By Priti ModiPLAY Writer

The popular musical figures of yesterday have become the icons of today. Classic rock bands who rose in fame and were popular in the ’70s and ’80s, like Aerosmith, Motley Crue, The Rolling Stones and Social Distortion, have made a comeback and tapped into a new-found fanbase in the modern generation.

Attracted to the music of the older generations, teens are enjoying the same songs their parents liked at the same age. The rationale behind the resurgence of classic rock in the modern music industry is the influence these classic bands still have on contemporary musicians, says Scott D. Lipscomb, head of the Music Education & Music Technology Division at the University of Minnesota and a former Northwestern Music professor.

“The influence of Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and other bands that are experiencing a resurgence of interest by young listeners is readily heard in the sound of metal and alternative groups like Audioslave, Nickelback, Tool, Metallica, Nirvana (and) Red Hot Chili Peppers,” says Lipscomb.

Besides liking the sound of the earlier rockers, young fans find their similar tastes in music an aspect of their lives that their parents can relate to – or at least not disagree with.

Jennifer Young, a Weinberg freshman, listens to a variety of music, including the classic rock that her parents listened to years back.

“I find it convenient that I listen to the same music as my parents because we can listen to the same thing when we go on the road,” she says. “(And) they can’t nag me about the other kinds of music I listen to.”

Medill professor Abe Peck says young listeners who like to classic rock are tracing the “genealogical roots” of the bands they love. Peck, a former music news editor at “Rolling Stone,” adds that this trend also has to do with the history of the music.

“Fifty plus years in, rock has a compelling history and is the world’s secular music,” he says. “At a time when much of culture contains near-infinite choice, these geezer bands project a big, unified presence.”

For many younger fans of classic rock, exposure to classic rock bands of the earlier decades came about through their parents.

Raymond Cantrell, a McCormick freshman, says he enjoys listening to the music his father does and that much of the rock Cantrell knows is because of him.

“I like Jimi Hendrix because my dad introduced him to me and helped me appreciate how good Hendrix was.”

Weinberg freshman Priti Modi is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].