In the second year of the Corona pandemic, I thought the world had used the time to take a step back and reflect on the fact that things couldn't and shouldn't continue as they were before the pandemic. In some areas of life, you can see small signs of a change in thinking, but I'm sure that after the pandemic, everything that wasn't allowed during the pandemic will have to be made up for...

With climate change and the need to take action on it being discussed everywhere these days, and with calls to shift more traffic to rail, the image below clearly shows that these discussions are merely "greenwashing." During holiday seasons, especially during the pandemic, people are increasingly traveling by car in the hope of avoiding the virus. Inexperienced drivers, who have never or only very limited experience with such vehicles, are sending caravans and motorhomes on long journeys, which logically leads to more accidents due to overestimation of their abilities or incorrect responses in dangerous situations. As a result, people are often stuck in traffic jams for hours on Germany's popular highways, and nobody seems to care about CO2 emissions or the fact that their SUVs are now consuming even more fuel than they already do...

But even in my field, the event industry, there's no sign of a change in thinking; quite the opposite, in fact. As a DJ with a long history in the business, it's always been a priority for me to present my guests with new and exciting music they'd never hear in their filter bubbles. I actually thought that the various lockdowns would have made people tired of their own playlists, or those created by AI, on various streaming platforms, and that they'd heard them to death. But NO, quite the opposite, in fact...

Even at parties with a theme that doesn't revolve around the past or a specific music genre, there are always those guests who consider their Spotify playlist the ultimate in music and feel compelled to inform the DJ of this after a certain amount of alcohol. Even at an Ibiza party, where current house and electronic music form the foundation of the theme, and even if you're a musically astute DJ who knows that Ibiza existed in the 90s and incorporates club hits from that era to give the theme a historical dimension, there are still, and increasingly so, guests who suddenly want to hear their overplayed Backstreet Boys or other music that doesn't fit the theme...

Instead of being glad that the DJ is pulling them out of their own playlist bubble and that they can actually celebrate something even during a pandemic, many people apparently feel the need to drunkenly belt out embarrassing 90s songs in public. In my opinion, that's "egomaniacal public display" just to prove that they've been musically stagnant for 30 years and have long been closed off to anything new...

Even in the live music scene, it's noticeable that people prefer to book cover bands that play the crowd-pleasing classics, boasting about performing them in a new style. However, it quickly becomes apparent that these are simply the original versions, re-recorded with a heavier bass drum, and that's about it for "bringing the songs into the modern age"... (a 14-year-old with a computer and the necessary software could do that between homework sessions...)

In times of a pandemic, and as concerts and events slowly resume, those who want to support musicians should really book far more unknown bands or those on the verge of a breakthrough, rather than cover bands that trotted from one village festival to the next, strumming the same old songs everyone's heard a thousand times before. These cover bands will get booked again much faster than newcomers who have been hit even harder by the pandemic. This is because, for example, they can't tour right now, or all their promotional efforts for a new album have been wasted due to a complete lack of opportunities to perform live.

Yes, I know, blah blah blah, mood, just the same old stuff, blah blah blah, and I'm starting to not understand why it's so hard to embrace new music without prejudice ( my prejudice is Schlager, and the new HF single with Louise Fonsi has fully confirmed this again – poor Fonsi!) and to celebrate it. It doesn't hurt anyone, and you're authentically and genuinely supporting new artists, regardless of genre. And let's be honest, the writers of the old songs, or what they like to call "classics," have weathered the crisis better thanks to their continued income from copyright societies than those who are just starting out and can't yet expect a fat GEMA check from radio airplay or anything else...

Music is the future, the present, and the past, depending on your perspective, but if you don't embrace new music, it will become a sad musical past that will never again be as diverse as it was in the 70s, 80s, or 90s. And for those who are now complaining that they can't listen to new music, let me tell you that this has always been the case in the past, that Grandma and Grandpa demonized the Beatles. And for anyone who still hasn't gotten the message, please go home in your horse-drawn carriage to your fax machine, because the application form for the Cuckoo Clan has just been faxed there...

In this spirit, more tolerance, interest and acceptance for new music in post-pandemic times - Mike drop...!