When I was growing up, my parents subjected me to endless car rides tuned to 101.1 CBS FM — an "oldies" station dominated by doo-wop from the '50s. It was unbearable. And it's not like their generation lacked great music. They were teenagers in the '60s! Maybe because of this, as I got deeper into music, I developed a deep-seated fear of slipping into my own generational irrelevance. By the 2000s, that fear became real.
At my core, I'm a rock fan. So watching rock fade from the mainstream throughout the aughts was unsettling. The shift started with Radiohead's "OK Computer," which ushered in an era of experimental electronic music that gradually edged rock out. By 2009, the transformation was undeniable — "Merriweather Post Pavilion" by Animal Collective dominated the indie scene, and I just wasn't on board. It felt like the music world had moved on without me.
For much of the 2010s, I felt like I was limping along musically. But my tastes evolved just as rock started creeping back into relevance, and eventually, I shook off the malaise. Still, every time I flip to the retro alternative stations on SiriusXM, I get a chill thinking about how easily I could've gotten stuck in that rut.