Received wisdom

[soundian]

Are they though?

How many young people are actually buying Stones or Cash records? (well, apart from the last few Rick Rubin produced CDs in Cash's case).

If that's what Stripey is aiming to discuss then I think he's severly overestimating the appeal of the Rolling Stones to the average Panic At the Disco or Fal Out Boy fan.

I don't know, are they? Maybe that should've been the first question.. But then again there's a lot of people posted here, and I know a lot more, who listen to, enjoy and maybe even idolise these bands/artists so I think he has a point.

[french_disko]

I don't know, are they? Maybe that should've been the first question.. But then again there's a lot of people posted here, and I know a lot more, who listen to, enjoy and maybe even idolise these bands/artists so I think he has a point.

if you look at in some respects then yes, he has.

I've never really understood seeing kids wearing Beatles / Floyd / whatever t-shirts for example - but that wouldn't stop me listening to those bands however.

Maybe it's all down to context - it's possible to enjoy those bands without getting carried away by the whole "reverence" thing. I would find it hard to idolise the Beatles, for example, knowing that I'd never hear anything new by them ever again (same with Cash) or The Rolling Stones knowing that they're nothing more than a touring nostalgia act nowadays.

Conversely, I'm a big Neil Young fan but I feel he still releases challenging work on occasion.

[Bigsby]

I would find it hard to idolise the Beatles, for example, knowing that I'd never hear anything new by them ever again (same with Cash) or The Rolling Stones knowing that they're nothing more than a touring nostalgia act nowadays.

Why is that a problem? Do we really need to base our love of an act on what they might do in the future, rather than what they have actually done in the past?

[all_his_engines]

I don't have a problem with kids wearing Beatles/Stones/Whoever t-shirts as long as they actually LIKE THE MUSIC. Too many musical brands are becoming fashion statements, whilst the actual music matters not at all. It happened with Iron Maiden a couple of years ago. All kinds of fashionistas were wearing stuff with their logo on, but wouldn't have been caught dead listening to their music. Current main offenders in my opinion are most people who wear Ramones t-shirts.

It could of course be argued that such co-option by the style-wankers is symptomatic of the quasi-mythical status attributed to some artists, which was the original point of this thread. It may be that most young people only appear to like the music of these artists, without actually ever having listened to their records.

[french_disko]

Why is that a problem? Do we really need to base our love of an act on what they might do in the future, rather than what they have actually done in the past?

I'm not saying you can't love them or appreciate them - I've got loads of Stones / Cash / Zeppelin / Clash / Pistols etc cds and records but they're historical documents in a sense. I find it hard to feel the same about their albums as I do, say, dubnobasswithmyheadman or screamadelica or ladies & gentlemen we are floating in space which are precise moments in time and memories for me.

Don't get me wrong here - this is only my experience. I'm not agreeing with Stripey nor am I agreeing with you & I'm not disagreeing with you bothe either - I'm just pointing out there's a middle ground where you can appreciate old music without being overly referential about it.