why different taste?

i came across a video on youtube which briefly documents senior citizens' reactions after, for the first time, hearing songs from music duo the knife. to give a quick impression, these are some quotes that imply their main thoughts on the music:

"i really think it was awful."
"mixed up, thats really what it was... color, voices, noise, all together."
"its a good thing that you shut it off a little early."

i've thought about this before, but this video made me think even more on the subject. electronic music (or even music with a faster pace, more bass, beats, etc.) has risen in popularity with our generation in the past few years, at least in my experience. i know there are many people who don't necessarily like it, who think that those artists, such as the knife, are strange or annoying. but let's look at the whole picture: our generation definitely listens to rap, some electronic and house music, and bands like 3OH!3 which incorporate electronic sounds into other genres. why is it that we love this music so much, but older generations hate it? they appreciate the smooth voices and harmless lyrics of their younger days. what is it about the beats and darker lyrics that strike a chord in us? because, after all, the music that people choose to listen to usually has a deeper personal meaning to them.

perhaps it is because we live such a fast paced life (physically and mentally) compared to our predecessors, and this music is fitting to our world. we are always so isolated from each other: even when socializing, there are so many distractions (read martin buber's "i and thou"- we're selfish people, even in a one-on-one conversation that we think we are fully devoted to) and these isolations probably make us more prone to empathizing with the darker lyrics of our time.

but even so, i find it odd that music has evolved to be so image based. regardless of the music we are listening to, we also judge the image that comes along with the voice/sounds. when music first started gaining mass popularity, it was broadcasted on the radio, no images attached- only the music itself. it has gradually turned into a commodity, and the popularity of that commodity is based upon either the image of the artist, or the image that we want to exude by listening to that artist (this is the more superficial aspect of music, which, frankly, annoys me). but on the other hand, no matter why we choose to listen to music, it is a less superficial commodity than most, due to how personal it is to every individual. a person REALLY has to enjoy listening to something in their personal time. no one would put on a song in solitude because it was "cool" to listen to.

basically, this post is just a ramble, but i do think about this often. i wonder why and how the music trends change. why did we go from rock and roll, to r&b, to boy band, to rap, to electronica? what do these genres say about the times and generations during which they were/are so popular?

also, i find it interesting that we have created this concept of "fame." automatically, people who are aiming to have popular music which reaches a wide audience, are aiming to attain fame. but, there are some people who still believe in pure music. karin and olof from the knife (i keep using them as an example, but there are many groups like this- another example is the sound of animals fighting) wear masks and use voice synthesizers and pitch shifting to anonymize their true identities. this is in an attempt to bring the music back to its true form, yet still reach a wide audience. they feel it shouldn't matter who the person is that is creating the music- all that matters is the music itself. personally, i agree, but today it is SO hard to extricate ANYTHING from an associated image. images create our world, all we are is eyes. we see, and those visions dictate our thoughts and actions.

anyways, these are just random thoughts. does anyone have any thoughts about this or ever think about it? i definitely think these are interesting ideas to think about in order to reveal more about our generation as a whole...