For years, I advised talk radio hosts to keep up with popular culture, particularly youth culture, and avoid the tendency to dismiss today’s music, TV, and movies, for example, as somehow lesser than the stuff we absorbed when we were that age.
I told you that we don’t have to like the top 40 of today, or what’s on TV, or the latest comic book franchise movie, but just to be aware of what’s what and who’s who and not reflexively trash it. That advice still stands. You don’t want to come off as Abe Simpson yelling at clouds.
I, on the other hand, am not on the air at the moment. I still try to stay attuned to youth culture. However, despite having a lot more time to do so these days, I’m finding it harder and harder to do that.
The culture has atomized. One person’s obsession is another’s “who’s that?” even when they’re the same age or from the same background. It changes from person to person and place to place – where I live, Bad Bunny might be the most popular celebrity of all, while a few miles north of here, it’s probably Morgan Wallen or someone like him. (We’re south, but not The South, if you catch my drift; we’re New York, Boston, and Philadelphia expats here, but go north past, say, Port St. Lucie and it’s Alabama.)
The slow-motion demise of linear television means that nobody is watching the same shows at the same time. We are not united in anything.
So you scroll through your socials, and anything apolitical ends up obfuscating everything. What’s hot? Who are these people being treated as household names when they’re not known to your household at all?
Are we still treating Vanderpump-related things as the center of all popular culture? Or Love Island? Are people really all that upset by Sabrina Carpenter, or is she an obsession of just the terminally online? Who the hell is Glen Powell? Can you name one Doja Cat song? Or has culture finally and completely outrun you? If a caller, or a friend, or any random person refers to a trending cultural topic, can you be expected to “get it” regardless of whether you’ve heard of it?
If you’re a radio host, you still need to try. It’s hard, I know, but you have some tools at your disposal. Spotify charts, gossip sites, trending lists, whatever works for you. Got kids? Find out what they’re into. But don’t get too into it. You don’t want to be the creepy old guy amidst 60,000 teens at a concert. Knowing who’s who and what’s what in the culture doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t act your age.
An adult guy wearing a Chappell Roan t-shirt is going to raise suspicions when he’s pushing close to Social Security eligibility, even if “Pink Pony Club” is his favorite song ever. It is totally acceptable to look at the Coachella lineup every year and admit that you have no idea who any of those acts are. It happens to the best of us. You are your parents.
Just don’t get on the air with that “kids these days” attitude, and don’t go near the “the kids are really into Classic Rock” thing. They’re not really all that into it, or the movies you grew up with, or the celebrities you remember. (Ask anyone under 40 years old who Bob Hope was.)
Between the inexorable march of time and the move from a monoculture when everyone watched the same shows and listened to AM-style top 40 to one where everyone consumes different entertainment and gets different news, you can’t expect to know everything. But you have to try, because it’s better for your show when you speak the language of your audience. It’s just that there are a lot of languages to learn, and no Duolingo or Babbel to help you learn them.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
