Gabe Johnson
Gabe Johnson says he rarely hears good music anymore and tells what happened when his friend had never heard of the Beatles.
Much like the words groovy, far out, and tubular, it seems to me the true meaning of the word “music” is becoming extinct. When I walk down the school hallway to my math class each day, I always cringe as I pass by the music rooms. I love music, but not the unoriginal kind. The people playing the music are not necessarily bad, it’s just that what they are playing doesn’t sound like music to me.
I hear the school band usually playing the same songs that I can hear on the radio…but, it’s actually quite rare for me to use my radio. I prefer to listen to artists whose voices aren’t processed through a computer or autotune. Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix didn’t have pretty voices, but they were inspiring in their passion and lyrics. People like John Lennon were proud that they weren’t trying to sound like others. So, when I asked a friend the other day about a Beatles song and he didn’t even know the band, my mouth dropped.
Of course I’m not comparing myself to some of the greats of music, but as a young musician, I don’t see how my musical peers can perfect their craft without knowing who Muddy Waters is.
I certainly don’t dress like a hippie, but sometimes I wish I was alive in the sixties. It would be ironic to be strolling down the hall of my school and hear “The Times They Are A Changin’”, but it sure would make me happy.
