How do people find new music these days? The Internet, I guess? YouTube? TikTok?
When I was a kid – ah! simpler times! – finding new, cool music was easy. You just wait until your older sister is gone and rifle through the giant CD collection she built courtesy of that awesome deal through BMG records where you get something like 20 CDs for a penny.
Things are different now. And if you’re in middle school, or more specifically if you’re one of MY children, you’re growing up in this strange time where the only way to find music is through the Internet, but also their parents are maddeningly devoted to keeping them off the Internet.
So, let’s rephrase that question. How do people find new music these days if they aren’t allowed on social media, don’t have access to a browser, and your parents barely even let you text much less have AirPods?
Answer: you listen to your mom and dad’s music! [Kids everywhere rejoice.]
We’ve always tried to expose our kids to music. We listen to our favorites and take them to live shows as much as possible. Plus, Tom plays several instruments and they’ve seen him play and we’ve encouraged them to learn.
To be honest, aside from Taylor Swift, none of our efforts really seem to matter. Not that it’s a huge deal, but our kids don’t really seem to care much about finding new bands or listening to music. 16-year old me whose greatest joy was singing to the top of her lungs while I drove with my windows down could never.
A few years ago I decided to start systematically emptying my favorite music into my kids’ heads. Every day after school I’d play a different artist without any sort of commentary. Dancing, singing, finding out I’ve aged-out of head banging? Sure. But nothing like, “What do you think about this song? Do you like this band? WHY don’t you like this band? WHY ARE YOU REJECTING ME!??!?!”
All I was waiting for was for, one day, one of the kids would cock their head and say, “Who is this?”
Passive indoctrination.
Two years in and nothing has happened except I’ve had a great walk through musical memory lane. I tried my college favorites, then moved to high school, and eventually middle school. Grunge, pop, rap, emo, punk, classic rock, grunge again. Nothing ever hit.
Then, one magical day it happened.
To set the scene – we’re driving. Beautiful day, the car is full of (my) children and over the speakers we hear:
Drug dealing just to get by / stack your money til it get sky high…
David: Mom, who is this?
We wasn’t ‘sposed to make it past 25 / jokes on you we still alive.
Me: what? No one.
Throw your hands up in the sky and say ‘we don’t care what people say!’
UGH! Kanye, you crazy genius! You did it! You captured my kids’ attention with your drug dealing song! How dare you!
And then my kids were treated to an hour-long history lesson about how even though his music would tell you otherwise, Kanye grew up in a middle class suburb and his dad was a counselor and his mom was an English professor and a FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR and actually Kanye made good grades so while it is fun to JOKE about how school is dumb it is a JOKE do you hear me children?
Also, hold one moment bc I need to ask some people if we’re even still listening to Kanye in 2025. Who’s in the mood for another round of Slugs and Bugs!?
