Postmodern generation lacks guiding voice of music

Anthony Bromberg abromberg@media.ucla.edu

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We are a voiceless generation. We are unimportant, listless and
meaningless. For the time being.

I hate to say it, but there’s nothing going on here, not
for us. Our generation, whatever you want to call it, is
directionless. We don’t have any heroes. We aren’t
producing anything that is life-affirming or influential. For some
reason back in the early ’90s, as the youth art world was
beginning to mean something again after a brief hiatus in the late
’80s, Kurt Cobain killed himself and dissatisfaction became
indifference. Not that Cobain was the only voice of his movement,
nor the only potential uniter of youth culture, but after grunge
music ceased to mean anything, the mass public of our generation
hasn’t had anything of value to hold on to.

This apathetic lack of cultural potency holds true for all arts
media, but I’m going to stick with music, because outside of
the ’70s it has been music, more than anything, which defines
a generation. This is still true of our generation. The music will
define our times when people look back on it, and it will tell of a
reaffirmation of the status quo, not change, not impact and
certainly not revolution.

Every generation should be about an upheaval of the cultural
mores that were set up by the generations directly preceding. Our
films, songs and lack of interest in meaningful contemporary
literature, however, have done more to perpetuate the old guard
rather than overthrow it. We are big business. We are consumer
culture. We are, dare I say, becoming postmodern.

Maybe, it’s because we are living during a time when mass
media is so mass and culture tends to be so independent that people
view the two as mutually exclusive. Subversive action is just not
mainstream anymore, being on the fringe just ain’t as hip as
it once was. We’re so multi-cultural and pragmatic that unity
and idealism and having one common voice might just seem
ludicrous.

Maybe we’re in a time when the world is heading so quickly
toward global destruction that everybody figures they’ll get
in their individual kicks while they can and don’t need to
unite under a greater generational blanket.

Maybe it’s just the fact that no one with a worthwhile
voice, style or revolution has come around flashing their pearly
whites at a ready-to-be-stunned youth. Look at the output of
musical acts today. I think we can all agree that like in any other
time the vast majority of it is frivolous and forgettable, and many
good acts are just too small or obscure to have a major cultural
impact. The greater problem is that even the best stuff
hasn’t been enough to get our generation in gear.

The two heaviest albums to hit the shelves in the last five
years are by acts that couldn’t be spokesmen for us. One of
these is by a guy who is just too old. Bob Dylan’s
“Time Out of Mind” unleashed some of the greatest songs
ever written and contemplations about life and love that will knock
anyone’s head around, but since he’s a spokesman for
another generation, he can’t start us into a new hullabaloo.
The other album is “Kid A” by Radiohead, an
oft-disputed band you’re either obsessed with or kind of
nauseated by. I happen to think they’re geniuses, and
“Kid A” is a remarkable song cycle about life, but
Yorke and company aren’t the spokesmen to unite anyone behind
anything. They don’t have the drive or the innate diplomacy
to conquer or make the world love like the Beatles or Jimi
Hendrix.

This is not to say there isn’t lots of great music out
there ““ there is ““ but what of it is culturally
important on any greater, “This is fuckin’ rock
n’ roll and I’m going to change the world” type
level?

In these times so characterized by everyone’s perceptions
of divisiveness, who knows where we’ll find the synthesis
that catalyzes our generation into action? There is of course hope
being championed out there. The Icelandic group, Sigur Ros, have
begun to sing more and more in a made-up language their lead singer
Jonsi refers to as Hopelandic. A made-up language about hope by a
group that comes from a country that has fewer people than my
hometown of Fresno just might be what our generation needs to
figure out that change can happen and unity is still an option.

Or maybe the next voice of the world is going to school right
here at UCLA. It’s happened before.

Until we know for sure though, let’s keep our eyes open
and searching for that voice, that something that will transcend
the art world, and change the entire world.

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