What are Oldies?

It's crazy to think what is considered oldies music these days. As time rolls on I guess the definition changes but the older I get the harder it is to consider some songs as being called oldies when I was alive or not far from it when the songs first came out.

When I think of oldies music I think of the birth of rock and roll. I think of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys and maybe even Johnny Cash. Basically music of most any genre from the 50's and 60's. That usually is the kind of music I would hear if I were to turn on an "oldies" radio station when I was younger. But now as I reach 30, more often than not I tend to hear The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and crazy enough, Huey Lewis and the News!

How could this be that music that came out around the year I was born could be considered oldies? Until I started to think about this blog post I never really thought about what classified oldies and oldies music. According to Wikipedia, which is also right by the way, "oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day." But  apparently as the years roll on, 80's music like good ol' Huey, Phil Collins, and Hall & Oates is commonly referred to as classic rock to distinguish it from earlier oldies music as I've always seen it. 


It just makes me wonder, what will the music that I've listened to growing up and the music I listen to now be called in the 15 to 55 years it takes to be considered "oldies." I know bands like Guns n' Roses and Metallica are being considered classic rock, but it's hard to imagine the harder music that I enjoy to ever be called classic rock or oldies. So what will be the term applied to all of todays popular music be when I'm reaching the end of my days? I guess time will tell.