Before the last seminar class, I’ve never really listened to Bob Dylan. I may have heard his songs somewhere before but I’ve never taken the time to listen specifically to him. Many millennials today have this stigma towards music that our parents listened to. Today, millennials tend to opt for more contemporary music because it’s perceived as the “cool” thing to listen to. However, many young people today gloss over musicians such as Bob Dylan simply because his music isn’t as modern as Fetty Wap or Kayne West. Music today is meant to be catchy, upbeat, and auto tuned. Music today can fall in the trap of simply being made to be put on the radio. Some musicians today are looked at as “sellouts” because either they don’t write their own songs, or their songs all sound similar just to be made popular. Take Katy Perry for example. She has people write songs for her simply because her producers want her to sing songs that will inevitably be made popular and be put on the radio.
Recently I’ve been getting more and more into older music. This past year I’ve been listening to more bands like Neil Young, The Who, Pink Floyd. I think Pink Floyd’s critique of the music industry in the song “Welcome to the Machine” summarizes this idea that some music isn’t genuine. Repetitive, catchy music, sometimes takes priority over more creative and risky songs in the music industry.
That’s what I think is my favorite part of older music, it’s more genuine. Bob Dylan seems more enjoyable to listen to when all he has is his voice and an acoustic guitar. There’s something more enjoyable about listening to his songs because they all have some kind of deeper meaning. For example, I found the song “The Times They Are A-Changin” so much more enjoyable because there was a clear meaning and impact. The reason why I loved it was because it, at one time in history, changed people’s thoughts. In the line, “There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’ It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls for the times they are a-changin’,” Bob Dylan inserts his views on the Vietnam War. It’s so interesting that music can be used for something other than entertainment. This song challenges the old thought that the Vietnam War was a just war, and tells listeners that isn’t the case anymore. I also thoroughly enjoyed the song “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” and I’m glad it was the last song played in the class. The fear of a nuclear fallout was a prominent thought of the time and I think it’s very interesting to hear these in a song. Songs can also be looked at as windows into history and a prime example is that song.