Music Ageist?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 12:01AM When did it become cool for rock fans to be elitist?
It's all a bit ironic, isn't it? Metal is all about counterculture, or flipping the middle finger at mainstream society. With marketing the modern music machine, commercialism seems to have chipped away the stone that is rock.
Perhaps I should clarify. When I use the term elitist here, I don't mean "of the wealthy or privileged" I mean "of a certain age."
That's right: I've noticed discrimination because of my age. Worst yet, I've actually caught myself snickering at people younger than me while at shows! I'm not proud to admit, but if some teeny booper shoves me out of the front row to get a little closer to, say, Tracii Guns, I really have to catch myself. No, I'm not a violent person. I don't have the urge to come to blows. I do, however, have the urge for an impromptu round of Trivial Pursuit:Glam Metal. Like, if you can answer three questions about the band in front of you, you're allowed to stand in the front row.
Is it wrong I don't want faux fans in the front row?
It's like this: I'm die hard. If I spend money to go to a show, buy albums, get some merchandise...I want to actually see the band. I don't care who your husband knows. I don't care if you have giant fake boobs - if you're not a real fan, get out of my way.
Back to age.
I'm not an ageist. I think people should be allowed to work as long as they choose. I think young kids can make inroads in corporate America. I think both older and younger employees make for a more balanced and better functioning workplace. I think Glam Metal is music for the young and young at heart.
I think if you're 14 and flipping your blonde hair in my face at a show I have the right to ask you why you like the band at hand. Is that wrong?
I don't understand "trend-hopping." I say, do what makes you happy. Study cultural anthropology when all your friends go to medical school. Buy a Prius if you care about the environment and can still afford a Mercedes. Listen to any music you choose...but please, actually know something about the band.
You already know I'm young. If you don't, let me remind you that I'm 28. I don't hide much about my life. If it's big, I write about it here. I wear glasses and die my hair jet black, both in a small effort to look a little older. When I interview musicians, they always ask me my age. The response is often met with 1) surprise, 2) trepidation and finally 3) appreciation. While I have very fond memories of Glam growing up, I didn't actually live through the "scene" like some have pointed out. I didn't live through the Salem Witch Trials either, but that didn't stop me from writing a thesis on the matter during my undergraduate days.
So here we are. Another day and just one more instance of me airing my dirty laundry for the world to see. Now you know I hate it when faux fans push their way to the barricade just to be near a "rock star." I love it even more when these same faux fans either 1) mock the band or 2) objectify the members like pieces of meat.
Maybe this is just my pet peeve. If so, I apologize for the rant.
Reader Comments (16)
Anyway, about 10 years ago (I'm 37), I went to a DLR show. He was opening up for Bad Company and most of the crowd was quite somber as most of the audience was there to see Bad Company rather than David Lee. I moved up front. It wasn't hard as the crowd was pretty thin and most people were sitting down, drinking beer and waiting for Bad Co.
I don't know what came over me, but I said to myself, "If the band can rock out on stage, I am going to rock out in my seat"...and I went crazy. It was one of the funnest times I had at a show, as I was more focused on the "feeling" than on the "visual" and I was able to get a lot of the people around me more into the show and they let down a lot of their inhibitions, too.
Afterward, I met the band and the drummer told me how much HE enjoyed the show and HE appreciated ME getting HIM and the audience more into the show. I was blown away by this compliment. Since then, I have systematically and purposefully tried to focus less on the musicians themselves and focus more on the music. Moreover, at shows, I seek out other concert attendees- other guys about my age who I sense want to "rock out" and I try to get them to loosen their inhibitions, too, by following a feeling. Most of the time, I'm successful.
These days, I am too old to look at David Lee Roth and admire how "cool" he is, but I can hear Van Halen belt out "Runnin' with the Devil" from the front row or the back row and enjoy it equally...almost!
So when the "wanna be" groupie element would take up space in the front rows, THAT would bug the hell out of me. RARELY did these girls know more than the "hit" from the bands, yet they would be front row primping their painted faces and adjusting their stockings and heels, instead of banging their heads...which I'm sure would be done at a later time in a more intimate area of the venue with the artists themselves hahahaha.
The only time I got the treatment you spoke of Allyson was if I was out of MY element and invading the "kid's" scene such as a My Chemical Romance show, Avendged Sevenfold, Mustard Plug, or such. No I didn't know all the words or all the songs, but what I did know was how to FEEL it rather than repeat it and THAT is a hell of a lot more than the respect I've received or been given from the "slut" nation over the years.
"...not that there's anything WRONG with that" but those chicks are MY, NEUMANs' hahahaha.
Sweet L.
-Allyson
Oh yeah, and it's great to see kids with long hair again!
If it's TOO LOUD... you're TOO YOUNG! LOL.
"Real" fans, teenyboppers... it's a fine line for me, though. I have battled demons in both of those closets. But I am a certified fan for a great deal of the bands I get into. Because music makes me WANT to get to know a band and their whole body of work. The need to have sex with them usually comes secondary! I like my front row, damn it, and if this new Def Leppard tour is any indication, I'll do anything to get there...
A little tollerance goes a long way. But, as I am here asking people not to judge other fans, my personal test is to ask someone what their 3 favorite songs are from a band. And if they're all radio hits, I dismiss the person as just taking up space. So, I'm a hypocrite too :P
Being old has it's privies! :)
I just turned 46 at the beginning of the month. Yeah, ok, call me an old fart.. and then go check out my website from back in the day... tyr-online.com... I was there, smack dab in the middle of what was blowing up big time in the 80's and early 90's and I can say with no reservations that I absolutely love that there's a whole new generation of people getting into the same sort of music, (and let's hope the vibe), that was so big then. Call it glam, call it hair metal, call it whatever you want; we all come to this site so you know what I'm talking about. I've commented before about music constantly reinventing itself by following it's own history and this is no exception. So, yeah, I'm way into people getting on board the Crazy Train and Shouting at the Devil with horns held high... (Ok that was hokey, but you get the drift).
Having said that, I totally agree with you, Allyson... If you "like" a band, at least try to know something about them. Like how many of the original members are actually still in the band... What's their history...
I have 2 teenagers. They're into everything from Maiden to Mindless Self Indulgence to showtunes to Jim Croce to the old man's hair metal band... they're pretty well rounded and from what I gather, so are alot of their peers... THAT'S nice to see as in my generation there are still a lot of people that subscribe to the "If it's too loud you're too old" mentality and if you don't like their kind of music you suck, too...
One thing I do hate though is going to a show or blasting some good 80's stuff like Ratt or Motley and getting dirty looks from teenagers that think it's "their" music... Give me a freaking break, ya know? Think about this: Some of that music that's driving you crazy is being or has been created by guys old enough to be your DAD. Sobering thought, huh?
Oops, it's time for my Geritol... with a shot of tequila, natch. ;)
Carry on.
Saying as I'm turning 15, maybe I'm bias since I'm in the younger breed, but everyone who I know that actually likes the music, knows a fair deal about the band. Sure, some kids don't, but the ones I know that don't know a fair deal about the band, aren't going to the shows. The few other teenagers I know that like the band (which where I live, aren't many) and go to see them are truely big fans of the band.
At one of the Poison shows I saw this year, a guy was astonished that I was the one who wanted to see Posion. I checked on their tour dates, when they would be around, etc. My mom was only along for the ride. ;) He then started quizzing me on Skid Row...who is the singer? Do you know what 18 and Life is actually about? Simple enough questions for me to answer, but it was still interesting seeing his reaction when I got them right.
It blows my mind that the bands I grew up on are now "classic" rock. Time really gets away from you after high school.
But there are some fucktards who need to be reminded, these were our bands first. Be glad we're willing to share them with you. I wonder sometimes if any kid at the shows ever thinks to himself, "I hope I'm still cool when I'm that age."
I remember how excited I was when I saw KISS with Judas Priest opening when I was 10. It was the Dynasty tour, which turned out to be the last tour of the original line up for a long time. Pretty good for a first concert. I'm sure people were pissed off 'cause the guy who took me squeezed us down front and put me on his shoulders. I was mesmerized, and the rest of the world disappeared. It's funny, concerts still have that effect on me.