Ah, Gen X. The era of grunge flannel, rebellious anthems, and music that hit you right in the feels. Back in the day, we had songs like "I Got 5 On It" by Luniz, a cautionary tale wrapped in a smooth, unforgettable beat. Or Smashing Pumpkins, whose lyrics could make you feel like you were staring out the window on a rainy day, contemplating the mysteries of life. Then there was Primus, odd, eccentric, and brilliant, delivering musical experiences that left you scratching your head in a good way. Our playlists told stories, set moods, and even made you question your existence (thanks, Radiohead).
Now? Well, modern music feels more like someone shook up a bag of Scrabble tiles and threw it on a beat. Words are strung together like they’re in a hurry to make it to the next TikTok trend. Don’t get me wrong there are talented artists out there. But sometimes it feels like the emotional depth of lyrics has been replaced with...well, words that sound cool but might not actually mean anything.
Let’s take a Gen X anthem, like Pearl Jam’s Black. When Eddie Vedder sings, “I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky, but why can’t it be mine?” you feel that pain, that longing, that gut punch of heartbreak. Contrast that with some modern chart-toppers that throw out lines like, “I got my Gucci on, eating sushi with a moosey, yeah.” Moosey?! Are we even trying here?
Or take Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit, an entire generation's anthem of angsty rebellion. It was chaotic, raw, and perfectly imperfect. Meanwhile, today’s hits often feel like they're written by AI bots who majored in buzzwords. (No offense to AI; some of us write blogs now.)
Gen X music wasn’t afraid to get deep, dark, or downright weird. We had Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails screaming about his fractured soul, while today, we have artists rhyming "shawty" with "party" for the millionth time. It’s like comparing a literary classic to the back of a cereal box.
Now, before the Gen Z defenders come for me with pitchforks and ironic memes, let’s be fair: every generation has its gems and its junk. Today’s artists are masters at crafting beats that get stuck in your head for days. They’ve embraced technology in ways we couldn’t have dreamed of back when we were rewinding cassettes with a pencil. But still...would it kill them to tell a story once in a while? To make us feel something more than just the urge to hit “skip”?
So, yeah, maybe I’m showing my age by saying this. But you know what? I’ll take my Smashing Pumpkins existential crises and Primus oddball brilliance any day. Because when we listened to music, we weren’t just hearing it, we were feeling it. And no TikTok trend will ever convince me that "moosey" deserves a place in music history.
Stay grunge, my fellow Gen Xers. The kids might call us old, but at least we knew how to rock out to stories worth telling.
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