Gen X is famous for being forgotten in most discussions of generations, which is hilarious because Gen X is totally awesome. Everybody says so (when they remember we exist).
Seriously, though, if you need proof that Gen X is fabulous, look no further than our playlists. The generation born between the mid-60s and the early 80s might just have the most varied and eclectic of all musical tastes. Our hippie/classic rocker parents passed down their 60s and 70s tunes, then we got the 80s in all its power ballad glory, then a brief 50s music revival during the 80s, then the rise of hip-hop, rap and grunge in the 90s.
A Gen X mom shared a video demonstrating the wide range of music she listens to ,and it’s 100% familiar to those of us in our 40s and 50s.
As Word up with Jen points out, Gen X was “born in the 70s, raised in the 80s and partied in the 90s,” cementing every decade’s jams in our memory, from Anne Murray to Snoop Dog. Watch:
@wordup_withjen Ya never know what you’re gonna get 🤷♀️ #genx #70sbaby #raisedinthe80s #partiedinthe90s #carjams
The comments confirm that Gen X really does have the bead on everyone’s beats.
“I’m glad I’m not the only polyjamorous gen x out there.”
“So I’m not the only one with a playlist that looks like it belongs to some with multiple personalities? This is a relief.”
“Gen X is the only generation that covered so many genres of music AND decades of music. Don’t give me the aux unless ur ready for a lesson in music.”
“SO true!! You may get Metallica, you may get NWA, you may get Donny Osmond,you may get Duran Duran…who knows? 😂👏”
“I can relate 100%! It’s not just one genre or decade. If you knew songs by NWA, Dre, Snoop, you also knew country songs by Shania, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and metal songs from Metallica to Pantera and so on. Even if you had a specific genre of music like me (90’s hip hop/rap/pop) you also knew Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns n Roses by the very first riff and rocked the hell out of it lol. Love Gen X life!”
“I think Gen X hit the jackpot culturally. Signed, a Millennial.”
Naturally, every individual has their own musical tastes, and people from other generations can certainly appreciate different music genres. But Gen X really has had the biggest exposure to a mix of musical styles during our formative. years. Our ingrained musical knowledge would make us excellent “Humm…ble” competitors, and we can sing along with pretty much anything pre-Y2K. (Some of us got Mom Brain in the 2000s that ruined us for memorizing lyrics to newer songs, but we can sing “Hotel California,” “Sister Christian” and “Baby Got Back” in our sleep.)
The funniest thing about this is that the younger generations only know “playlists” as digital collections. Never will they know the hours of work that went into creating the “playlist” known as the mixed tape. Especially a mixed tape from the radio, where you curse the DJ for talking through the entire intro of the song. Even making mixed CDs took a lot of effort compared to few clicks it takes today to piece together a playlist.
Gen X may have its issues—all that angst didn’t come out of nowhere—but when it comes to music, we are the unbeatable generation.