Many teenagers have been listening to older generation artists such as Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Sublime, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, carrying on the good old music even after they have stopped making a ton of music or passed away. Students listen to many genres of these older artists such as folk and rock, and even some hip-hop. Some of these artists and bands have many touring tribute bands. Students seem to prefer listening to older music over the new music from new artists these past few years. “I love Uptown Girl, it is definitely my favorite song,” Jack Swafford said.
Some of these artists also are also currently touring despite their age and have recently visited Seattle. This past Summer Billy Joel visited T-Mobile Park and many teens were in attendance at his show, Junior Kennedy Guichard had an amazing time at his concert, “I went with my parents, and I had an amazing time, he honestly put on an amazing show which was surprising because of his age, but it was still such a great night,” Guichard said.
The most common genre that is listened to by students is Rock, with more specific artists being, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, and Queen, “I love listening to older music, my favorite artists are, The Clash, The Cure, The Smith’s, Blink-182, and David Bowie,” Jasper Reed said.
Olivia Mineer loves listening to Michael Jackson in general, no matter what the song is, “Literally any of his discography is good, I will listen to any of his albums,” Mineer said.
Overall, music from the pre-90s seems to be making a significant comeback in what students are listening to. It’s a theme seen over and over again to turn back to nostalgia when it is unclear to what’s coming next. Often, some of these older decades of music are also used in movie soundtracks, which brings viewers back to listening to it.