Posted on 07/09/2015 1:01:36 PM PDT by Sopater
Heavy metal was the No. 1-selling music genre in 1989, and parents feared the worst: that Satan worship, drug use, loads of sex, and suicide went along with it, write researchers in the journal Self and Identity. Records were burned, "Parental Advisory" warning labels were born, and some '90s research suggested that teens who were into metal had a boatload of problems. And then decades passed. How did those metalheads turn out? Pretty OK, found the team led by Humboldt State University psychologist Tasha Howe, reports Billboard. It found that while middle-aged metalheads were more likely to have engaged in risky behavior as youths, they in no way differ from both non-metal-loving peers and college students in terms of "life satisfaction and current functioning."
To get to that conclusion, researchers surveyed 377 adults, both metal-lovers (groupies, musicians, and fans), peers who preferred different music, and California college students. It turns out the metal groups' recollections of their youth were "significantly happier" than the comparison groups', and they had fewer regrets (about a third did, compared to 44.9% of students and 51.3% of non-metal peers). As for why they possibly turned out like they did, the researchers point to a "kinship in the metal community ... a way to experience heightened emotions and intense connections with like-minded people, which seemed to contribute to their eventual positive identity development." This suggests, they write, that "fringe style cultures can ... serve a protective function" for youth. The authors do note, however, that "this was a community sample of relatively high functioning individuals who volunteered to participate," which may have skewed the results. (Another study found excessive headbanging could kill.)
I found myself liking more and more different genres of rock as I got older and more mature. Lets be honest, when we were young the music sometimes defined who you were socially. So stupidly, you listened to music that you thought made you seem cool to your circle. When I was 18 I would not have been caught dead listening to the Sex Pistols within my jock centered world. But at over 50, they are now one of my favorites.
My first concert was in 1980. Nugent was headlining on his Scream Dream tour and the opening acts were Scorpions - Animal Magnetism, and Def Leppard - On Through the Night.
AWESOME SHOW!
Metalhead here...
BTTT!
Never got to see Uncle Ted. Wish I had.
I say this in seriousness and am not remotely kidding. One of the best rock shows I saw (just musicians playing without a $$$ stage show, was Huey Lewis and the News. Not metal by a long shot or even hard rock. But those guys played their asses off and hit every note.
Another was Stray Cats in their prime at the Grand old Opry. (83). the bassist was fall down drunk. Setzer had to play his part, sing AND cover the bassline on guitar as the FOH guy just cut the Bassist’s feed... and he did an awesome job.
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