When the cult 1985 single 'Running Up That Hill' by Kate Bush went to number one this summer, a few people forgot, it seemed, what it was to be young. Since the resurgence in popularity of the song stemmed from its prominent feature in Netflix show Stranger Things, plenty of people took umbrage.
Apart from being extremely snobbish (something Gigwise does in no way endorse), this way of thinking also suggests amnesia in those afflicted. Perhaps they were born loaded with the knowledge of the world's music history. More likely, they too discovered music through TV. Or their parents. Or on the internet. Or one of a million other ways.
Here, we asked some people where they discovered music when they were kids. This is what they said (and the year they were born)...
Kat, 1984
I recorded new songs off the radio, onto a cassette, and if the DJ talked over the last 30 seconds or so it was THE END OF THE WORLD.
Barney, 1989
Music channels for me. I'd spend all day just sitting in front of Kerrang!, MTV2, Scuzzy, The Vault, Channel U...
James, 1982
I signed up for the library in the centre of Cambridge and could borrow CD albums for 80p a time, taking out a maximum of 5 over seven days. I'd read magazines like Q, Spin etc. and pull recommendations before renting out what I could and then taping or buying the ones I really loved. As I got a little older and into punk labels like Epitaph had Punk O Rama compilations, Fat Wreck had Survival Of The Fattest and other one-off compilations for cheap - £4.99 for 20 tracks - and they were great ways of hearing these smaller bands and then deciding which one you might decide to buy a full album from, often on import from HMV.
Steve, 1965
John Peel.
Rebekah, 1997
1. Dad's music in the car! 2. Walking round HMV for hours on end 3. Connecting with friends through Spotify and checking what they were listening to.
Stephanie, 1987
I found a lot of stuff out on MySpace, forums, friends/love interests giving me mixtapes, going to random gigs, Napster, Limewire!
Rob, 1996
Up until about being 13 it was Radio 1 and Key 103, my parents, The Hits (channel 18 on Freeview!), 14-17: MySpace and Bebo and YouTube, Radio 6, friends on the web, Limewire, sharing p2p files over MSN.
Chelsey, 1994
Was 100% influenced by long car journeys with my Pops. As a teenager, my Spotify playlist went from Glen Campbell and The Eagles, to Visage and Genesis. Throw in some angsty bands like Paramore and MCR and you've got a very weird playlist.
Jamie, 1986
Compilation CDs from Asian Man Records, Hellcat Records, Fat Wreck or Kerrang Magazine mostly. Support bands at shows and through mates otherwise.
Gabriella,
Guilty of searching up movie soundtracks on Spotify and Shazaming songs in Hollister and H&M
Danny, 1980
John Peel Evening Session, Mojo, NME, interacting with friends.
Anna, 1987
I would go to Fab Music 2 on my local high street and scour the front covers of tapes and CDs for cool looking ones. Ended up very into Aerosmith at about 8 for this reason!
Lucy, 1996
This is mainly around age 11/12 (before it ended up being completely social and Spotify) but: the video bit on people’s Bebo profiles (this is how i found Taylor Swift lol), what people were listening to on MSN, watching music video channels, borrowing CDs and just YouTube holes.
Nathan, 1988
My dad used to buy and sell used cars and people would always leave tapes in the glove box by accident, so he’d bring them home. Discovered the Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers and a bunch more that way.
Emma, 1989
The '00s was all about the “soundtrack” CD. The O.C., One Tree Hill etc. I'd find random bands that way…older music was definitely my parents.
Brad, 1987
Was pretty much magazines, music video channels, computer games, radio stations, TV shows and generally word of mouth. Glad I live in an era of the internet now and I'm stoked for young people growing up in being able to access music instantly.
Keith, 1960
I had a brother 10 years older who used to play his records to me and my twin brother in the early 60s — The Beatles, The Kinks, The Shadows — and that progressed to watching Top of the Pops and listening to Radio 1 into the 70s. I then convinced my aunt and uncle, who were pub landlords, to give us the old singles from the pub jukebox when they were replaced every few weeks, so we had loads to through and pick what was cool (T-Rex, David Bowie) and what was cheesy rubbish (Olivia Newton John, The New Seekers).
