I punched in my previous post prematurely (hit the wrong key, I guess), so here's the complete, unexpurgated edition...
I agree that there's no percentage in bashing the young and their lack of discernment (musically and sonically). Everyone is a work in progress (or should be) and that's especially true of people in their teens and early twenties. Whenever I think about my general lack of awareness (and smugness) when I was in high school, I still cringe.
Music and delivery systems are really two entirely different topics. And even though I'm a few months shy of 70, I roll my eyes (like a teenager) when I see or hear someone comment that "there's no good music today." Not true at all. You name it -- jazz, prog rock, metal, folk, world music, alt rock, country -- there are TONS of creative artists out there, making exciting music. You just have to get past mainstream media and major label hype and make the effort to locate them. As for rap, it's not one of my favourite genres, but I have a small rap library and yes, there ARE smart, sophisticated rappers who are worth listening to, once you get past the gansta, thug, bling and ho stuff. It's ironic, I think, that some of the people who condemn youth for being indifferent to quality sound are also taking the lazy way out and not making the effort to track down good contemporary music.
Actually, if I could point to any real villain, I'd have to finger (in more ways than one) contemporary consumer capitalism. Plastic but photogenic singers and artists are endlessly hyped, while those not as suited for the media spotlight are conveniently ignored. And believe me, it has very little to do with talent. Consumer electronics also hype fads (surround sound) and convenience (youtube, poor quality digital files) at the expense of quality. It takes some work (and time) to fight through all the crap, find good music and cultivate an appreciation for superior sound. And frankly, it's not important enough to many (most?) people that they are willing to make the effort.
On that note (ha ha), I'd like reinforce the comment made by the person who was defending contemporary car audio systems. Yes, they can be annoying from the outside, and yes, some people play crap on them (surprise, surprise), but even though I don't get invited into many cars by young people to audition their stereo systems (I wonder why?), I have heard some absolutely marvellous car systems. I've also owned a couple of iPods and with quality downloads and good headphones, they sound pretty darn nice to me. So it could be, at least partly, that the "home stereo" has taken a back seat, so to speak, to car stereos and portable devices. And a lot of younger people don't spend a lot of time at home anyway.
And if you'll allow me a final (and related) rant, I wonder how someone would find and put together a good "home stereo system" these days even if they had the notion to do so. You go into a Future Shop, or a Best Buy or a Costco and all you see are these elaborate but garbage surround sound systems. Even if you bought one of these and went to the effort of setting it up, there's no guarantee that you'd get decent sound. I've had a couple of receivers from these systems given to me and when I tested them, they were not only obnoxiously complicated and glitchy, but they sounded horrible. So if you just wanted to get a simple, high quality system, for a modest price (remember, we're talking about young people and limited incomes here), where would you go? It's easy for us to haunt the thrift shops and scour the classifieds, because we know what to look for. Not so easy, though, for someone who doesn't have that background.
End of rant...
