True, but I was totally blown away when I went to college in the fall because so many people had Fleetwood mac and Stevie Nicks CD's. And when I played a song at a party or something, it was totally ok. One kid I ran into even had Say You Will and Bella Donna on his Ipod.

I'm 18 and I've always been into older music since I was 8 or 9. Being the twelve year old who thought Elton John was the coolest thing since sliced bread wasn't easy...! I actually fell out with a really good friend because she was into following the crowd and I wasn't ... I suppose Elton sort of epitomised that. But it taught me a lot about being your own person, doing your thing and not minding what other people are doing.

The 'non-conformity is the new conformity' trend really bugs me, and more and more teenagers in my country are latching onto it. Some of my schoolmates wouldn't be seen dead listening to a record in the charts ... others wouldn't be seen dead listening to one that isn't in the charts! Each position is as bad as the other, as far as I'm concerned ... if it's good music and you enjoy it, go for it and who cares what anyone else says, good or bad?

But I think most copped-on young people recognise good music when they hear it. :)

Me too. I used to wash dishes with the oldies station on and my mother would hear the music and say, "Why are you listening to that? That song was popular when I was your age." I can't say I have good taste in music though. I do tend towards the kind of cheesy. But even so, any kind of history is good history. So much of today's music is derivative and if you like something, I think it always adds to your appreciation to know what inspired what you like. All it can do is lead to the discovery of more things you might like that you wouldn't have been aware of otherwise.

Michele

THis never stopps amazing me either, walking around campus last symester with my rumors shirt on started many random FM conversations. and i was actually pleasently surprized.:)

The popularity of older music in the college crowd has always interested me. I never found people who were quite as into the older bands I liked when I was in college, it tended toward the "popular" old bands to like, such as Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Grateful Dead, basically all the bands that the poster companies could make a lot of money on. But essentially, I was pretty surprised by how much more open minded everyone was to more classic rock when I went to college.

Also, it doesn't matter how old the band is, if you play a college town, I think you have a great chance to have your show well attended there. I think students like the concert experience almost as much as the music. They have disposable income and are willing to experiment, like you said. So, they can be counted on to go to concerts with artists old enough to be their grand parents. Michele