Oldie- Not Edgy

On a recent road trip, Carole and I stopped for a meal at a little roadside cafe; the kind that used to be typical along route 66. It had the requisite red vinyl booths along a window overlooking the highway. I was suspicious of its six page menu offering everything from grilled cheese to tilapia, so I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. I wasn't surprised to hear Brenda Lee and Pat Boone songs played over the sound system, but I was a little taken aback when suddenly I heard Jefferson Airplane doing "White Rabbit". That song came from the edgy side of music from the 60's. It was counter cultural and was performed by people my parents didn't approve of. I loved it. I still remember vividly the first time I heard "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. I was in the back of my best friend's brother's '58 Chevy station wagon. He had a brand new 8-track player and enormous speakers in the back. He had it cranked up. In true stereo, the music swept from speaker to speaker in a way I didn't know was possible. I thought, "If Jesus returns right now, He won't be looking in the back of this car for me." But the music was exciting. It was new and different. It spoke to my generation in ways other music didn't. It felt so rebellious. This kind of music wasn't played on the top 40 AM stations. It was only played on the new FM "underground" stations.

So it was a little unsettling when one of those songs was played in a set with top 40 soft rock songs. I realized that my music was no longer counter-cultural. It was no longer edgy. It has been thrown in the "oldies" pile along with Barry Manilow. It has been relegated to nostalgia status.

That experience happens to all of us. What was once groundbreaking and exciting is now quaint. That is okay if we are willing to move along with the times. But it is sad to see the guy who stubbornly clings to the 60's or 70's and refuses to move ahead. He loses all influence with others. He may be tolerated, or maybe even honored, but he is not consulted on current matters. Those of us who are in positions of influence need to listen to the younger voices among us if we don't want to be relegated to irrelevance. The awesome 8 track players of my youth have been replaced by ipods. I have one and love it. It is far superior to anything previous. I have Kashmir on it. But the day is soon coming when the ipod will be quaint. Bob Dylan sounded the clarion call to my parent's generation. The message still rings true today:

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a changing.