An Ode To Old: Praising Membership In The 13th Generation

This is something I've been thinking about posting for a few weeks. I even went so far as to write a post and trash it. I felt like I was being a bit of a snob and I felt like I was turning in to one of those shitty old people. You know, the back-in-my-day kind of old people. After a lot of thought, I think I may have found a way to express myself that would make me seem like less of a pompous ass. But after much soul searching, I think it may be impossible to not become a back-in-my-day type of person.

TWO TRUE STORIES

Pt. I

PLACE: A Hallway, Saatchi & Saatchi Building, lower Manhattan

20-something Hipster Art Director: You know, I need to get some Black Sabbath.

Me: I love Sabbath. They're one of my favorites.

20-something Hipster Art Director: Somebody was playing them at this party the other night. They sounded really cool.

Me: Fuck yeah they're cool. I've got some in my iTunes. I'll hook you up!

20-something Hipster Art Director: Cool. I'm excited


Pt. II

PLACE: My Desk, Saatchi & Saatchi Building, Springdale, AR

20-something Stuff White People Like Art Director: Hey, are you going to that meeting?

Me: I guess. I really need...

20-something Stuff White People Like Art Director: What are you listening to?

Me: The Stooges. Fun House.

20-something Stuff White People Like Art Director: Hmm. They sound like Spoon.

Me: (laughing) They sound like Spoon? You know that was Iggy Pop's band before he went solo? The Stooges get a lot of credit for influencing punk. (more laughter)

20-something Stuff White People Like Art Director: Fuck you. I can't help it I'm not old. Who listens to this shit?

Me: Well you're not old enough to have listened to the Beatles either. But if I had played them, you would have known who it was.


Neither one of these stories has anything to do with my musical knowledge or taste. I just thought it was funny how two people who are around the same age had no knowledge of two relatively mainstream and important bands. I was prepared to mock them for this and then I thought about it. The reason I know about these bands is because in the 80s (and late 70s) we didn't have Internet. Or satellite TV or radio. As a matter of fact when we got cable we only had about 25 stations. I didn't start listening to Sabbath because they were cool, I listened because that's what KSHE-95 played. The fact that they were cool was an added bonus.

As I pondered the situation more I started to realize how lucky I am/was. I think about all of the cool stuff I was exposed to just because of when I was born. During my formative years Pop Culture as we know it today, didn't exist. Electronic Media, besides radio, hadn't been around that long. Think about it. In 1980, people had gotten their first TV 25-30 years earlier. You didn't have vast collections of movies, music, or fuck, anything. Instead of watching Nickelodeon I was watching the Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched and Speed Racer. When I stayed up late, I saw Benny Hill and The Honeymooners. All classics. I'm lucky I couldn't log on to MySpace and find some new band to hold my interest for two weeks. That means I was stuck with Zeppelin, Sabbath and Hendrix. I knew those albums backwards ands forwards. I knew the track NAMES not just numbers. (God help me, I don't even know the numbers now.) And when the time was right, I was the perfect age for Nirvana and the "alternative" explosion. (This could be an entirely different post)

Because people my age didn't have a ton of options, we made more of what we had. New music wasn't just iTunes away. You couldn't go to Best Buy and grab the latest movies or TV shows on DVD. You were in the moment. It was good, but it was bad too. You were exposed to a lot of crap, and didn't have a choice. (Unless you wanted to go outside. What a novel concept.) I mean for every time I wax nostalgic about watching The Clash on MTV I could mention four or five bands like Krokus. It was not all good times. And now that I live in Fayette-Nam, I'm glad those days are gone. But I'm also really glad I lived through them. I think it's sad people who like cool things don't have a sense of history. I think it's sad that we've given ourselves so many choices that we can miss out on so many good things. I think it's sad people don't know what they're missing.

My hair is greying, my right knee is shot and my vision is getting bad. But 38 years old seems right on time to me.

Epilogue

Pt. III

PLACE: My Desk, Saatchi & Saatchi, Springdale, AR

Via iChat

I notice a friend from our New York office has logged on. His new chat icon: Frederick "Rerun" Stubbs.

Me: Hey, hey, hey! What's happening!

Mid-Thirties Art Director: Haha. I can't believe you know that one.

Me: Shit, I'm old school, brother.

Mid-Thirties Art Director: Yeah, I mentioned H.R. Puffinstuff the other day. These kids looked at me like I'm crazy. They don't know about shit.

Me: Amen to that, brother.