The 'millennial' curse

The belief a ‘generational cohort’ e.g., ‘millennials’ are somehow qualitatively different from previous generations at a similar stage in their lives. If you believe this, I reckon you are more likely to look for psychological explanations of their behaviour — i.e. more of them are staying at home because they are lazy or dependent, more of them are taking short-term jobs because they are uniquely adaptive, etc. On the other hand, if you believe that young people are NOT inherently different from any previous group of young people — i.e. that apparent attitudinal differences are basically a function of age, not ‘generation’, then you’re left looking for material reasons for behaviour change, and have to start thinking uncomfortable thoughts about e.g., the economy, job prospects, the choices made by people now in their 40s and above, the structural differences and power relations WITHIN a generational cohort.

I reckon this is one hidden effect of the widespread acceptance of generational segments and stereotypes, e.g. the easy belief that the word ‘millennials’ is useful – it pushes people towards psychological, not material thinking. Inspired by this gross advertising campaign: http://bbwgetsyouahead.com/

Tom Ewing listens to 'Nevermind' for the first time

We crave surprise: could there possibly be any left in Nevermind? A little, as it turned out. When I played it — finally! — what jumped out was Krist Novoselic’s bass sound and its constant malignant gravity, sucking songs down even as it keeps them brisk. It sounds, as it happens, very much like how I thought “swamp rock” might. I knew to expect a blend of ugliness and pop crispness, but I had to hear Nevermind to realise how little the two resolve, making the album sound alienated even from itself. I had some prejudices confirmed, too — the zombie lurch of Cobain’s singing is comfortably the weirdest thing about the record, and it seems a gloriously uncanny twist of rock history that it became so imitated. But I still can’t actually stand hearing it.

Poptimist #32

V is for Virtue (and Vice): Guilty pleasures appeal as a concept because the feeling you oughtn’t to be enjoying something is a really powerful, complicated one. So maybe the real problem isn’t that the idea of “guilty pleasures” promotes guilt but that it cheapens it— reduces the profound impact of cognitive dissonance to the level of a sneaky cream cake. So opponents might try and reframe them as a secret urge, a vice, a kink— which might have the knock-on effect of making normal tastes seem tiresomely virtuous.