I gotta say, there’s something untouchable about music in the 60s and 70s. As much as it pains me to say it, I find myself going back to that era more than my beloved 90s comfort zone.

Even looking at my students, who are on the frontlines of what’s new and popular, still flood my classroom playlist with suggestions from that time.

While I’m sure music buffs and audiophiles can send me a thesis on why that’s the case, I’m going to give a hot take:

That’s when we peaked with music.

Don’t get me wrong, people are still writing and producing tremendous music, but the fragmentation of the industry, reduced capacity of our attention spans, proliferation of mobile devices and competition with many other forms of entertainment have fundamentally changed the way we listen to music.

More importantly, it’s changed the way music is produced. It’s produced to target the attention span of people on the go rather than the few who put on an album to just sit back and listen.

Given that, it’s kind of hard to make something evergreen when you’re only thinking of making it go viral right away.