As I perused the various websites that keep me entertained over the past few days, I encounter several postings and "news" stories about an entertainer called, "Katy Perry," who was caught looking silly during a performance because of either a misplaced contact lens or tangled false eyelashes. As with a lot of such stuff I wonder why it is newsworthy.
So I look up the Katy Perry person on Wiki, and it seems that she is a GIANT among performers. The numbers are just astounding. 106,000,000 Twitter followers, more "album" sales than God, every recording gets a gazillion plays or hits or whatever it is.
en.wikipedia.org
And she is completely off my radar screen. While her work is called "ubiquitous," I can't recall a single song that I would associate with that name.
The person who calls himself "Kanye West" is another one. He is a GIANT in the entertainment industry, and I don't think I've ever heard anything that he recorded.
I have never heard a complete "rap" song, and it occurs to me that maybe the term itself is obsolete. Is it called, "hip-hop" now?
I have to admit that I am intentionally remaining stuck in the music of the 60's through the early 80's, plus a few contemporary vocalists (J. Groban, C. Dion, etc.), and maybe I am closing myself off culturally to more recent work that might be better in some way. In fact, the only contemporary music that I'm exposed to is what is on the sound system at my local L.A. Fitness, most of which I just ignore.
But the question is, am I missing out on anything important by remaining musically several decades behind? Is there anything that I SHOULD know that is conveyed through contemporary music? Should I force myself to listen to what "young people" are listening to, in order to get some insights that I currently lack?
Lord knows, there's a lot that I see in young people today that is a mystery to me. Maybe if I "got" the music I'd understand what's going on around me.
So I look up the Katy Perry person on Wiki, and it seems that she is a GIANT among performers. The numbers are just astounding. 106,000,000 Twitter followers, more "album" sales than God, every recording gets a gazillion plays or hits or whatever it is.
Katy Perry - Wikipedia
And she is completely off my radar screen. While her work is called "ubiquitous," I can't recall a single song that I would associate with that name.
The person who calls himself "Kanye West" is another one. He is a GIANT in the entertainment industry, and I don't think I've ever heard anything that he recorded.
I have never heard a complete "rap" song, and it occurs to me that maybe the term itself is obsolete. Is it called, "hip-hop" now?
I have to admit that I am intentionally remaining stuck in the music of the 60's through the early 80's, plus a few contemporary vocalists (J. Groban, C. Dion, etc.), and maybe I am closing myself off culturally to more recent work that might be better in some way. In fact, the only contemporary music that I'm exposed to is what is on the sound system at my local L.A. Fitness, most of which I just ignore.
But the question is, am I missing out on anything important by remaining musically several decades behind? Is there anything that I SHOULD know that is conveyed through contemporary music? Should I force myself to listen to what "young people" are listening to, in order to get some insights that I currently lack?
Lord knows, there's a lot that I see in young people today that is a mystery to me. Maybe if I "got" the music I'd understand what's going on around me.
