I first heard/saw Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pool (Drank) when it came out in 2012. I was an alcoholic then around that period, I've since become sober, but no matter what I'm on (or not) it always sticks with me. Do people ironically get drunk to it? Sure. But does it reach out and touch people, and send a meaningful message? You're goddamn right.
I don't know about you but I get so f***ing sick of idiots on Youtube talking about there being "no good music anymore". Its right up there with the "Kids these days ain't shit" on message boards.
And (to me) good music comes from almost every genre. The last event I ever went to was a Dierks Bentley country concert with my mom (2017). I still remember seeing the music video for Party Up (Up in Here) by DMX back when it came out during my childhood (2000), and listening to Eminem's "Drug Ballad" years later. And I'm not ashamed to admit "Mean" by Taylor Swift touches me. Also I remember a Van Halen concert early in my childhood where the opening song was greeted by smoke and the smell of ganja.
Great music is alive and well, there are plenty of 20+ year old bands still touring (and doing it well). But the adage "You can never make everybody happy" holds true regardless of generation. Sometimes I think the only solutions are drive-bys: roll past these haters' houses blasting the great tunes of the current era.
