Uncategorized: TNG Warning: JR’s May Cause Musical Retardation
I was in JR’s recently on a Sunday afternoon. It’s not something I normally do, but I’ll explain by saying that I know a fair number of people who prefer to be indoors drinking, even on a perfectly lovely Sunday afternoon. I’ll leave it at that.
While there, I noticed a peculiar sociological phenomenon. In the late afternoon, when I arrived, the bar consisted primarily of older gay men, the overwhelming majority well over 35 years of age. As the afternoon gave way to evening, the crowd dramatically shifted to a younger crowd, mostly under 35.
This is expected. Older people tend to go out earlier and retire earlier. What surprised me…ok, shocked me, were the music/video selections presented to the respective crowds.
The older crowd was served a continuous selection of videos from pre-fab teeny-bopper rock stars barely separated (and in some cases still present) from the pimple patch of youth. “How awful”, I thought. “These mature men are being held hostage in this gay bar, forced to listen to derivative, soulless, mass-marketed musical road kill when they are probably secretly dying to hear something that doesn’t offend the musical taste that has been refined as a byproduct of their years on this planet. Why don’t they riot, for Christ sake? They shouldn’t have to put up with this just because they want to get a drink with their friends!”
As the crowd began to shift to a younger demographic and my thoughts of plotting a potentially violent coup against the DJ fomented, something even more incredible happened. The music changed….to classic dance and rock from the 70s and 80s.
Did I somehow step from the sidewalk through a portal into bizzaro world? While I wouldn’t say that the DJ was great or that I loved the music, why start playing tunes (contemporary or dated, It doesn’t really matter for the sake of this discussion) with some basis in quality musicianship for a younger crowd while serving mindless pap to a mature crowd?
Could it be that the old guys WANT to hear that shit? If so, what does this say about older gay men? Do they kneel at the altar of youth to the extent that they will sacrifice the pleasures of age such as the ability to discern quality and live their lives with a heightened application and understanding of both style and substance? How far down the rabbit hole does their self-respect plummet?
Tell me I’m following the wrong tracks here, folks. Anybody? Comments.
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Whew, now THIS is interesting stuff and I’m afraid my typical right-brained, Scorpio self only has more questions than answers.
Here’s one way to spin it – if you presume that the older crowd is stopping to drivel then is it logical to assume the younger crowd as a more refined taste and appreciates classic tunes from before they were born? Nope, don’t think so.
I think one major bit you’d have to look at is this: was the music played from the 70s, 80s really all that great? Just because it’s 30 years old doesn’t make it a classic and just because we can all sing the lyrics to Love Shack doesn’t make it a great song. (Well, it is a great song, but not for any deeply musical reason.)
I think we can get closer to an answer if we simplify a bit…Why do you go to a bar? To have a fun time. For a younger crowd, jammin’ out to songs that pre-date us but we’ve heard in movies and TV commericals can be fun. For an older crowd, catching that latest pop bubble gum can also be fun. Swap the playlists for either group, and we’re all still having a fun time.
The truth of the matter is I’d bet a majority don’t necessarily care what it is they listen to in a bar. If that’s where someone gets their musical fulfillment, I know a big white building down in Foggy Bottom I can tell you about.
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