If it's too loud, you're too old!

Yesterday, my mother, a musician with very good and eclectic musical taste, wrote her children a "new music" e-mail. And, as I think was one of her secret goal, it opened the flood gates and wrote one of the longest e-mail responses I've ever written. So, I thought that today I'd bring my love and, modestly, more than a little knowledge about music to the blogosphere.

So, here we go, modern music 101 for the baby boomer generation.

First of all, if you were a teenager or young adult in the 60s and 70s, you shouldn't have ANY excuse for not having music to listen to. You lived through the greatest musical revolution the world has ever known. There's nothing wrong with what you're listening too. The Beatles, the Stones, Motown, Aretha, late 60s folk, Bob Dylan, are classics because they are the best there's ever been and noone will ever be better. That said, some of you, like my mom, think that the Beatles Number 1's album or a motown collection is sufficient. Not so, my friends. If you're running out of music or are too familiar with your collection, than go buy more of what you love. The Beatles are the best band that's ever been and the best at total album construction. Everyone in the world should own Let It Be and Abbey Road and proabably Revolver. It's listening to songs like Honey Pie or Octopus's Garden that makes Hey Jude true genius. So, the first step if you're feeling a little stale lately is go and buy something else in the catalog of your favorites. Carole King has made more albums than Tapestry, Simon and Garfunkel more than Bridge Over Trouble Waters. Greatest Hits albums are great for quick and easy access to the sing alongs. But studio albums are where we see the best artists at their artistic best.

The second step is realizing that not all your favorite artists are dead or in prison. Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, America, Carley Simon, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash (somehow), have ALL put out albums in 2006-7. So, keep up with the artists you love. All of them have websites or just go to your local store and ask somebody to show you the most recent album. These artists are still around and still making music.

Alright, so now, what's happening today? Oh, honestly, not much. We are officially in the era of hip-hop. "Popular" music is rap, r & b, dance and combinations of all kinds. This is hard for some, again like my mom, who hate rapping and can't stand the sounds of computerized beats and turn-table scratches. It's also pretty hard these days if you can't listen to a distorted electric guitar. Although, there aren't really a lot of good rock bands these days, either. This should sum up the music scene right now-the greatest selling albums of this year are High School Musical, High School Musical 2, and Hannah Montana.

But there are some gems out there that I think you baby boomers out there will like. And I'll break now into list form to keep from rambling anymore.

Norah Jones-singer, piano player, very bluesy.
Corrine Bailey Rae-singer, bluesy, R&B
Joss Stone-singer, funk, Jazz, R&B (thanks, steph) Janis Joplin-esque
The Arcade Fire-9-person band, folk-rock-bluegrass-weird awesome fusion.
Bright Eyes-singer/songwriter with band, rock-folk stuff. Awesome!
The Frames-my most exciting find this year. The movie "Once" and this Scot band.
John Mayer-guitar player/singer-songwriter. One of the new Eric Clapton's
Ray LaMontagne-pure folk, just a guy and a guitar.
Jamie Cullum-great updates of Sinatra and jazz standard stuff.
Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, and Matt Costa-the most laid back, chilled out music ever.

That's all I can think of right now. There's a lot of great music out there. Listen to the radio (not just NPR), go to festivals and local concerts, go to record stores and spend an afternoon listening to music. Find what you love, find what speaks to you. And never be bored with your music, there's something out there for everybody.

For those about to rock, I salute you.
BB