When my daughter (not pictured to the left) was six-years old, she informed me that no good music (which to her meant boy bands) had existed before N*Sync. And it didn't matter how much I tried to explain that there were dozens of other popular boy bands who had existed before N*Sync that she might like (Yes - I'll admit I watched The New Kids on the Block Cartoon way too much in my early teen years, but that's beside the point) - she was not even willing to listen.I've had people explain to me that no good movies existed before Star Wars - none, that somehow before May 25 1977 every other motion picture was simply a waste of film.
The problem is, as a boy band fan - unless you've listened to your Jackson 5 and Menudo, or as a Star Wars fan, seen your Lawrence of Arabia and The Hidden Fortress, you are missing out on the origins of whatever it is you are interested in.
If you love horror, take the time to check out the original five monster novels (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, and The Werewolf of Paris) If you loved 10,000 BC check out Clan of the Cave Bear and Quest for Fire. If you read lots of Science Fiction - Give the ABCs a Try (Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke)
No matter what kind of stuff you are into, the classics in that genre deserve your attention. You never know where checking them out might lead you (a few years back I got very interested in Demonic Possession stories and started reading everything I could find - Classic books full of demons? How about Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Jesus exorcizes all kinds of demons in those books!)
Eventually my daughter listened to enough boy bands that she became willing to try other music (thank god), and now she's got amazing and wide ranging taste in music. So check out the classics, everything that came after owes something to them, and admitting you are into the classics may help people forget that you said you used to watch The New Kids on the Block cartoon - I hope.
Excellent post! Of course, classics are no guarantee of enjoyment. Otherwise I would have liked Hidden Fortress or Lawrence of Arabia. Give me Peter O'Toole in the Phantom Zone anyday- wait, you did already! Peace!
ReplyDeleteFrom the list you mentioned I've read The Invisible Man, Clan of the Cave Bear and a few Isaac Asimov books. The Clan of the Cave Bear was a struggle to read at first but I got hooked in the end. Enjoyed all the Asimov books I read especially his Robot stories. Hated The Invisible Man though. Found it to be terminally boring.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post :-)