And the Beat Goes On

George Harrison sang “All Those Years Ago” and….

You see, this is how it all starts! Now I have to explain WHO George Harrison is to the younger audience, much like Lawrence Welk or Glen Miller had to be explained to me when I was younger. It wasn’t just commonplace that I would unders tand Big Band Swing or catch phrases like “Daddy-O” & “See Ya Later, Alligator”. I would stare blankly back to these strange creatures who claimed to really be members of my family as they would try to explain to me the Louie Prima was the originator of “Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody” and not David Lee Roth.

            Here we go again! “Who is David Lee Roth?”, I’m asked. (sigh). Ok, so it’s official. I am getting older. Hard to believe that Ozzy Osbourne and KISS were considered satanic cult music when I was growing up. Now they are just reality shows. (sigh). And I won’t even get into the irony of Pat Boone living next door to Ozzy. That is a trip all unto itself.

            But the changing of the guard is at hand. I have just woken up in the middle of the night to capture thoughts from a dream I was having and suddenly realized that I am getting old! Not because of having to urinate more than once whilst I doze, but because of the shock that I will get the same blank stare from a younger generation when I try to describe the awesome power and primal lust that fills my veins when Led Zeppelin plays “Rock-n-Roll”!

            Granted, I have help in the fact that younger bands will honorably point to Jimmy Page as a major influence in their rock n roll breast feeding. Bands like Foo Fighters or The Black Crowes but then it dawns on me that these bands have been writing themselves into the pantheon of six-string history for over twenty years! Hell, I may even need to explain that Dave Grohl was a part of Nirvana. Yes, they were a music group, not a Buddhist philosophy.

            Granted, I do take solace in the fact that Bob Dylan and Paul Simon are still ranking on the charts. But realize that they are both member of the AARP as well as the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame! I wonder what back stage provisions are written into their contract rider today? Aleve and Geritol? Not that it really matters because they still kick ass without wearing Depends!

            Which brings up another realization. So 70’s groups like the Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith & even Cheap Trick putting out fresh material keep providing us “new” legacies to cling to, who will be carrying on the torch for the 80’s? Did spandex and hair spray cause a premature end to such greats like Guns-N-Roses or Poison? How about Motley Crue? It is here that I realize that not all wine ages well. Some sours greatly!

Axl, well, I think the corn rows said it all. And if that wasn’t enough, Buckethead definitely put a feather in Axl’s cap! Call it macaroni! Motley Crue went from metal anarchy to bitchy old men, still trying to think they are the next KISS. I give a thumbs up to Brett Michaels for perseverance after some very serious health issues but Poison hasn’t produced any noteworthy music since the 80’s.  Def Leppard? I remember seeing an interview where producer Mutt Lange called Hysteria their greatest hits album and he was right! They have been promoting that album ever since! U2, hands down, keeps the heart of rock-n-roll still beating. But who else is capable of lifting 80’s to a place in history that either still alive or still talking to each other? Or maybe the 80’s need to pass away in a quiet service with a spandex-draped casket….

           

Well, I had to pause to pay a visit to my grandmother, who is in the hospital for a minor issue.  I am now delighting her with my iTunes collection of her favorite music. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, The Lennon Sisters & more. I am giving her a chance to travel back in time to where “music was REAL music!”, a mantra that seems to be passed on from generation to generation. She loves all music, and she passed that love on to me.

She is almost 93 and has Alzheimer’s. She may have lost some her memory, but thankfully, none of her sarcastic wit (hmmm, I wonder where I get mine from!) She has a great sense of humor and I do so enjoy being with her.

             As the music plays, you can watch her stare off into space, or so it appears, but in actuality she has just jumped aboard a bandwagon that whisks her off to the moment where those songs were brand new. Her time. Her generation. So I understand the inevitable reality that our music will ultimately define us. This is not to say that we have pigeonholed ourselves into being stuck in a certain decade. As much as certain radio stations would have us think we are of narrow mind, I find just as much artistry in music made today as I did in my formative years.

            But maybe that’s the key phrase. The formative years. I can look at almost any generation and surmise what was era they grew up in, not by their age or looks, but by the music they listen to. Although, any man with a mullet is a dead give-away. It is impossible to run away from who you are. There will always be music that will take you back to specific moments of your life. For example, in my generation, if play “Conjunction Junction”, the child in us all instantly responds with “What’s your function?” It becomes a universal password that allows you into the secret clubhouse! Some music will always be marked by the era it was released in. Remember, to party like it’s 1999 was a song of the future once. How about “Chevy Van”, where having a bed in the back did not make you a serial killer?

            But I can safely say that the spirit of music to free your soul and make you want to dance til dawn will always remain. After all, we all want to go to “New York, New York” and see the neon lights “On Broadway”.  Girls will always “just wanna have fun!” and everyone wants to “Rock-n-Roll all night and PARTY EVERYDAY!”

           

And the Beat Goes On!