Kids today are burnt out on the digitization of music (and everything else). Many are looking back to the golden age of physical media. Specifically, a few young listeners have been listening to one particular album by a band called Pink Floyd which was once made famous on vinyl.
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It’s one of the most well-known and revered concept albums in rock music, and for good reason. Nothing like the 1979 album The Wall by Pink Floyd had ever been done before. And even though it’s very much a product of its time, this record is just as relevant today as it was in late-1970s England.
Songs like “Another Brick In The Wall Part 2” had no qualms with criticizing war, the education system, and the hopelessness that young people were feeling at a very important time in society and culture. A whole new generation of listeners can identify with Waters’ lyrics today; and that’s not necessarily a great thing. But hopefully, this album will inspire the new generation of young listeners and pull them out of their numbness just as it did in the 1970s.
Systematic Failure of Educational Institutions
It’s been decades since The Wall by Pink Floyd was first released. Unfortunately, the following lyrics are still ringing true in the 2020s:
“They tell us we have the power to fix all the wrongs in this world, make it a better place for all. And then they throw us into the deep end of the pool, expecting us to stay afloat. They don’t even flinch when we become just another brick in the wall.”
Kids Today Still Don’t Want To Be Controlled By Media
The political landscape of the 2020s looks quite different from the late 1970s, but teenage rebellion against biased media and political propaganda is still as strong as ever. The lyrics “We don’t need no thought control” are very relevant today, even if ideologies in American and even UK politics are very different-looking… and arguably more extreme.
This is a big reason why The Wall is still so relevant to young listeners today. The original concept behind the album might have spawned from the band realizing that they built a “wall” between themselves and their fans. But the record has been interpreted as very much a product of its time on a cultural level. The Wall is, in many ways, a spiteful exploration of authority figures and society’s distaste for anyone who thinks differently.
The Internet is Both The Wall and The Way Out
We’re in the age of the internet, where communication is much broader and deeper than it was back in the day. Young people have more of an opportunity to express their beliefs and connect with like-minded people. However, there’s a negative to this. There is also more of an opportunity to be spurned for thinking differently. And there’s way more of an opportunity to be “controlled” via propaganda.
That propaganda doesn’t even have to be political in nature. In the 1970s, teens were told to worship war and accept the status quo. Today, they’re being advertised to and expected to numb their feelings of disconnection and apathy by purchasing products. Regardless of these differences, The Wall says the same thing to apathetic young people who are struggling to see the point of it all. You don’t have to adhere to a “one size fits all” system of education and broader society. You don’t have to be just another brick in the wall.
Plus, it’s just really great music. That’s worth noting, too.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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