Can you name anyone in the current Top 10? | Emma Kay

People equate it with a sign of getting old. Youngsters will say this is our music not yours and maybe have a point as each generation probably said (or thought) the same to their parents.

But I honestly believe it is a sign you are becoming mature and want to pick out music to suit your own taste and generation rather than the fast and throwaway tunes that you try to listen to because you feel you ought to keep up.

That’s not to say there are no good songs out there today. There are many good young musicians, such as Sam Fender and the Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg. The best way to check out the variety of new music is to (if you can stand the crowds and facilities) go to music festivals such as Victorious, Isle of Wight and Wickham.

Meeting the chart rules becomes a crumbling mishap of randomness. Almost anything can make it into the top 10 and it can be a chore to keep up, particularly when the music is just not you. Yes, the rules for eligibility for entry into the charts are based on sales, but in the end it is about promotion and pull rather than durability or whether the tune holds up.

Don’t feel bad (or old) if you have fallen out with modern music. Chart-chasing is a waste of time. Instead, celebrate your ability to make your own choices.

There have been many generational genres in the past 70 years. Rock and Roll, Motown, Heavy Rock, Glam Rock, Punk, Indie and Rap as well as the super groups like the Beatles who influenced so many. And, dear readers, you all know which is best depending on your age. The music from our teens will hold us the most. The opening chords of a certain song will set feet tapping and take us straight back to a memorable occasion, good or bad.

My dad constantly reminds me of the 1969 and 1970 Isle of Wight Festivals with Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. As an impressionable 14-year-old he said the experience of 500,000 young hippies and the music blew him away and he never really came back.

Giant spinning wagon wheel got closer and closer until…

With Storm Eunice giving us more of a battering than a fish and chip shop, our garden gatherings stood little chance. Within the chaos an unrealised fear came from an unexpected source, trampolines.

Looking out of my bedroom window my blood froze. The neighbour’s massive trampoline rolling about like a spinning wagon wheel. Twisting and turning. Round and round. With each rotation it came inches away from smashing into the patio doors.

The wind kept threatening to lift it off the floor and into my garden. I watched transfixed with growing horror. I had to close the curtains eventually and leave it to its spiralling doom.

People will put saving cash way ahead of their safety

Apparently people should be encouraged to turn on the washing machine and tumble dryer at night during off-peak tariffs to save money in this cost-of-living crisis.

But safety experts are not keen. Fire at night means an increased risk as we would be sleeping and reaction times lessened. And not all goods are designed to run unattended for long periods, particularly tumble driers.

Our own safety is priceless but the desperation experienced by some during these lean times is a very real issue. How long before we hear tales of people trying to save money and cutting corners with their own personal safety in order to keep a roof over their family’s heads?

A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.

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