The test of time

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I've heard people defend old music by saying that it must be good since people are still enjoying it 30 or 40 years after it was recorded. On the face of it, it's an absurd statement to make. But isn't it partly true that as all the chaff is disposed of or forgotten, the best stuff will endure or become visible (even if it may take 20 or 30 years for it to come to light. e.g early 70's, singer songwriters disappearing while reggae/glam/krautrock becomes (re)discovered.

In an age when everything is (or will be) available, will this filter still exist?

― Billy Dods, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I thought the absurd thing was supposed to be asserting that it must be better than current music because it's old. Saying that something must be good because it's still enjoyed doesn't sound absurd to me, even if questionable.

― Josh, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's usually the memorable, nostalgic, or time-defining music that last, but not necessarily the best. I think quite often the best music is the music that gets lost.

― A Nairn, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have always thought that the 'test of time' really argument really works with 'pop music' ..

I mean, I'm 30, and I have a great love for some of the classic sixties bands, Walker Brothers, Shangri-La's, Sonny & Cher to name but three...

But I can't honestly see people in 10-20 years time saying the same thing about the big pop bands of the late 80s-90s e.g. Take That, Bros and hundreds of other bands.. Obviously some will stand the test of time, but I think the 'timeless quality' of some of the big sixties songs have been lacking in the past decade....

― Baxter Wingnut, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I really can't see why it's important whether music is still popular in 20 years time or not. If this somehow 'proves' that it's 'good' then... so what?

Anyway, you're stuck with the problem of having no fixed date by which to decide which things have stood the test of time and which haven't. 50 years after any point at which you make such an observation, it all might have changed. And in time, all art will be forgotten, so it's all pissing against the wind anyway.

― N., Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Maybe the "test of time" argument will be worthwhile in 20 years, Nick. Maybe it's just "ahead of its time" and we can't "appreciate" it now. Maybe human beings will one day "progress" to such an appreciation thanks to the influence of our future song-bird masters.

― Alex in SF, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Test Of Time has always struck me as a cowardly cop-out. Make a fucking judgement on what you're hearing NOW, ferchrissakes. It's also very frequently used as a way of dismissing current music, which is of course simply absurd.

And it's no good trying to guess what will stand said test. My standard cautionary tale here: John Peel used to have the next slot to Tony Blackburn on pirate radio, pre-Radio 1. They argued. Tony thought his music would stand the test of time, John was convinced that the future would look back adoringly on his music and forget Tony's. Tony was championing Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson and the like, John was championing Iron Butterfly and It's A Beautiful Day.

I feel as if I'm in the same argument again when I'm arguing the case for TLC or Destiny's Child with Radiohead fans.

And this test is fickle. NME critics were polled for their greatest ever album in, I think, 1976. What's Going On did not make the top 100. Ten years later, it won. Then ten years or so later it slipped down, and in the meantime Pet Sounds had improved, apparently.

― Martin Skidmore, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My favorite music is live music, or DJed sets; none of that can stand the "test of time" by definition

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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