Some of them are fake, sure. Obviously. But one of your examples there, Elizabeth Zharoff, is an opera singer and could, undoubtedly, run circles around all of us with classical music knowledge. She has had a couple of reactions now, where she stops and says "I think I've heard this before somewhere", as many of us do, having heard something in passing. She's honest. I grew up in a very musically diverse family, and could name tons of stuff, all the way back to the 40s. That said, my knowledge of heavy hitters in certain genres will be about as deep as a kiddie pool. Tupac and Biggie? I could name one song. Even legends like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, I might be able to come up with 4 songs, combined. That's to say, it's entirely possible to miss HUGE hits if you didn't grow up in an environment where you'd hear it. Even stuff that's appeared in tons of movies, if you're not much of a movie watcher, where would you hear it? I'm a rocker chick, yet I was well into my 20s before I heard my first Dio song. Ronnie freakin' Dio. The king of metal vocalists. He just somehow never landed on my playlist. Dude, it happens.
I've been in parts of the US where there's only one radio station that plays rock music and usually that one station has only been around for five years or so.
Zharoff has essentially zero musical knowledge. She immersed herself in opera and was totally blind to anything else. Such a shame really. She has this reaction channel, but because she actually understands nothing of what she hears, she just laughs. She has made some attempts at understanding a technique, but that has always fizzled out. She did name one singer she actually liked - that was Dio. Good choice. But then in an interview she revealed that the reason she likes him is because he might be good at singing opera. What a waste.
It's actually very believable. Lots of people grow up in an area where one music style dominates but big enough groups are still heard in passing at a restaurant or grocery store. So they might have heard the song somewhere but don't know who it was and never paid attention to it. I've had that with big pop artists because I don't listen tot hat
Why's it so hard to believe kids today haven't heard music from 40+ yrs ago? I wasn't listening to stuff from the 1930s and 40s when I was growing up in the 1980s. Granted I didn't have instant access to it like today,but even if I did, I'm pretty sure I still wouldn't have.
Are you seriously telling me that every music lover must the same basic catalogue? Well, what about you yourself? Bach? Mozart? Beethoven? Grieg? Verdi? Wagner? Ok, they are very mainstream. So maybe a bit deeper? Mendelssohn-Bartholdy? Bizet? I grew up with all of these and I can grasp that not everyone did. Ok, of course I know the Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. but System of a Down? Not really, no. Maybe I heard a song by them once, but not that I could put any details to it. So no, they need not be fake. They might be, but not as categorically as you say.
It's pretty easy to tell if someone is reacting in a fake way. So pretending/acting like you never heard something before, and make it seem believable for a whole video, is going to be pretty hard to pull off, imo.
I would not say that they are all faking it. I could say the same about some RAP, Funk, Country. The issue it that they probably heard it on a background instance and claim that never heard it in their life!
Dude, the world has change a lot more than you realize in the last thirty years. Ask yourself how much music from thirty years before you were born were you aware of when you were 25. If you were born in 1970, for example, how much music from the 1940s were you aware of in 1995? Those of us who grew up in the seventies grew up bathed in the music of The Beatles. Those born in 1995 were not, that is, unless their parents were fans. I remember the first time watching someone react to Coldplay and how excited they were and all I could think to myself was wait until you find U2. "The tolling of the iron bell \ Calls the faithful to their knees \ To hear the softly spoken magic spells..."
I'm 54. I've worked in a record store, a studio and on a record lable. Yet I've never listened to hip hop and rap. I had never heard Many Men until the Trump incident. And I don't think I even know what mumble rap is.
Well I can say from personal experience, that if or when I ever heard anything that lightly resembled Rap, I would turn the channel or skip past it. So many people will place themselves into a BUBBLE and not spread out their likes to other things. I myself enjoy about 95% of all Genres of music and movies. I will not listen to Rap or watch war movies. Just do not like the common theme of either genre.
There are cases like The Beatles that, due to copyright, barely appear on TH-cam and there are young people who don't know who they were, that's a shh... In the case of Charismatic Voice, and others, it's important how he breaks down the song and explains how the vocal sounds are produced. There are very good reactions. I know King Crimson, Peter Hammill, Focus, Jethro Tull, even Paco de Lucia, but I didn't know Yma Sumac, but many don't know they exist. I've also seen people react to little-known songs by groups or who don't know that Genesis existed with Peter Gabriel as the singer. Although I think that a large percentage act out their reactions and don't contribute anything.
Are some of these videos faked. Absolutely. All of them? No way. I'm Gen-X and music obsessed, and have been since I was very young and there is plenty I've not heard yet. And lots of people only listen to what they like. You mentioned Linkin Park, I couldn't name a song of theirs even if I know I probably heard it around and know who Chester Bennington was. So brave take but innacurate.
There is a lot of music out there I never heard of until I watched some reaction videos. The Warning, Nightwish, and Unleash the Archers are 3 examples.
With how many movies and tv shows that tend to use music from the 90s, 80s, and farther. Some of them not hearing it might not be 100% true. But with that said, think there might be a smaller % of them not really caring to hear music on the radio and such.
Don't you think it's a bit narrow-minded to basically say "well I know all of these songs, so there's no way other people have never heard it"? I find new artists and bands all the time. A friend of mine is in a metal band, has 100ish vinyls of all the greats in rock/punk/metal and Stans the genre, and yet I make it a habit to gift him a vinyl record of a metal band that he's never heard of each year, LMAO. This year's band formed in the 80s and he now owns their recent thrash album. I find out about new artists from these same reaction channels because while I listen to a lot of genres and artists, it's impossible to have heard of/listened to all of them. Have you seen the number of songs on Spotify or Amazon Music. It would take me years to get through that. 😂
i don't consume "reaction videos" as i believe it's the worst form of content out there, and i'm 50/50 on this : for the most part they're fake, with the telling sign of bad acting over popular SEO songs - however, the way most people are served music these days, spotify as an example, is through an algorithm driving towards certain genres, and most times away from the artists that came before - and if someone grew up listening to pop-garbage, chances are that's all they'll ever know until shown something else
When i work with younger people, i used to ask if they've heard of some band, and they say no. Then i tell them where that sample they like so much is from.
In my teenage years ('70s) I tried to learn about all kinds of music. It was more difficult then but I knew quite a lot. I was surprised when I talked about music from the 40s or 50s with friends and they had no clue what I was talking about. I think it's still the same with people now but to a lesser extent. I have met younger people that have no clue about classic rock. One girl in particular was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt so I asked if she liked their music. She never heard any of the music but liked the design on the shirt. It was the Dark Side prism.
Its a very interesting subject this so hope you'll allow me a fairly detailed response and - yes - I will state I too am sure SOME of these are just making these vids for the clicks, likes and lucrative ad revenue. If there is a way to make a quick buck people will do it. So, yes, that is a definite factor here for these vids. But when we dismissively state that "so and so are such and such an age so they MUST have heard a particular artist" then, as strange as it may sound to us, they might not have. I have seen quite a few studies done recently on this and people like me and Andy in the vid grew up in the UK with the BBC and Radio 1 and Top of the Pops. And the SAME music would be played over and over. And we might love it, we might hate it... but we were ALL aware of it. As our "streaming" back then was much more universal. Now circa 2025 that is no longer always the case. People consume entertainment that is directed at their demographic and reaches those groups, but will leave many others unaware of it as it might say only be on one platform for example. An example of this is last year's Glastonbury Festival, one that in the past I have attended many, many times. However, in 2024 the headliners on the mainstage were both Dua Lipa and SZA. Now, I consider myself a "muso". I have seen 1000's of live bands. Played as many and was a pro musician for 13 years. I love music. But I admit I had just about heard of Dua Lipa but could not "hum" you any of her songs and I had never heard of SZA at all. Despite the fact on several platforms she was the #1 most streamed act in the world. So, I could have made a "hearing SZA for the first time" vid and it would be 100% genuine. Yet people might guffaw at me saying I was lying. After all she is the most streamed artist... I MUST have heard her.... right? I genuinely have not heard ANY songs by her. And this is the thing: There ARE - particularly younger people - who ONLY listen to Beyonce or whatever. Or other artists like that. They genuinely haven't heard some of the "classics" we assume they would. So fame and awareness of artists isn't as clear cut as we might think. I am minded to think of the recent issue of wanting Rory Gallagher's Strat to stay in Ireland. Most viewers of this channel will be aware of this and I am sure support that. Yet, despite even the Taoiseach of Ireland stating Rory is their "most famous son" most people in Ireland and the rest of the world don't know him. They have never heard of him or his music. Another example is 100 years agon the most famous living person in the world was actor Rudolph Valentino. He was a household name everywhere. He was Number One. How many of his films can you name? Have seen? I haven't seen any. He's almost forgotten. So yes in conclusion some (most?) of these vids will be manufactured for commercial gain only. But not all of them. And as time goes on and fame gets funnelled further down fame will be applicable to certain groups of people only. And the point that they are potentially missing out on hearing all the classic acts Andy listens is a very succinct, yet likely, very lamentable one.
I came back to say pretty much the same thing, but you have phrased it better than I can. I will cut some slack for those who have been isolated, so to speak, due to cultural or language differences. In other words, some sort of "Cultural Bubble". As there ARE songs are just not promoted globally because e.g. their style won't fit. But for those who have always been in the English speaking world, I can't say I buy the "Who's Michael Jackson?" schpeel.
@@strumminronin One report on this mentioned Jacko. As he has certain "accusations" - albeit unfounded - these systems algorithms do not promote him. So yes there are younger people out there unaware of Jacko yet, due to Stranger Things, they know Kate Bush. I say again I find all this initially surprising but utterly fascinating.
@@jp7963 Indeed, MJ is not a good example, but I do appreciate that you see my point. To cut to the chase, I am from one of these "Cultural Bubbles", where there was a time I would MOST CERTAINLY, ABSOLUTELY NOT have bothered with Pink Floyd, or Iron Maiden, or Nat King Cole, or Whitney Houston, or Steve Vai, just for example. I had friends that CRITICISED me for practically being "deviant" for tapping into heavier rock. "Why would you listen to that?" "No one likes that stuff." "But song number x is much more popular than song number y on the CD." - Chastising me for liking something "different ", something not on the Top 10. Worse yet, there was a time when I did not consider my musical diet incomplete, because their music just didn't fit the "cultural bubble" I was in. Hence I don't call these video makers out for BS entirely, though their situation is hard to defend. Similarly, if I were to do a M Culkin Home Alone face and exclaim, "How could you have not heard of ?" It would have been equally ignorant and arrogant because, record labels, language barrier, etc. create that information / knowledge gap. Real DJs are the ones that bridge that gap, but they are getting really few and far between. I do think that some music needs to be known across culture and languages at this point. Even if we get "Lemon On A Pear", or " Sweet dreams are made of cheese", it's worth it.
Unfortunately, there are indeed people who don't even know about the existence of some great songs or artists: last night, a chap probably in his early 30s came up to me after I played "Blowing in the Wind" and asked me the title of the song and who sang it...after I told him, he then proceeded to repeat the artist's name for confirmation thusly: "ROB DYLAN?" 🤦🏻♂️
Elizabeth on Charismatic Voice is very open about whether she's already heard a song before or not. Sometimes she's heard a song, but she does a "deep dive" on them from a voice analysis point of view for her show. RobSquad also admits when they've heard a song before. I think a lot of these younger folks may have heard some songs before but never really paid attention. And yes, some are fake, but that's okay. I like that they're taking a journey into music from the past. Older folks doing reactions, well, that's different, and not very believable.
I think that one should draw a distinction between a "reaction" video and an "analysis" video. Most of the reactions are pretty much click-bait where they just play the song from start to finish, say how awesome it was and then hope they don't get a copyright strike. The analysis videos will generally stop at various times and explain why it's awesome.
I agree 100%. It's super annoying these thumbnails with the fake "OH MY GOD, I Just CRAPPED my pants because I've NEVER heard this 50 year old song before in my LIFE" look. Even though they mostly still are played on the radio 20x a day. 40 years old and never heard The Beatles or Led Zeppelin? lol Some of these kids, I get it..probably, but grown ass adults? Highly unlikely.The only person I think might be legit is the Charismatic Voice, but it takes her 40 minutes to critique a 2 minute song, so she can wear my patience out before the video is over.
I have no idea... I block those!! 😂 Can't say I care that much about a complete stranger on the internet, making silly faces for a "here's my take" video at the expense of a musician / group. (Worst yet, flaunting their ignorance!) There are proven professionals and including music critics that are on my "watch later" list! Am I being harsh on these young'uns? May be. But why should they care about some random old **** on the internet that isn't into their two cents? 😂
If you play me a few seconds of music from just about any song from the 70s, 80s, or 90s and I will most likely be able to name the title and/or artist and even what year it was released in many cases. However, I never heard Fade to Gray until just now.
I can believe actual analysis videos when they say they haven't *analysed* a song before. There's a lot more to it when you start to break down what's actually going on, but straight up react content is just low hanging fruit.
@@jamar2349 Fair use for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research. This is why most reaction videos stop and start the video they are watching and "react" during said video and not just at the end.
There is one reactor who wrote in every description of his ABBA reaction videos that Mamma Mia is his favourite song by them. And then he did a Mamma Mia reaction and named it 'First time hearing'... 🤨 I confronted him with that contradiction and he asserted that he has only heard snippets of Mamma Mia before. But then I wonder why he can call this song his favourite song when he has heard only snippets of it... 🤣🤣🤣
In this day and age, nah. Before, lots of parents listened to one genre and "Footloose" towns still exist in the states. Not defending them, but I have met some clogs before....
And when it happens to be a band on the rise reactors all the sudden have them on their channel and when their sub count jumps, they do one day a week with just that band
I've seen this with Ren. So many new channels who are just reacting to his music because he has a collection of followers (myself included) who want others to hear and appreciate it but there is no way that all of them just happened upon and decided on a whim to do his full back catalogue without seeing how much other channels have blown up from it.
New Order? I have over 100 hours on my rock playlist and they're not on it. Might be missing out but that doesn't make me ignorant of music. I don't really follow suggestions from youtube or spotify but that's because I've been burned by "popular" music. Lots of people don't listen to music. If it's in a movie or tv show they'll know it, but they won't know the band or the song title.
You cannot have missed some Queen, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones. Have a radio on occasionally because you WILL have heard something, trust me. EVH is the current 1st time listen, his "Eruption" 15 minute live solo. "Oh, didn't he do that Jump song?" I know you're correct, it's the cash generated that drives this output. I used to know Kelly & Kim from a band you'll know. I still have Kelly's little practice amp. (Bought it off her.) RIP Kelly. I bet not many know the band. Same goes for early Diamond Head with Sean. (Even Metallica have strong ties with D/H, Am I Evil for example.) I must add that I couldn't tell you who's who when Beyonce & similar are on the radio. Just sounds the same to me. I've tried many times, I'm open to any music, maybe it's my age.
Of course 95% them are doing this for money. As long as there are gullible people supporting their channels, this trend will never stop ( unfortunately that's human nature) As I see it, the only problem I have with these channels is, that they are stealing (in almost all the cases) from the artists, that created this music (similar situation as it was, for instance, with napster). Also this is an excellent tool, too teach your kids, how to recognize liars/con-artists.
I know my Beatles in and out. First time I heard Bohemian Rhapsody must've been around 1976. And so on and so forth. But I never consciously listened to Eminem, or Taylor Swift, or many other big sellers of the past, say 30 years. And incidentally, I couldn't name any song of Linkin Park. Or Coldplay. You just can't know anything. Especially if you've not been a regular radio listener for a long time. So, I think you're on the wrong track.
And that's the point right, lol. People like what they like, and I definitely believe that someone could spend their entire life never listening to rock or country or pop or rap. It's normal!
There is a video of Rob Squad watching Wedding Singer for the "first time" but at the start of the film they talk about how much they love Adam Sandler and his movies. Here is my comment from that video So Adam Sandler is one of your favourite childhood actors. Your favourite AS movies are Big Daddy (1999) and Happy Gilmour (1996). Are you then trying to tell me that this is the first time you have seen The Wedding Singer (1998). You've just happened to both miss this one for 26 years, even though he's one of your favourites? I call bullshit.
well, i mean when a young female artist complains about some four old men, kicking her album from the first place at US charts what tells us about the fans? ;) sure, not everyone knows everything and for sure it's about the views but you know very fast, if the reaction is genuine and not faked picking the pearls is the key, i would say :)
I can't believe anyone hasn't heard the live, unplugged version of Nutshell by Alice In Chains. You'ld literally be the last person alive to ever react to it.
Agree, it’s total BS. Even if it were true, I don’t know why these videos get so many views, why do I care what some random person thinks when they hear the Beatles for the first time? I enjoy reaction videos if it’s someone who is a respected musician, like Justin Hawkins, and if he’s listening to new music because that’s a cool way to find new music I might like. But these people are clueless by their own admission. No thanks.
The vast majority of the 'Reaction' videos are just that, - fake. But there are some which are believable, and who actually contribute something valuable except for sitting around making faces. Elizabeth Zharoff of The Charismatic Voice for instance, has lived in the world of Opera until Covid forced her to come up with something else.
The beef for me was when Rhet Shull saifd he had never heard Ruble by Link Wray. He never answered the question if he really had never seen Pulp Fiction which is what I found unlikely.
@@DavidBeserock That is not implausible but I don't know anything alse about you to judge wether it was plausible or not either so it's kind of moot.But the thin is last year it was the 30th anniversary of it's releqase and in cinemas all over the world the played the soundtrack or even hired bands to play it so you may have heard the musaic from the movie only by walking around town. BTW your age is totally irrelevant to the converation.
@@rimmersbryggeri It just didn't interest me. I'm being honest that I couldn't tell you a single song from it. I probably have heard them without knowing. I haven't been to a movie in years,
@@DavidBeserock But what is your point? You seem to grasp the fact that you could have heard songs that you had never "heard of" and outside the context of listening to music. I for instance have heard coldplay probably millions of times thinking it was elevator music.
@@rimmersbryggeri what I said was that I never watched the movie. The point is that just because something is considered a classic doesn't mean everyone has been exposed to it.
😆 the exact reason I quit watching them. The only one that is for real (as far as I know) is Doug the composer / educator the guy is amazing he can break down every note he hears he has perfect pitch
Some of them are fake, sure. Obviously. But one of your examples there, Elizabeth Zharoff, is an opera singer and could, undoubtedly, run circles around all of us with classical music knowledge. She has had a couple of reactions now, where she stops and says "I think I've heard this before somewhere", as many of us do, having heard something in passing. She's honest. I grew up in a very musically diverse family, and could name tons of stuff, all the way back to the 40s. That said, my knowledge of heavy hitters in certain genres will be about as deep as a kiddie pool. Tupac and Biggie? I could name one song. Even legends like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, I might be able to come up with 4 songs, combined. That's to say, it's entirely possible to miss HUGE hits if you didn't grow up in an environment where you'd hear it. Even stuff that's appeared in tons of movies, if you're not much of a movie watcher, where would you hear it? I'm a rocker chick, yet I was well into my 20s before I heard my first Dio song. Ronnie freakin' Dio. The king of metal vocalists. He just somehow never landed on my playlist. Dude, it happens.
I've been in parts of the US where there's only one radio station that plays rock music and usually that one station has only been around for five years or so.
If you watch Elizabeth Zharoff's video reacting to In The Air Tonight it is clear her reaction to *that* moment is most certainly genuine!
Zharoff has essentially zero musical knowledge. She immersed herself in opera and was totally blind to anything else. Such a shame really. She has this reaction channel, but because she actually understands nothing of what she hears, she just laughs. She has made some attempts at understanding a technique, but that has always fizzled out. She did name one singer she actually liked - that was Dio. Good choice. But then in an interview she revealed that the reason she likes him is because he might be good at singing opera. What a waste.
It's actually very believable. Lots of people grow up in an area where one music style dominates but big enough groups are still heard in passing at a restaurant or grocery store. So they might have heard the song somewhere but don't know who it was and never paid attention to it. I've had that with big pop artists because I don't listen tot hat
Why's it so hard to believe kids today haven't heard music from 40+ yrs ago? I wasn't listening to stuff from the 1930s and 40s when I was growing up in the 1980s. Granted I didn't have instant access to it like today,but even if I did, I'm pretty sure I still wouldn't have.
Are you seriously telling me that every music lover must the same basic catalogue? Well, what about you yourself? Bach? Mozart? Beethoven? Grieg? Verdi? Wagner? Ok, they are very mainstream. So maybe a bit deeper? Mendelssohn-Bartholdy? Bizet? I grew up with all of these and I can grasp that not everyone did. Ok, of course I know the Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. but System of a Down? Not really, no. Maybe I heard a song by them once, but not that I could put any details to it. So no, they need not be fake. They might be, but not as categorically as you say.
I'm 52 and purposely don't listen to the Beatles
Could be first time hearing that song, not the band. I can believe it with some of the younger ones.
It's pretty easy to tell if someone is reacting in a fake way. So pretending/acting like you never heard something before, and make it seem believable for a whole video, is going to be pretty hard to pull off, imo.
I would not say that they are all faking it. I could say the same about some RAP, Funk, Country. The issue it that they probably heard it on a background instance and claim that never heard it in their life!
Dude, the world has change a lot more than you realize in the last thirty years. Ask yourself how much music from thirty years before you were born were you aware of when you were 25. If you were born in 1970, for example, how much music from the 1940s were you aware of in 1995? Those of us who grew up in the seventies grew up bathed in the music of The Beatles. Those born in 1995 were not, that is, unless their parents were fans. I remember the first time watching someone react to Coldplay and how excited they were and all I could think to myself was wait until you find U2. "The tolling of the iron bell \ Calls the faithful to their knees \ To hear the softly spoken magic spells..."
I've never even heard of New Order.
I'm 54. I've worked in a record store, a studio and on a record lable. Yet I've never listened to hip hop and rap. I had never heard Many Men until the Trump incident. And I don't think I even know what mumble rap is.
Well I can say from personal experience, that if or when I ever heard anything that lightly resembled Rap, I would turn the channel or skip past it. So many people will place themselves into a BUBBLE and not spread out their likes to other things. I myself enjoy about 95% of all Genres of music and movies. I will not listen to Rap or watch war movies. Just do not like the common theme of either genre.
There are cases like The Beatles that, due to copyright, barely appear on TH-cam and there are young people who don't know who they were, that's a shh...
In the case of Charismatic Voice, and others, it's important how he breaks down the song and explains how the vocal sounds are produced. There are very good reactions. I know King Crimson, Peter Hammill, Focus, Jethro Tull, even Paco de Lucia, but I didn't know Yma Sumac, but many don't know they exist.
I've also seen people react to little-known songs by groups or who don't know that Genesis existed with Peter Gabriel as the singer.
Although I think that a large percentage act out their reactions and don't contribute anything.
Are some of these videos faked. Absolutely. All of them? No way. I'm Gen-X and music obsessed, and have been since I was very young and there is plenty I've not heard yet. And lots of people only listen to what they like. You mentioned Linkin Park, I couldn't name a song of theirs even if I know I probably heard it around and know who Chester Bennington was. So brave take but innacurate.
There is a lot of music out there I never heard of until I watched some reaction videos. The Warning, Nightwish, and Unleash the Archers are 3 examples.
With how many movies and tv shows that tend to use music from the 90s, 80s, and farther. Some of them not hearing it might not be 100% true. But with that said, think there might be a smaller % of them not really caring to hear music on the radio and such.
Don't you think it's a bit narrow-minded to basically say "well I know all of these songs, so there's no way other people have never heard it"? I find new artists and bands all the time. A friend of mine is in a metal band, has 100ish vinyls of all the greats in rock/punk/metal and Stans the genre, and yet I make it a habit to gift him a vinyl record of a metal band that he's never heard of each year, LMAO. This year's band formed in the 80s and he now owns their recent thrash album. I find out about new artists from these same reaction channels because while I listen to a lot of genres and artists, it's impossible to have heard of/listened to all of them. Have you seen the number of songs on Spotify or Amazon Music. It would take me years to get through that. 😂
i don't consume "reaction videos" as i believe it's the worst form of content out there, and i'm 50/50 on this : for the most part they're fake, with the telling sign of bad acting over popular SEO songs - however, the way most people are served music these days, spotify as an example, is through an algorithm driving towards certain genres, and most times away from the artists that came before - and if someone grew up listening to pop-garbage, chances are that's all they'll ever know until shown something else
I always thought they were fake!!!!! I won't even watch them anymore.
I used to enjoy them but I always suspected something was up
I must admit, it was entertaining to watch them lie but soon it became tiresome.
When i work with younger people, i used to ask if they've heard of some band, and they say no. Then i tell them where that sample they like so much is from.
In my teenage years ('70s) I tried to learn about all kinds of music. It was more difficult then but I knew quite a lot. I was surprised when I talked about music from the 40s or 50s with friends and they had no clue what I was talking about. I think it's still the same with people now but to a lesser extent. I have met younger people that have no clue about classic rock. One girl in particular was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt so I asked if she liked their music. She never heard any of the music but liked the design on the shirt. It was the Dark Side prism.
Its a very interesting subject this so hope you'll allow me a fairly detailed response and - yes - I will state I too am sure SOME of these are just making these vids for the clicks, likes and lucrative ad revenue. If there is a way to make a quick buck people will do it. So, yes, that is a definite factor here for these vids. But when we dismissively state that "so and so are such and such an age so they MUST have heard a particular artist" then, as strange as it may sound to us, they might not have.
I have seen quite a few studies done recently on this and people like me and Andy in the vid grew up in the UK with the BBC and Radio 1 and Top of the Pops. And the SAME music would be played over and over. And we might love it, we might hate it... but we were ALL aware of it. As our "streaming" back then was much more universal.
Now circa 2025 that is no longer always the case. People consume entertainment that is directed at their demographic and reaches those groups, but will leave many others unaware of it as it might say only be on one platform for example. An example of this is last year's Glastonbury Festival, one that in the past I have attended many, many times. However, in 2024 the headliners on the mainstage were both Dua Lipa and SZA. Now, I consider myself a "muso". I have seen 1000's of live bands. Played as many and was a pro musician for 13 years. I love music. But I admit I had just about heard of Dua Lipa but could not "hum" you any of her songs and I had never heard of SZA at all. Despite the fact on several platforms she was the #1 most streamed act in the world. So, I could have made a "hearing SZA for the first time" vid and it would be 100% genuine. Yet people might guffaw at me saying I was lying. After all she is the most streamed artist... I MUST have heard her.... right?
I genuinely have not heard ANY songs by her.
And this is the thing: There ARE - particularly younger people - who ONLY listen to Beyonce or whatever. Or other artists like that. They genuinely haven't heard some of the "classics" we assume they would.
So fame and awareness of artists isn't as clear cut as we might think. I am minded to think of the recent issue of wanting Rory Gallagher's Strat to stay in Ireland. Most viewers of this channel will be aware of this and I am sure support that. Yet, despite even the Taoiseach of Ireland stating Rory is their "most famous son" most people in Ireland and the rest of the world don't know him. They have never heard of him or his music.
Another example is 100 years agon the most famous living person in the world was actor Rudolph Valentino. He was a household name everywhere. He was Number One. How many of his films can you name? Have seen? I haven't seen any. He's almost forgotten.
So yes in conclusion some (most?) of these vids will be manufactured for commercial gain only. But not all of them. And as time goes on and fame gets funnelled further down fame will be applicable to certain groups of people only. And the point that they are potentially missing out on hearing all the classic acts Andy listens is a very succinct, yet likely, very lamentable one.
I came back to say pretty much the same thing, but you have phrased it better than I can.
I will cut some slack for those who have been isolated, so to speak, due to cultural or language differences. In other words, some sort of "Cultural Bubble". As there ARE songs are just not promoted globally because e.g. their style won't fit. But for those who have always been in the English speaking world, I can't say I buy the "Who's Michael Jackson?" schpeel.
@@strumminronin One report on this mentioned Jacko. As he has certain "accusations" - albeit unfounded - these systems algorithms do not promote him. So yes there are younger people out there unaware of Jacko yet, due to Stranger Things, they know Kate Bush. I say again I find all this initially surprising but utterly fascinating.
@@jp7963 Indeed, MJ is not a good example, but I do appreciate that you see my point.
To cut to the chase, I am from one of these "Cultural Bubbles", where there was a time I would MOST CERTAINLY, ABSOLUTELY NOT have bothered with Pink Floyd, or Iron Maiden, or Nat King Cole, or Whitney Houston, or Steve Vai, just for example. I had friends that CRITICISED me for practically being "deviant" for tapping into heavier rock.
"Why would you listen to that?"
"No one likes that stuff."
"But song number x is much more popular than song number y on the CD." - Chastising me for liking something "different ", something not on the Top 10.
Worse yet, there was a time when I did not consider my musical diet incomplete, because their music just didn't fit the "cultural bubble" I was in. Hence I don't call these video makers out for BS entirely, though their situation is hard to defend.
Similarly, if I were to do a M Culkin Home Alone face and exclaim, "How could you have not heard of ?" It would have been equally ignorant and arrogant because, record labels, language barrier, etc. create that information / knowledge gap. Real DJs are the ones that bridge that gap, but they are getting really few and far between.
I do think that some music needs to be known across culture and languages at this point. Even if we get "Lemon On A Pear", or " Sweet dreams are made of cheese", it's worth it.
My 15 yr old son like ccr and queen and knows most of the stuff I grew up with when I was kid 50 yrs ago.
Keep the great job up.
Unfortunately, there are indeed people who don't even know about the existence of some great songs or artists: last night, a chap probably in his early 30s came up to me after I played "Blowing in the Wind" and asked me the title of the song and who sang it...after I told him, he then proceeded to repeat the artist's name for confirmation thusly: "ROB DYLAN?" 🤦🏻♂️
Elizabeth on Charismatic Voice is very open about whether she's already heard a song before or not. Sometimes she's heard a song, but she does a "deep dive" on them from a voice analysis point of view for her show. RobSquad also admits when they've heard a song before. I think a lot of these younger folks may have heard some songs before but never really paid attention. And yes, some are fake, but that's okay. I like that they're taking a journey into music from the past. Older folks doing reactions, well, that's different, and not very believable.
I think that one should draw a distinction between a "reaction" video and an "analysis" video. Most of the reactions are pretty much click-bait where they just play the song from start to finish, say how awesome it was and then hope they don't get a copyright strike. The analysis videos will generally stop at various times and explain why it's awesome.
I've seen videos by people claiming not to have heard of Elvis!
I agree 100%. It's super annoying these thumbnails with the fake "OH MY GOD, I Just CRAPPED my pants because I've NEVER heard this 50 year old song before in my LIFE" look. Even though they mostly still are played on the radio 20x a day. 40 years old and never heard The Beatles or Led Zeppelin? lol Some of these kids, I get it..probably, but grown ass adults? Highly unlikely.The only person I think might be legit is the Charismatic Voice, but it takes her 40 minutes to critique a 2 minute song, so she can wear my patience out before the video is over.
I have no idea... I block those!! 😂
Can't say I care that much about a complete stranger on the internet, making silly faces for a "here's my take" video at the expense of a musician / group. (Worst yet, flaunting their ignorance!) There are proven professionals and including music critics that are on my "watch later" list! Am I being harsh on these young'uns? May be. But why should they care about some random old **** on the internet that isn't into their two cents? 😂
If you play me a few seconds of music from just about any song from the 70s, 80s, or 90s and I will most likely be able to name the title and/or artist and even what year it was released in many cases. However, I never heard Fade to Gray until just now.
I can believe actual analysis videos when they say they haven't *analysed* a song before. There's a lot more to it when you start to break down what's actually going on, but straight up react content is just low hanging fruit.
The biggest mystery is how they don’t get copyright striked and are able to generate revenue.
No mystery at all if you know the copyright laws.
I guess I don’t understand then.
@@jamar2349 Fair use for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research. This is why most reaction videos stop and start the video they are watching and "react" during said video and not just at the end.
There is one reactor who wrote in every description of his ABBA reaction videos that Mamma Mia is his favourite song by them. And then he did a Mamma Mia reaction and named it 'First time hearing'... 🤨 I confronted him with that contradiction and he asserted that he has only heard snippets of Mamma Mia before. But then I wonder why he can call this song his favourite song when he has heard only snippets of it... 🤣🤣🤣
In this day and age, nah. Before, lots of parents listened to one genre and "Footloose" towns still exist in the states. Not defending them, but I have met some clogs before....
And when it happens to be a band on the rise reactors all the sudden have them on their channel and when their sub count jumps, they do one day a week with just that band
I've seen this with Ren. So many new channels who are just reacting to his music because he has a collection of followers (myself included) who want others to hear and appreciate it but there is no way that all of them just happened upon and decided on a whim to do his full back catalogue without seeing how much other channels have blown up from it.
@@Pinkbluebiro Yep and the same with my favorite band The Warning and just for clicks
People are fine with being lied to.
Just look at the USA....
New Order? I have over 100 hours on my rock playlist and they're not on it. Might be missing out but that doesn't make me ignorant of music. I don't really follow suggestions from youtube or spotify but that's because I've been burned by "popular" music. Lots of people don't listen to music. If it's in a movie or tv show they'll know it, but they won't know the band or the song title.
You cannot have missed some Queen, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Rolling Stones. Have a radio on occasionally because you WILL have heard something, trust me. EVH is the current 1st time listen, his "Eruption" 15 minute live solo. "Oh, didn't he do that Jump song?"
I know you're correct, it's the cash generated that drives this output.
I used to know Kelly & Kim from a band you'll know. I still have Kelly's little practice amp. (Bought it off her.) RIP Kelly. I bet not many know the band. Same goes for early Diamond Head with Sean. (Even Metallica have strong ties with D/H, Am I Evil for example.)
I must add that I couldn't tell you who's who when Beyonce & similar are on the radio. Just sounds the same to me. I've tried many times, I'm open to any music, maybe it's my age.
Any of the thumbnails that are the shocked pikachu face, I give it a hard pass.
Great video as always. Perhaps they have memory loss, so easily forget the classics 😂
In 50 years time, they could react to themselves 🤣
Of course 95% them are doing this for money.
As long as there are gullible people supporting their channels, this trend will never stop ( unfortunately that's human nature)
As I see it, the only problem I have with these channels is, that they are stealing (in almost all the cases) from the artists, that created this music (similar situation as it was, for instance, with napster).
Also this is an excellent tool, too teach your kids, how to recognize liars/con-artists.
Have a like just for showing the cover of the best album ever released (3:37) 👍
I know my Beatles in and out. First time I heard Bohemian Rhapsody must've been around 1976. And so on and so forth. But I never consciously listened to Eminem, or Taylor Swift, or many other big sellers of the past, say 30 years. And incidentally, I couldn't name any song of Linkin Park. Or Coldplay. You just can't know anything. Especially if you've not been a regular radio listener for a long time. So, I think you're on the wrong track.
"The Charismatic voice" will admit when she's heard a song beforehand. "Virgin Rock" is a also good channel.
Most of these reactors are black. How much rap have you listened to?
I said in the video
And that's the point right, lol. People like what they like, and I definitely believe that someone could spend their entire life never listening to rock or country or pop or rap. It's normal!
There is a video of Rob Squad watching Wedding Singer for the "first time" but at the start of the film they talk about how much they love Adam Sandler and his movies. Here is my comment from that video
So Adam Sandler is one of your favourite childhood actors. Your favourite AS movies are Big Daddy (1999) and Happy Gilmour (1996). Are you then trying to tell me that this is the first time you have seen The Wedding Singer (1998). You've just happened to both miss this one for 26 years, even though he's one of your favourites? I call bullshit.
Did they explain why they did not watch this particular AS movie? If not, then ok, they are FOS.
well, i mean
when a young female artist complains about some four old men, kicking her album from the first place at US charts
what tells us about the fans? ;)
sure, not everyone knows everything
and for sure it's about the views
but you know very fast, if the reaction is genuine and not faked
picking the pearls is the key, i would say :)
Was that a picture of Postojna cave?
Zelo pomembno vprašanje :D
I can't believe anyone hasn't heard the live, unplugged version of Nutshell by Alice In Chains. You'ld literally be the last person alive to ever react to it.
Sorry, but i needed to look that up, and even if i have heard it before i must have forgotten already. So let's create a reaction channel then.
Never heard of that song and couldn't tell you one song that Alice in Chains have.
@MrDecksels Never heard of it, and I listen to a lot a music covering decades and genres.
Have you ever seen those fake restoration videos?
Agree, it’s total BS. Even if it were true, I don’t know why these videos get so many views, why do I care what some random person thinks when they hear the Beatles for the first time? I enjoy reaction videos if it’s someone who is a respected musician, like Justin Hawkins, and if he’s listening to new music because that’s a cool way to find new music I might like. But these people are clueless by their own admission. No thanks.
The vast majority of the 'Reaction' videos are just that, - fake. But there are some which are believable, and who actually contribute something valuable except for sitting around making faces. Elizabeth Zharoff of The Charismatic Voice for instance, has lived in the world of Opera until Covid forced her to come up with something else.
The beef for me was when Rhet Shull saifd he had never heard Ruble by Link Wray. He never answered the question if he really had never seen Pulp Fiction which is what I found unlikely.
I'm over 50 and never watched Pulp Fiction.
@@DavidBeserock That is not implausible but I don't know anything alse about you to judge wether it was plausible or not either so it's kind of moot.But the thin is last year it was the 30th anniversary of it's releqase and in cinemas all over the world the played the soundtrack or even hired bands to play it so you may have heard the musaic from the movie only by walking around town. BTW your age is totally irrelevant to the converation.
@@rimmersbryggeri It just didn't interest me. I'm being honest that I couldn't tell you a single song from it. I probably have heard them without knowing. I haven't been to a movie in years,
@@DavidBeserock But what is your point? You seem to grasp the fact that you could have heard songs that you had never "heard of" and outside the context of listening to music. I for instance have heard coldplay probably millions of times thinking it was elevator music.
@@rimmersbryggeri what I said was that I never watched the movie. The point is that just because something is considered a classic doesn't mean everyone has been exposed to it.
Can say I've never (knowingly) listened to Lincoln Park or sotd... not to say I've never heard their songs
😆 the exact reason I quit watching them. The only one that is for real (as far as I know) is Doug the composer / educator the guy is amazing he can break down every note he hears he has perfect pitch
❤❤
Thank you Tee