Timelines about generations usually lack clarity. Compare HR-related surveys about multi-generational workforces, and you will know how confusing they can get. Definitions about Millennials are the trickiest of all.
I have heard Millennials defined as those born after the early 1990s, which marks the dawn of what we call the Information Age. Then, “babies” from early 1980s to early-2000s are sometimes lumped together as Millennials. They are also alternatively called Gen Y.
Now, the term Gen Z crops up often, representing those born between the mid-1990s and mid-2005s. And that leaves me in helpless and unlabelled territory, as I raise two individuals who missed the 2005-cutoff mark. Are they Post Gen-Zers? Or, Post Millennials? Please help.
On a serious note, efforts to understand generations, let alone define them, have always been mired in confusion and misunderstanding. Every generation feels misunderstood and also feels compelled to define itself, and they have used music to do so.
Towards the end of 2018, The 1975 – don't let the name mislead you; they are not a bunch of Gen Xers, but Millennials by one of the widely-accepted definitions, and wear this fact proudly – released ‘An Inquiry Into Online Relationships.’ The title is self-explanatory and it couldn't have come from anyone other than a Millennial.
The video of the song ‘TooTimeTooTimeTooTime’ from the album especially illustrates the stratosphere they inhabit. It shows faces and people representative of all parts of the world, evoking a sense of ‘Facebooking’. In words too, the song presents the almost parallel universe they inhabit. Agreed, other generations are now occupying a universe that is getting more and more online; but the Millennials occupy it as their natural habitat.
Look at the refrain of the song:
‘I only called her one time, maybe it was two times?/ Don't think it was three times, can't be more than four times/ Think we need to rewind, you text that boy sometimes/ Must be more than three times.’
Pete Townshend has been a torch-bearer for his generation, thanks to ‘My Generation’, which he wrote for his band The Who. Released in 1965, the song, which is structured beautifully, musically, is an apology for the Mod subculture. It is packed with the angst and anger at being misunderstood: ‘People try to put us d-down/ (Talkin’ about my generation)/ Just because we get around (Talkin’ about my generation/ Things they do look awful c-c-cold/ (Talking about my generation)/ I hope I die before I get old/ (Talking about my generation).’
Hathes Khazvini, vocalist and lead-guitarist and frontman of the 1960s-70s band Chewing Gum Tombstone from Bangalore, which regrouped as Mara in Mumbai, says this song was one of the anthems of that generation.
“As a band, we performed ‘My Generation’ many a time and every time, it would be greeted with rapturous reception. The song would be extended and played for 45 minutes, with jamming, and it would still sustain audience’s interest, because it was aligned with the spirit of the times. Youngsters then thought the older generation was materialistic. Every generation may be inclined to feel that way. But now, there is no counter-culture. In contrast, we were leading a revolution. We were trying to change the world. At least, we thought we were doing that.” In 1971, there was Sneha Yatra, a three-day Indian Woodstock in Malavli near Bombay, where Mara was one of the performing bands.
Now, let me close with a thought from Millennials:
‘Cause we are the helpless, selfish, one of a kind/ Millennium kids, that all wanna die/...We get into trouble and lose our minds/ Something that I’ve heard a million times in my life/ Generation Why.’
This is the refrain of the song ‘Generation Why’ by Kisschasy, an alt-rock band from Down Under.
