Why is music so important when we are teens?

musicismylife78

My mental picture of grunge, 14 years after it ended, is teens rebelling, and teen angst, just kids who had something to say and found it being blasted on speakers via Ten or Nevermind or Mellon Collie.

Why is music so important as a teenager?

I make alot of hay about the indie rock scene and how it feels to me like its a similar movement to grunge, but nothing will ever compare to 91-94. Just the feelings, the mental images I have of that time.

My thoughts would be that most likely people like Corgan, cobain, Vedder and others are the only people who speak for teens, or some of the very few.

Pauk

Communication. Consolation. Expression of identity.

Lots of reasons. Teenagers love to be profound

BinFrog

Music is important to a teenager because teens are lost, confused, have poor self esteen and poor self images and are looking for answers. I loved being 15 when grunge hit. It was perfect timing. No more glam rock and cheesy pop for the span of 2-3 years. Music just seemed relevant for whatever reason, and there was just this sense that something ground breaking was going on. The music at that time was very real, very personal, and very soulful. It just didn't seem fake anymore. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, AIC, etc...they all just seemed like real people; they just happened to be writing incredible music. They seemed to be voicing the frustrations of a generation, as lame as that sounds. They called us the lost generation, Gen X/Y, and pretty much worthless. It was the perfect time for the alternative movement to break through and tell everyone we were not to be ignored. It was scary how enveloped our age group became in that 'movement'. There was no real movement per se, but we sure felt like there was.

Plus, making music for depressed teens is like shooting fish in a barrel

12345AGNST1

the teen years 13-19 are the years when we start growing up and learning things on our own. and most of the time, having to learn something on your own isnt exactly a good thing, so music is always a quick fix. Ive learned that you can't really change or listen to peoples advice until you have learned it yourself. so yea thats it.

im 19 btw and still have shit to learn.

harrymanback

why? because there really isn't much else. i was not lost, confused or lacking self esteem ... i was poor. there isn;t a much cheaper form of entertainment than sitting around with friends, drinking some beers and listening to tunes. plus, i had time, so this was an event that could be repeated often.

now at 35 with 2 kids, money is not always an issue, but time is not available to waste. besides, today's music sucks anyway.

SpaceNeedle

I spent my early teens( 12-15) listening to teenybopper crap. I am so ashamed of my past.

HermanBloom

I don't know, but teens are stupid; trust me I teach Junior High.

blondieblue227

because teens are stuck. they feel stuck in a situation where they can’t stand to be. They have little option to do what they want. They want freedom. Music is freedom.

Holy fuck, I still feel like that for the most part.

LaFours

I think it the time when you're struggling with/for an identity. Now some of that comes from upbringing of course. But after that it's the friends you have that have a big influence on you, and sometimes there comes a time when that friend(s) are a band(s).
Now I can't speak for those who came of age in the 80's, I'll assume that there was hardly someone to latch on to that shared what you were feeling at that precarious age.
But from the start of r&r I'm sure there have always been this sense of breaking away from what is expected of you in some form and rock music was/is it. Call it byu whatever name you want, as Billy Joel said it's still rock & roll to me. Kids in 50's had Buddy, Berry, Elvis, etc. 60's had Beatlemania, followed by the flower power bands. early to mid 70's had the emergence of metal and punk, than regretfully disco...into the pop of 80's. Those like many of us who were entering our teens around 91-94 had a glorious 3 years of bands that brought something new yet old to the table, a sense that things are f'd. We felt it maybe unaware, but those songs brought it out. That's all we're really looking for a connection to someone else, we all need that on some level. That's why I think metal has been a mainstay since it's inception, there will always be a new crop of disaffected youth looking for that friend who understands.
I don't know much about the bands out now adays, getting older it seems that it's harder to relate to what they present, yet on the right day can play anything from that time and remember what I was feeling when I first heard it, it is a t once comforting and scary. But I just don't give them the chance, sure something may be catchy but doesn't keep my attention. The last new band I dig is the Raconteurs, and that's mostly because of Jackie White.
And on a last note to bring this to a screeching halt, those of you out there who then/now have a damn the man mentality....we have big label, big business to thank for our loves at that time. With out the Sonys, Epics, geffens, etc,MTV, the NAB, more than likely those bands that broke would've continued to toil like so many that got left behind in the "grunge" craze, plenty of talented bands I'm sure. And most of the world would not of heard a note.

JordyWordy

because you're hormonal during your teens

everything is important when you're hormonal

simple as

JordyWordy

SpaceNeedle wrote:

I spent my early teens( 12-15) listening to teenybopper crap. I am so ashamed of my past.

Pep-talk 101:
you've taken that shame and turned it into positive action though right? then you should be proud!

Rhinocerous Surprise

Because when you turn it up loud, it pisses off your parents.

PJGARDEN

I liked music when I was in my teens but music is much more important to
me now then it was then. I wasnt confused or lost as a teen so
maybe I was just backwards.

Marie Curie

I'm 24 and music is much more important to me now than when I was a teen

poto101

because the teen years are filled with so many mixed emotions, high and low, and music is always there with you every step of the way.

life was a lot more complicated for me in high school, and now that i'm in college, i have already found that music just doesn't have as much of an impact on my daily life as it used to. it was actually a sad realization too. happened my freshman year of college.

in high school there was just a lot more alone time for me, throw in lots of emotion(high and low) and the music just changed everything, especially in the low points. now i'm with people a lot more and don't have as much time to sit around and listen to a record all the way through, and my emotions are a lot more stable (having a gf after high school helped that). overall it just means less to me on a daily basis.



overall its just the huge mix of emotions and alone time that affects the way music has an impact on people in thier teen years. some people have this mix of emotions later on in life, but i think most of us had it as teenagers.

dan_vedder

it stops being so important?? :S

im 18 an im lovin music atm. i hope it stays this way forever!

Velvet Underground, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, David Bowie...all saints!!!

Lou Reed an Veds r my heros!

Cobbelstone

radiohead33 wrote:

My mental picture of grunge, 14 years after it ended, is teens rebelling, and teen angst, just kids who had something to say and found it being blasted on speakers via Ten or Nevermind or Mellon Collie.

Why is music so important as a teenager?

I make alot of hay about the indie rock scene and how it feels to me like its a similar movement to grunge, but nothing will ever compare to 91-94. Just the feelings, the mental images I have of that time.

My thoughts would be that most likely people like Corgan, cobain, Vedder and others are the only people who speak for teens, or some of the very few.

I wrote an essay on this topic a few years back when I was taking a creative non-fiction writing course. I think there are several factors:

1) Identity- the type of music you like is a signal for who you are and who you want to hang out with, for better of for worse. Since you're still young and haven't really formed an identity yet, this is a substitute.
2) Rebellion- rock music addresses a lot of topics that may have been "taboo" or inaccessible coming out of childhood. It introduces you to sex, politics, angst, whatever. Your parents also hate it, which helps.
3)Role Models- I think kids can identify with rock musicians. they are older, yet they seem young. I think this is especially important for kids that aren't the "cool" kids. I'm not sure, but I think it was Henry Rollins who said something like the future rock musicians are the fat or ugly kids hanging out alone on friday night and not getting laid. It's true. Honestly there weren't many "cool" kids listening to rock music at my high school...