WHAT IS THE APPROACH OF GENERATIONS TO THE EVOLUTION OF MUSIC?

The cases of 20th and 21st century

by Hugo Croizé

Throughout history we have seen the evolution of music playing multiple times with the generational war corridor, representing best the sensation of incomprehension of the new. Especially in the 20th century, the changes are quite visible.It was in the late 1940s that rock appeared as a result of the evolution of Rhythm’n blues and rock’n Roll. The Rock will integrate the first texts of protest which will shake up the codes and interest the young people of this time who will recognize themselves in the texts, while for the old generation have reacquainted a little by little disinterest of its style, do not feel concerned they will take rock for crazy music.

The first controversies

Punk is to be taken as an example due to its *niche nature (The products are suited for a specific customer segment), appearing in the 1970s. Then it was the turn of the early rap to make its appearance on the scene also in the 1970s, continuing to stir the rock generations that still, for some people, is still considered as the golden age of music. Punk, a protest and anarchic cultural movement, due to its style, quickly became the music of the bad boys of its time. The same happened to the emergence of rap, which began to focus more on lyrics while slowly developing its own instrumental style to adapt more and more to increasingly engaged lyrics.

So, here we are in the 1980s-1990s; with this new story, many rock fans quickly transitioned to rap, starting to tell the story of the young generations of the time and societal problems. It is not uncommon to see the older generations boasting about the best years of music, especially rap and its beginnings. Almost simultaneously, we observe the emergence of electronic music towards its peak, which, like its previous innovations, was much better received by a young niche generation still in the sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll model. But the road doesn’t stop there, because after this period, we begin to talk about differing musical tastes. Turn after turn, emerging music styles increasingly compete in innovation, constantly stirring controversy, especially with Generation Z and the arrival of trap, a rap style focused on dance rhythms and lyrics advocating wealth, credibility, and women. Among all these styles, which one will be the talk of tomorrow?

The new controversies

Nowadays,and especially since the summer of 2023, techno has taken a significant place in our club nights and even monopolizes festivals. A style from the year 1988 coming from Detroit, with a little more enthusiasm year after year, has developed like a rising star, leaving room for big names to have a real performance and a community that advocates respect and tolerances. It is therefore complicated for an older generation to feel at home among this new generation, which nevertheless returns to this sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll mode.

“It is not uncommon to see the older generations boasting about the best years of music, especially rap and its beginnings.”

Music will continue to evolve, perpetually playing the same endless cycle that will never stop repeating itself, much to the delight of future young generations. Just like fashion styles, music is constantly evolving, and yesterday’s styles are tomorrow’s styles. Chronologically, each generation as soon as the music came out has been able to experience rock, funk, electro, RnB, house, but it only matters if we are interested because most people only focus on the current style, impacting the lifestyle of the current generation in their twenties, which is based on the renewal of existing styles or the arrival of new styles.

W hat to retain from all this? It is impossible to know the music of tomorrow, both due to the temporary popularity of current styles and the possibility of a new style suddenly emerging. But who decides all this? Well, it’s the top 50, classification of the most listened to music and other ones, TV shows from the early 2000s, which influenced the styles of the time, turning music into a fashion effect that one must always keep up with. Listening to the known music of the moment has become necessary for social integration within a group, while as one ages, it becomes necessary to have solid foundations of.