My generation

Well, my chosen one, to be precise, I'm slightly younger than them. There might be several great solo artists, but the acts that had the biggest impact on me are bands, and I couldn’t help but notice that quite a few of my favourite bands are made up of guys who are roughly the same age, which could be more than just a coincidence.

These guys were all born in the late 50’s and early 60’s, and probably fell in love with music quite early on through their parents listening to the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash. By the time they reached their early teens, and started to develop their own tastes, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie and T. Rex started releasing their records. These acts didn’t only provide musical inspiration, but also let them know that it’s OK to be and look different, maybe even weird, you don’t have to be like everyone else to succeed. Then they heard some German bands like Can, Neu! and obviously Kraftwerk, whose work didn’t sound like anything else before, suggesting that the possibilities are endless, you can make sounds that have never been heard. The final push came in their mid-teens with punk, which convinced them that they didn’t have to be the most skilled musicians and practice for 20 years to play – it helps, but it’s not necessary -, they can just do it.

Punk’s DIY ethos also gave birth to many independent labels like Mute Records, Factory Records and Rough Trade, which provided suitable homes for some of them, and in the late 70’s and early 80’s, these bands started to appear: The Cure, Joy Division (later New Order), U2, R.E.M., and of course Depeche Mode. Despite being quite varied in musical style, background and even ambition, they still followed a similar path in the next decade: they all kept making music the way they wanted to, not caring too much about what everyone else was up to, gradually building their audience through constant touring. Around 1987, they all arrived: from weird sounding obscure bands, they’ve turned into superstars, their audience turned into millions, they played in huge arenas or even stadiums, they were charting among acts like Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. They all tried to deal with this unusual situation with varying success, but since then they all completed 3 decades staying together, most of them are still going.

As a closing note, if we look at artists who don’t necessarily share the mentioned influences or career paths (or not even my taste), this generation also includes acts like The Smiths, Madness, Pet Shop Boys, INXS, Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, and the list could go on. Maybe those 80’s weren’t all that horrible…