Sunday, March 19, 2006

I Might As Well Get Ready For Reunion Tours

As I've gotten older, one thing I've noticed is that nostalgia is not limited to those of us who are (defiantly so) older. I know you've seen this on TV with those informercials. Originally, they were aimed at folks like my parents. It was a music collection from some decade like the 60's or 70's. They'd be hosted by some old rocker with 50 facelifts and enough hair plugs to make Slash look like Kojak. He'll have a younger counterpart, who in no way had anything to do with that music except that maybe she was conceived in one of those vans with the heart-shaped windows on the side while her parents banged away to an 8 track of Jethro Tull. So they'd babble on and on about how your old records get scratchy and that if you bought each of the albums individually, the cost could go into the $1000's (What a deal!!! ... insert sarcasm here).

As someone who is desperately trying to stave off getting older, imagine my horror when I saw one of these commercials for an 80's boxed set. I nearly spit out my dinner as this infomercial rolled across the screen. There it was confirming that I am no longer a young man: A Flock Of Seagulls, Madness, Hall & Oates, Men Without Hats, Winger, Poison, Motley Crue, and the list goes on. Each song, each band was like a nail in my coffin signalling the death knell.

Actually I first detected this problem a few years back in law school along with my old roommate, Deeesguy. We decided to go to Ribfest in downtown Cincinnati. What better than beer and BBQ for a guy to enjoy on a warm summer night? It was the perfect combo even more so because
The Gin Blossoms were playing that night. Once the band starts playing, Deeesguy and I have had a few beers .... we're feeling great. Then we notice the couple next to us singing along with all of the songs ..... holding their kids. The more I looked around, the more I saw it. Suburban couples desperately clinging to some remnant of their youth much like myself. The place was replete with "those" couples: the couple you see at Home Depot trying to emulate that afternoons episode of some random home improvement show; the couple that now shops exclusively at Gap and Baby Gap; the couple that watches American Idol and Will & Grace religiously; the couple that actually buys albums from American Idol "contestants". They were there with me at this concert in their Docker shorts, golf shirts, and raising bottles of beers on arms where Citizen watches resided!!

Rock stars from my generation are beginning to kick off: Layne Staley from Alice In Chains; Stuart Adamson from Big Country; Bradley Nowell from Sublime; Jam Master Jay from Run DMC; Jeff Buckley; Joe Strummer from the Clash; Eazy-E; Michael Hutchence from INXS; Kurt Cobain; Joey, DeeDee & Johnny Ramone from The Ramones; just to name a few!! And to top it off Blink 182 has broken up! What next? U2 calls it quits?

I might as well get ready for those reunion tours where Blink reunites 10 years from now hoping to cash in on our nostalgia when we're all finally established homeowners with 401K plans. Several bands will get together like these Motown reunion tours that are always on PBS. You'll see the Goo Goo Dolls, two of the guys from Dexy's Midnight Runners, Loverboy, and Ice Cube all on one ticket!! I'll be there with my thinning hair, comfortable slacks, and sensible shoes trying hard to being young again! And so will you!!!

17 comments:

jennifer said...

wow. you're old. ;)

Andi said...

I'm depressed now. Thank you, Cincy. *taking up the armor afforded me by a bottle of liquor*

Chelle said...

I noticed this phenom at a Green Day concert. (I haven't told this story b4, have I?)

TEEENAGERS!!!!! TEEENYBOPPERS!!!! Parents with their 10 yr old kids at GREEN DAY!!!!!

All I could think was I saw this band with Lollapolloza (a sure sign I'm old, if nothing else was) and Green Day trashed their audience. And now kids were now in the audience trying, trying the operative word, to form a mash pit.

JHD said...

Sounds familiar. Depressingly familiar.

I went to see Def Leppard last summer. I was there in my black t-shirt and jeans (I don't own any leather anymore and even if I did, it was too hot to wear outdoors in August), thinking I'd be sadly overdressed. No, not at all since there were all these people there in brightly colored polo shirts, and khakis! Even the younger college crowd were all sporting them. No black, no leather, no ripped anything, no punk. The only outfits you expect to see at a Def Leppard concert were worn by Def Leppard themseleves. Which actually wasn't so bad, they're still fairly fit. (Well, except for Vivian, but I've brain bleached that image from my mind, and I prefer to keep it that way.) But still, it was just wrong. I'm afraid to go to any more concerts for bands I loved, just in case it gets worse.

JHD said...

Oh and let's not forget the couple in front of me (with their 10 year old kids) trying to be all badass with their "yeahs!" and hand signals (sadly it looked more like Hook 'em Horns than the heavy metal salute).

sonrisa morena said...

i'm with andi, thanks for depressing me!!! my "age is just a number" just went down the toilet!!!

Joel said...

I'd never seen that picture of Brad Nowell... for whatever reason his death bothers me more than any other famous rock deaths and I can't put my finger on why...
also, please quit bringing up Blink, every time I think about them I want to down a fifth of Jack and stumble blindly into traffic... I don't think you want that on your conscious.

But since we're already on the subject of Blink- Have you heard Tom's new band Angels in Airwaves? It's not the same, but what I've heard sounds good so far... they're definitely no Audio Slave.

Scarlet Hip said...

Stop making me feel old dammit.

Cincysundevil said...

Jen-
Thanks .. where is the sympathy?

Cincysundevil said...

Andi-
Can I have a swig? That is, of course, if you don't mind old man slobber on the bottle.

Cincysundevil said...

Mariemm-
Parents at a Green Day show? My God ... I might as well stop listening to punk altogether now.

Cincysundevil said...

JHD-
Def Leppard show? Wasn't that one with Bryan Adams too? Polos at a rock concert .... even most of the DMB crowd doesn't go that far considering his crossover appeal!

Cincysundevil said...

Sonrisa-
It is just a number for some! Hey, you can still wear the liberal thongs!

Cincysundevil said...

Dcnats-
Trust me; there isn't much that keeps me from running into traffic with the crap thats on the radio these days. Blink had been one of the few good things they played.

I like Tom's new band. I'm waiting for the album and downloads. Also, I like Mark and Travis' project, Plus 44. They have a MySpace account where you can download the first single. Good stuff.

Cincysundevil said...

Brooke-
You're not old at all. You're sexy ... end of story!

Msabcmom said...

Getting older sucks!

Last month I was trying to explain to my students what a record. I actually had to bring in an actual record so that they could see it and feel it. (It was a Duran Duran album - they got a kick out of the haircuts!) I don't have a record player in my classroom so they couldn't hear it. I think some of them don't believe that it can actually play music.

Imagine if I had mentioned the phrase 8 track tape!

Cincysundevil said...

MsAbcMom-
I would've killed to have seen the look on their faces. They were probably wondering just how big the player was for it to slide into like a DVD!