).I'm super-happy that this exists... · 2:20am Aug 20th, 2016
... but whenever I hear this song I always wonder just how much of it the current generation is going to understand.
For those old enough to have lived through the events referenced in the lyrics, this was one of the most moving, poignant songs of the latter half of the twentieth century. It makes you recall, in rapid-fire, where you were at so many points in your life; it makes you marvel about just how much history has happened so quickly.
I was around for less than half of them, but my Old Man was born back in '33. The song 'starts' in '49, when my Pops was sixteen, so every single line of this song means something to him.
A time... a place... a friend long gone... the car he drove on his first date with my Mother... the day his Father died... the day I was born...
It's a stunning testament to the power of music that a song only five minutes long can make you relive forty years of history.
I keep wishing that someone will make a remake that covers events that have all occurred during my own lifespan, so that when I'm old and gray I can still listen to it and, for a few minutes, be reminded of what an amazing time it is to be alive. People have tried, but so far none of the 'remade' versions have carried the same emotional weight; had the same power as the original.
I guess in the meantime I'll just have to make do with this version:
Okay, everyone before born before the XXI century? We need to talk.
This shit right here? I get it. You lived through a lot of important stuff, and I'll be the first one to admit pretty much everyone in my generation is a twat to some degree or another. I'm not an exception.
But as good as the intentions behind gestures like this one are, all they do to millenials is make us feel guilty for being born in a century with Iphones. I'm pretty sure people from the IXX century didn't give teenagers from the XX century shit for the year they were born or make jokes about it, and I'm pretty fucking tired of being treated like I'm either a toddler or an ignorant hipster by default.
I know the fact that this is kind of a whinny argument doesn't help my case a lot, but my point stands. You were there when we did "X" thing, good for you, now kindly stop living in the past, stop giving millenials shit, cut the mocking crap, and for god's sake, give us a chance to be part of something more impressive than being there when Trump gets ellected and the apocalypse for "Terminator" begins, minus Skynet.
I think its because we have trouble rhyming. Too many weird names.
Donald Trump and Rachel Ray,
Al Queda and Black Friday,
Ben Burnanke, Bernie Madoff, Merrill had to close.
I guess that's a start. Pick it up from there.
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Whoa there, magic gator. Millennials aren't the only ones who get pooped on by their seniors. I'm part of Generation X; you know, the one everyone said was lazy, lacked direction, and would never amount to anything.
(spoilers: we didn't,
)
Every generation gets some level of flack from the ones before it (and, case in point, the ones that come after it too); that's just human nature. That said, it's not what I was aiming to do with this post, so sorry if it came off that way.
The point I was trying to make was more about the emotional impact that something as seemingly simple as a song can have, and the song that I chose to demonstrate that with happened to be one that has a more profound meaning for us old farts who where around for a chunk of last century. It's the same as how Wake Me Up When September Ends by Greenday might have a huge effect on people who lost friends or family members on 9/11, but might not elicit any reaction at all from someone who didn't.
You guys and gals born after 2K are still young; you haven't gotten a chance yet to make your own history... but you will. Somewhere down the line you might even want to look back on it fondly; maybe even post a blog about it. When you do, if some young person replies back with a rant about how they think you should stop living in the past... go easy on them. You've walked in their shoes, after all,
PS: Trump ain't your fault; sorry for dumping him on you,
4159878
)
Yeah, that could use some work... but it ain't gonna be from me; I can't rhyme either (see the above response about my generation never amounting to anything,
4160149 Yeah, sorry if I went a bit (read: a lot) overboard. It's kind of a Berserk Trigger at this pont.
PS: We really can't blame a single generation on Trump. He's like a really shitty storm at a very unoportune time. It'll fuck things up, but what are you gonna do?
Huh, suddenly that Toby Keith song makes total sense…….