A Response to Rick Beato's video, "Why Gen Z Doesn't Care About Music"

This is a long comment I made on Youtube as a response to Rick Beato's video, which was called "Why Gen Z Doesn't Care About Music." For those that don't know, Rick Beato runs a Youtube channel focused on music from the latter half of the 20th century, with guitar tutorials and interviews with famous musicians. I discovered him through Adam Neely, who is another musician with a Youtube channel focused on jazz and bass.

I first saw the video pop up on my feed a few days ago, but the very obvious clickbait title irritated me so much that I refused to click on it just to make a point. But today, my resolve wavered and I indulged in the mean-spirited, scandal-mongering, mob-rage part of my soul - and so I watched it. I thought the only thing I would be doing was rolling my eyes and going "OK boomer" under my breath. But to my surprise, he immediately singled-out video games as the most important reason that Gen Z doesn't care about music (allegedly). Using his extensive experience playing arcade games (yes, from Pong to Galaga to Gun.Smoke) he claimed that the visual and competitive element made games so addictive that the music was always ignored. And thus, in this age where apparently all Gen Z are watching Youtubers play games while playing Mario Kart all day, it must be video games to blame for kids not wanting to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody. 

I'm not going to lie - I was shocked and disappointed. Coming from Adam Neely, who really embraces all kinds of music and encourages every kid to experiment with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), hearing Rick Beato complain about video games and kids being glued to their screens felt like whiplash. It was especially painful to realize that the work of channels like the 8-Bit Big Band, insaneintherainmusic, 8-Bit Music Theory, and many others were being ignored in favor of such an antiquated and frankly prejudiced world-view. It was like the whole "video games cause real world violence" all over again, especially with the cherry-picked examples and the ignorance of what modern video games look like and how they have changed. 

Related to this issue was the announcement that this year, the BBC would host the first "Gaming Prom." The BBC Proms are classical music concerts hosted across the UK by the BBC, though they have a very loose meaning of "classical," as is clear here. I had just read an article that scoffed at the idea of having video game music on such a prestigious stage, and the author went on to use it as evidence that the Proms had really gone to the dogs. Seeing the comments on that article, and then Rick Beato's video, then the comments below that video, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I didn't stand up for video games and video game music. Thus:

The following text was the comment I posted in response to the video, which provides a few rebuttals and a few explanations, mostly concerning the validity of video game music as an actual genre, and as an actual art.

For anyone interested in actually giving video-game music a chance, I'll link a few Youtube channels down below to check out.

The 8-Bit Big Band: does arrangements of popular video-game music, usually in a particular style; also an arrangement of "Lifelight," the opening song to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate involving 664 musicians collaborating (including Gen Z'ers)

8-Bit Music Theory: does great music theory analysis of video-game music

Adam Neely's vlog of a gig at the Bit Awards: really gives you a sense of how good video game music can be

insaneintherainmusic: covers and video game inspired original music

Speaking as a Gen Z here, so feel free to disregard everything I say as hogwash. But for anyone who's willing to at least hear the other side of the argument, here we go:

I'm not sure why Rick is really blaming all of this on video games. Personally, and for a lot of Gen Z'ers, video games have been a gateway into music. Rather than being something to ignore, something left on the sidelines, music has become a core part of video games and their history.

Let's start with the game that Rick brings up then: Mario Kart.

The Youtube channel 8-Bit Music Theory has a video specifically about the dynamic music changes in one of the Mario Kart 8 stages, showing how much thought and attention was put into the music and how it is a pretty important element in it. The Mario Kart lick has also become a musical meme, instantly recognizable and truly a connecting thread for all the jazz musicians out there to the video game music community. Other Youtuber channels like insaneintherainmusic and the 8-Bit Big Band show how video game music isn't a degeneration or degradation of "real" music, but rather is inspired and influenced by musical history. Adam Neely's played video-game music for the 8-Bit Big Band, and frequent guest Zac Zinger is a video-game music nerd who is an amazing jazz musician (who also plays in the 8-Bit Big Band and elsewhere). Try asking Adam to connect you to some of them, maybe you could even interview them! I know that some of them became musicians specifically because of their love of video-game music.

Rick, modern video games don't resemble Pong. They're not all about competition or addiction - these aren't arcade cabinets! Music in modern video games can become crucial elements for storytelling or gameplay. Many smaller video-game studios (we call them "indies," just like in music) are usually tiny teams of people not beholden to major shareholders or record labels, so they've been creating great, unique music for their games too. Darren Korb from Supergiant Games, Toby Fox who made cult-classic Undertale, Hotline Miami's soundtrack, and more - they're so diverse, inspired by so many sources, and so good. Their music is inextricably tied to their creative vision in making the game, not an afterthought. I can give some examples - the 8-Bit Big Band had just recently received a Grammy for an arrangement of a video-game song, "Meta Knight's Revenge"; Disco Elysium's soundtrack by British Sea Power, which sounds a little like Philip Glass and a little other stuff; the Final Fantasy series' soundtracks, which have been turned into concerts multiple times; Legend of Zelda's most recent minimalist soundtrack alongside its venerable host of era defining music; and many others. These pack as much emotional punch as any rock songs you're used to listening to - and in some cases, the irrevocable link between the game and the music has made that emotional connection even more deeply rooted in some of us. Just like your generation can sing guitar solos, we all recognize the Gregorian chants of the Halo theme, the gentle strain of the Minecraft piano, the powerful Latin chorus of the Smash Bros. opening, the Hyrule Field Theme from Zelda, and it is part of our childhoods.

I have to say your point about the modern generation wanting the visual element is a little ironic, considering the fact that your generation obsessed over seeing the musicians face-to-face in their concerts; music isn't just about the records, but also bopping your head to it, seeing the performance, feeling the bass rumbling through the building, wooping and screaming and jamming to it with your friends... and yes, in some cases, playing video games! (please refer to Adam Neely's video on "musicking" to see this idea much better explained and elaborated upon). Maybe the Gen Z'ers have a different way of experiencing music; just as you gathered together with your friends to listen to records, they might jam out to Mario Kart's spicy jazz licks as they get together to play some games.

I'd like to think that me enjoying the heavy metal from 2016's Doom, or the jazz-inspired Persona 5 soundtrack, or the ragtime from Cuphead, brings me a little closer to the other generations of music listeners, exposing me to genres that I would have never even heard of otherwise. I'd love it if you, Rick, and the other people in this comment section gave video game music a chance too. The BBC Proms, for the first time, are going to be playing video game music on the 1st of August (21st Prom, the "Gaming Prom"). Many elitists have already started bemoaning this as a sign of cultural degeneration, but please, just give it a chance - have a listen, and see how deep and inspired it can be. Maybe Gen Z kids don't share their musical tastes with the older generation since apparently all they'll receive is scorn, heaped on in phrases like "video game music isn't real music!" Each generation has their way of approaching music, from church hymns in Mass to harvest songs to symphonic concerts to the radio to your generation's records, and to my generation's Youtube and Soundcloud and Spotify and video games. I think I better question to ask is: in which ways do Gen Z'ers care about music?

Thanks for listening to my TED talk.

(As a side note, please try to separate the "Let's Play" gaming on Youtube as a separate category to actual gaming; the former is more about being entertained by the antics of these Youtube stars, not unlike TV shows like Taskmaster, which are great in their own right but are different from gaming yourself. )