Forget Millennials, GenX, Baby Boomers – they’re all wrapped up in the “Perennials”. Coined by Gina Pell, Content Chief for theWhatList, a popular marketing blog, “Perennials” refers to people of all generations who share a common interest.
If you’re someone, regardless of age, who stays informed about the world around you and likes learning new things, consider yourself a Perennial. No more labeling under gender, age, racial background, etc.
Millennials, who have long borne the “entitlement” moniker, are particularly happy about the change. If you have any Millennial friends, as I do, you realize there are lots of them who have great ideas and are willing to work hard to implement them. Completely the opposite of anyone who considers themselves “entitled” to anything.
The Case for the Original Perennial
Happy as I am that Ms. Pell found a way to unite the generations, I’d like to make the case for music being the original Perennial. Think about it – people of all ages have always listened to all kinds of music, even more so today.
Before you remind me about past battles between young and old over first jazz, then rock, and finally rap, consider that my Millennial friends listen to both the Beatles and hip-hop. While it may be true that in the past, people segregated themselves according to their musical taste, I believe that’s no longer the case. Possibly it’s because there’s so much more music readily available than in the past.
For instance, using SoundCloud, I can listen to the latest in any music genre I want. And YouTube is a great resource for discovering music from the past. Those are just two musical resources…type any song title, musician or music genre into Google and a virtual universe of music awaits you.
In my younger days, when I was on the move across the U.S., my mother, who was based in New York City and a true Perennial, kept me current on the latest art shows, books and music. My son does the same thing for me today using the Internet from his home base in Phoenix, Arizona.
Musical families, such as mine, tend to be more liberal with the types of music played in the household. For example, I grew up singing the Broadway show tunes beloved by both my parents. Later when I discovered the Beatles, my mother played their songs on piano while I played them on guitar. Although they liked some rock songs better than others, my parents never prevented me from listening to any type of music.
People of all ages enjoying all types of music and discovering more each day. What could be more Perennial than that?
All we need to do to unite America is play a Chuck Berry record! Something about his upbeat tunes makes everyone forget whatever they’re thinking about and dance. Or at least tap their toes. Whatever. The point is you quickly get lost in the music and, for that moment in time, nothing else matters.