Not Being an old Pooperoo

[jephmat]

Juts a quick bit of background: I'm a 40-something refugee of the 80's and 90's punk/metal/industrial/new wave/Holy-God-what-was-that? scenes, as are many of my friends!

So I posted this yarp the other day on my Facebook:

"Dear people my age, when you brag/complain that 'music was better in my day', you do not sound like hardcore punks/throckers/street-wise clubbers. You sound like crusty ol' pooperoos who might as well be yarping 'Get offa' mah' lawn y'darn kids.' Plus you're dissing lots of awesome music that you may not be hearing because you can't stop replaying that ancient Fugazi album over and over again. Stay frosty! Listen to some new music! Don't be a cranky ol' pooperoo!"

I included it with this image:



I remember th' old days, and I remember when older people would yarp about how "ridiculous" we looked, and how "music was better in my day." I also remembered that there's one thing I didn't want to be: That bitter old guy grousing at the young.

Some of my friends took exception ot this mini-rant, and told me that they would never be convinced that Arcade Fire and Justin Bieber were good artists. I replied that if that was their references to modern music, they needed to get out more.

One part of it is that it's difficult to follow new music when you're older. You have things like kids and jobs and houses to clean. Even though I don't have as much time on my hands, I keep listening and looking around, and I find music that's running underneath the mainstream. That's another factor: The mainstream is more stringent now. It was easier to see more obscure bands in the mainstream back in my day, (I'll give the pooperoos that,) but they've shoved the underground even further underneath, making those busy "adults" less likely to hear the good stuff below the glossy music industry surface.

And it's also rose colored glasses. Our brains, rightfully so, have blotted out the traumatic memories of all the really bad music that was coming out of our era. When a friend used Bieber as evidence of modern music inferiority, that's like saying 80's music was all about the New Kids on the Block.

In any case, I don't want to be an old pooperoo. So I look for new music, and I keep in mind what's going on, with my past and the present. I may even let those kids hang out on my lawn!

Comments

[sister-anne.livejournal.com]

I agree with you. I try to tell my fellow olds that all the time- like when my friend said he was introducing his daughter to Public Enemy, in an effort to teach her how old rap was "good" and had more intelligent lyrics compared to the rap that's out today. I had to point out the difference between the thought-provoking lyrics of contemporary artists like The Coup, and the lyrics of older rap songs like "Fly Girl" by The Boogie Boys. In any given era, the majority of popular music is crap. You have to dig deeper to find the good stuff, and that's the stuff that will remain with you as you get older. That's as true today as it ever was- I'm just lucky enough to be able to discover good new music more easily, as a KALX DJ.

There's also some science behind why new music starts sounding crappy after a certain age, though:

http://www.cracked.com/article_19722_7-scientific-reasons-youll-turn-out-just-like-your-parents.html

It's just important to remember that it has NOTHING to do with the quality of music going downhill.

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

"In any given era, the majority of popular music is crap. You have to dig deeper to find the good stuff"

EXACTLY! In the Facebook thread one of my friends was comparing Arcade Fire to Joy Division. The thing is, we knew about Joy Division because we were in a certain space and lifestyle to hear that kind of music. Now a lot of my friends just hear the mainstream stuff.

I also mentioned rose colored glasses. I still have some friends who don't wanna hear me.

Listening to KALX is how I hear a lot of music I haven't heard before. That and noodling around YouTube. It is easier to find and hear music these days, but a lot of my friends still don't have time to explore it.

But mostly I just want my friends to stop sounding like crotchety old people. I know we ain't spring chickens anymore, but let's not be those bitter guys who poop on younger people. Hell, there's a sixty year old man who goes to Gilman to film bands! Let's be that guy!

[sister-anne.livejournal.com]

I went and looked at your Facebook post, and to be honest I think with that particular guy it's less about him being old and stuck and more about him being one of those guys who's a snob who hates everything. Nothing you suggest- new or old- that he hasn't already decided he likes will be good enough for him (including the bands Rebecca suggested, whom I think are great). Everything will sound "derivative" to him.

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that guy does have his nose in the air. I didn't bother offering him any suggestions because I knew he'd poop on all of them. That's his way. But then again, he's always been like that.