Research has shown that people tend to choose their favorite musical styles during their teen years, and hold on to that style for life. There are any number of reasons for this — memories of good times with friends, sexual awakening, encountering adult situations for the first time — all of which can help to lodge that music in the brain. Rock, pop, rap, and many other styles are directed towards young people and the experiences of youth, after all. (Aside: it would be interesting to read research on people whose appreciation for music continues to grow and change, or who abandon earlier styles for later ones). With that in mind, here’s a song from my pre-teens that was in my head today. It’s actually a little “old” for me — it was no longer popular in my prime teen years, and I didn’t even listen to this group much in high school and college. They were the first rock band that I really loved, though. It’s from 1977, a period when even rockers like the Stones put out disco records to capitalize on the all-conquering popularity of that style. Turn to Stone doesn’t have the full commitment to dancing that good disco records had, but the racing motor of its beat, the use of the flanger to alter the timbre in the intro, the super-fast singing in the bridge, and the memorable image of “turning to stone” (with its references to Medusa and other mythological ossifiers) all combine to cement this song in my memory. Oh, and I was present in Wembley Stadium with all of the other 50-somethings where this video was recorded. More proof of the power of nostalgia: concerts by classic rock groups bring in huge paying crowds. You can’t download the concert experience, and for many this is a quick and reliable time machine.

Here’s a possible blog prompt: what did you think of the Grammy Awards this year? I think for many people the biggest surprise of the night was that Beyoncé did not win album of the year for Lemonade, an album which made a huge impact on popular culture. Musically speaking, I could understand the choice of Adele’s 25 as album of the year — it certainly delivered the pop music goods, and has the kind of musical aesthetic that the Grammys have often awarded — melody-driven pop with a more traditional kind of craft. Culturally speaking, however, I don’t know how you can argue that 25 was even remotely as influential on popular culture, and musically/artistically, 25 was far less daring than Lemonade. Adele apparently thought so too — her speech after winning the award was refreshing in its sincerity and modesty, even if her comment about her “black friends” raised some eyebrows. She literally broke her award in half afterwards, apparently by accident, perhaps meaning to give half of it to her idol. Ann Powers gives a comprehensive analysis of all of this at NPR.

For three years in a row now, the Grammys have passed over highly ambitious and critically acclaimed albums by black artists for well-made but demonstrably less influential efforts by white artists. In other years, it would be hard to fault the choice of Taylor Swift’s smash 1989 or Adele’s 25 (the choice of Beck’s Morning Phase in 2015 was less likely), but these choices do give the impression that the Grammys don’t value black expression as much as they should.

Part of the problem is that Grammy voters are mostly industry professionals, and they likely vote more for what represents them and what they do than for a more global sense of what is important or most meritorious. Until that changes, we may see more examples of this. At least the Grammy administration seems to be aware of the problem, and no one could argue that they didn’t try to give black artists their due, with prominent slots given to Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Chance the Rapper.

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