Those who have forgotten the past are very forgetful
In an interview at Culture Bully, Gary Numan said the following:
I see very little in the charts that has the depth or the power to interest me. So much of today’s chart music is based on looking backwards for ideas rather than forwards and I hate that. It’s too light weight, too wimpy. The heavier, more interesting things struggle to get heard so it never seems likely that they are just about to break and find a bigger audience. Still, it happens from time to time so perseverance obviously has a lot to do with it.
So Numan is criticizing those who look backwards for ideas.
Wha?
Numan wore heavy make-up and was clearly inspired – self-admittedly so – by David Bowie, Marc Bolan and contemporary electronic acts such as Ultravox! and The Human League, both in their pre-fame incarnations....The music which brought him fame was groove-based, riff-based music performed with synthesisers, Numan's distinctively reedy, cockney voice delivering lyrics which seemed to have been read from the pages of Philip K. Dick. With regard to lyrical content, William S. Burroughs also provided a huge influence.
Comments
My daughter takes after my wife in some respects, and appreciates some of the older music. But I used to play a game with her, in which I'd say, "Hear that song? It was released 29 years ago!" She got tired of the game long before I did...