An open letter to the good people at VH1 Classic:

[wednes]

Dear Sirs and Madames:

I enjoy your channel very much. You play lots of good classic rock, which I enjoy.

I must call to your attention, however, that the phrase "classic rock" referrs to old or "classic" music. That is, music that is 25 years old or more. In the interest of TV magic, I happily accept your playing music videos that are 20 years old, or even slightly newer than that.

However.

Your assertion that anything off the 1991 Pearl Jam album: 10 is "classic rock" is both disturbing and offensive. Indeed, any music released during my college career will not be considered "classic rock" until 2014 (when I am well over 40). Please refrain from playing Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots on your "classic rock" channel until at least 2013.

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.

--Wednes

Comments

[brettsyboy.livejournal.com]

i disagree, that stuff is sooooo classic it hurts, any music that still gets radio play and is atill being discovered by teenagers of the present 10 to 15 years after its release sounds pretty 'classic' to me, in fact there are songs from 5 years ago that i consider 'classic' in my mind, but 5 years may be pushin it.

[emperorsamir.livejournal.com]

yeah it seems like even the classic rock stations on the radio are pushing. just yesterday i heard some haggar era van halen. it may be close to 20 years old, but not that close.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

I see your point. However my issue with this is twofold:

1- It is well established for other things, like cars, that 25 years equals classic. Again, 20 is acceptable to me.

2--It makes me feel damn old to hear 'classic" music that was released after i was old enough to drink legally. I mean jeez, I'm not even 35 yet!

[brettsyboy.livejournal.com]

it makes me feel old too, but if you think of the word classic more in a way like 'whoa, this song is so good its classic' it doesnt matter how old the song is . i heard this argunent on the radio a few weeks ago,and im stickin to my guns!

[wednes.livejournal.com]

I can certainly see the logic in that arguement. Yet, it makes calling something classic a subjective opinion based on quality rather than the more tangible method of demanding the thing in question survive a 20-25 year test of time.

So I guess I'm saying that using a subjective standard would ultimatley weaken the impact of calling something classic. But of course, YMMV.