Last Thursday, I went to an on-campus student pub for the first time since (I believe) 1994. Furthermore, it was my first time in a "student" club environment (def: place where one hears the kinds of music featured on the "Frosh" compilations, but not much else) since perhaps 1997. No, I haven't been a bedroom-only listener all these years, but I did realize early on in my adulthood that I wouldn't be able to hear "You Shook Me All Night Long" every night without going slowly insane, so I found infinitely cooler places to go dancing. The point here is that I'm quite out of touch with the music that today's young university minds want to hear when they go dancing. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that they dance to the SAME songs I did.
Not the same types of music, the SAME SONGS. Has student pub life really been in a holding pattern since 1993? Some of this is easily explained, starting with the 80's revival. When I was a teenager it was relatively contemporary music, but anyone born post-1980 or so (too young to remember it the first time around) has still grown up with many 1980's staples. What about the continuing popularity of "Groove is in the Heart" and "Jump Around"? I liked those songs at the time, but certainly didn't consider them so timeless that they'd still be crowd faves with a group of 20 year olds a decade later. But what about "Every Little Step" and "The Right Stuff"? Excuse me?
My gut tells me that "club music" and "radio/home music" are more segregated now than they were ten years ago. In 1993, you'd hear Nirvana and Pearl Jam at the student events but people also owned those records and listened to them at home and on the radio. Today, people like hearing 80's music and 90's hits like the aforementioned while in the clubs, but few people seriously listen to that stuff at home. Nobody's going to these clubs and hearing stuff that's going to change their life. The life-changing obsession important music is heard at home. This is also the case (unfortunately) with many people who go to house and techno clubs.
However, there is no way to explain the positive reaction to the damned NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK. Kitsch ... ironic ... silly ... whatever -- NO EXCUSE.
