Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/28/these-young-people-do-not-reme.html
…
3 Likes
Ok, I’m done giving these kids the benefit of the doubt. I was skeptical about Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” because that song has been in a lot of movie and TV soundtracks. But claiming that about “September?” They’d have to be living in some industrial strength bubble for 22 years to avoid that one.
12 Likes
I know a guy who would go on and on about his Irish heritage all the time, but was clueless when I played him some Thin Lizzy.
I dunno. Some people really do live in a bubble. I think when I was their age I may not have ever listened to that song, just heard it playing in the background somewhere and didn’t care.
Or maybe I really want to like these kids and don’t want to believe they’re faking their reactions.
12 Likes
I’ve wondered a couple of times how some of these songs could be a “first” because the airwaves and internet are so saturated with them. But these kids are so charming, I don’t want to care.
5 Likes
I think it’s plausible that younger people would not have heard classic songs that older people have heard ad nauseum. When I was growing up I heard many, many songs on the radio that I never chose to listen to, they were just on while my parents were driving me around. In the last 20 years (while these kids were growing up) it’s become easier to skip the radio and listen to whatever you want on your digital device while at the same time it’s probably less likely that you’d hear oldies/classics/hits of the past if you were listening to the radio.
6 Likes
I’m right there with you; I find it really hard to believe the brothers never heard EW&F while growing up, not even once.
This makes me question what kind of music were their parents listening to when they were kids?
11 Likes
I think that they probably heard it before (dude sang “Ye-ow” along side the singer), but they may not know who sang the song or the title? (Giving them the benefit of doubt.)
They seemed to be concerned with the visuals on this one. They mention the singer’s expression right away, but I was surprised how long it took them to get to the crazy clothes.
8 Likes
Lots of kids their age didn’t listen to live radio or watch TV live very much as kids. And lots of kids walk around with ear buds always in their ears.
Or just don’t care! 
They are fun to watch!
6 Likes
But their parents… they never played any music when the twins were little?
I understand living in bubbles, but that song is a staple at Black BBQ’s and cookouts…
5 Likes
Perhaps it is more like the first time they have sat down to listen to that particular song, there are 40+ years of other music to pick it out of.
1 Like
THAT does seem weird. I’m guess they probably did hear it at some point, but as @subextraordinaire upthread noted, they might not have know the name, title, or given the song too much thought?
6 Likes
Hell, my mama is White, and she still played the hell out of some Motown records (and everything else that was Funk & R&B) while I was growing up - as I did with my own kid, long before she ever got into her own tastes in music.
I can believe “Ah, man I forgot all about this song; it’s a banger!” WAY more than I can believe “I never heard this song until just now.”
7 Likes
True, but don’t forget, their parents are most likely gen xers…
Sure…
5 Likes
Like yourself, I’m Gen X; that’s no excuse.
Unless they grew up Jehovah’s Witnesses, or something; that would explain it…
7 Likes
True!
Whatever the truth, I still enjoy their videos. They seem like they are genuinely enjoying the music they’re listening to, and that’s great…
Pixies (fuckin’ DIE)!
Okay, just came across this!
(shakey camera, but it’s only a minute long…)
13 Likes
TIL that that song is “September” by Earth, Wind, & Fire. I always figured it was called “Do You Remember” or something like that, mostly because those were the only lyrics I ever managed to pick out.
I’m also generally of the opinion that hearing a song (as background music), on one hand, and deliberately and actively listening to a song, on the other, are two different things. Definitely willing to believe that this is the first time these kids have done the latter because this is also the first time I’ve deliberately and actively listened to this song.
4 Likes
Plausible. Maybe they heard the whole thing but mentally tuned it out completely, maybe they quickly changed the channel. Hey, I swear it took me more than a decade to listen to “Baby, One More Time” all the way through, and I didn’t even hate the song. I just found that I had better things to do after the first chorus.
3 Likes
Us old people tend to forget how quickly music gets forgotten. I think it’s totally possible that these kids (term used loosely, they’re 20) haven’t heard a lot of what older generations consider touchstones. Like, if you look at the results of this music questionnaire there’s a TON of songs that Gen Z’ers haven’t been exposed to, due to all kinds of factors.
They’ve said in other videos that people in their community pretty much only listen to hip hop. And they were born around the time MP3’s became a thing, so it’s totally conceivable that their parents/immediate family either never listened to the radio, or if they did it was strictly non-pop stations.
In general they explain in their videos when it’s their first exposure to an artist, song, or genre or when it’s not and they’ve heard it before. Why would they lie about certain songs and not others?
2 Likes
But have you ever seen what this guy does every Sept. 21?
6 Likes
6 Likes
