access to the wealth of music from previous eras.