Becoming my parents
Written by Jeffrey L Tucker on April 5th, 2010My dad used to listen to a narrow selection of music. When we’d go for family rides in the van, he’s blast the same two cassette tapes – Kenny Rogers and Neil Diamond. They both have songs that to this day if you sing them it makes my brother, sister and me cringe and run screaming for alcohol. It’s not that I have anything against these two gentlemen, but having listened to their tapes non-stop every weekend of our adolescent lives it could explain our actions if we ever ended up in a clocktower with a sniper rifle shooting at cassette tapes. Mom used to listen to nothing but country. Which we all hated. Riding to the mall in her Chevette we’d be subjected to non-stop Country – not like today’s Country, it was the really twangy stuff. We liked rock and pop so Country was the antithesis, the enemy. But…we were the kids, the minions, the prisoners of the war of music. It was hard to imagine worse torture. It existed – it was called chores. But that’s for another discussion. At night dad would turn on classical music on the hi-fi. Now I know that that is a parental weapon, used to keep child vermin out of the living room. I do it now.
We of course rebelled and showed our musical independence with Walkmans once they came out. Suddenly we were able to take back the world and strike a note at the injustice inflicted upon our hearing by our parents.
But it happened. I caught myself telling my girls to turn down that pop crap. I enforce this by singing along with their music, which seems to be comprised of electronic instruments, words blurted out in rapid-fire style and lots of breathing. The breathing part is my favorite, I do that now throughout all their music.
I rarely listen to rock anymore. And when I do, it’s 80′s music which at the time (my high school days) I took for granted. Now I listen with that look of nostalgia. Though I must say my kids love 80′s music as well so I don’t get the joy of inflicting the same musical torture on them when it’s voluntary on their part. And there’s the classics that bridge generations. Who doesn’t tip their hat in respect and either dance or crank it up when “Sweet Home Alabama” comes on? Probably the same people trying to kill Christmas for the rest of us. Led Zeppelin, Elvis (still The King!), Louis B. Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Sinatra, Harry Connick, Jr. oh man, so many that I think cross generations that I should stop because I won’t do justice to those I don’t list.
I listen to my generations ‘classics’ as well – remember when John was still Cougar but became Mellenkamp? Turning the stereo up for “Jack & Diane”, “Pink Houses” and his other music with attitude? The Boss when he was still good and not off the political deep-end and on again, off again with the E Street Band? I’d blare “Born in the USA” – just like I do now. Michael Jackson was pretty much always strange but at least back then he was strange in a semi-cool way. Now he’s lock-up-your-kids strange. And I listen to country. I use the excuse that it’s not my mother’s ‘country and western’ but a new generation. I have a pile of country CDs in my truck. And oddly enough, once I started listening to it, it was like coming home. Just like that first ride on a horse my 36th year, not all that long ago. Now I have a bunch of horses and a bunch of country music. I also listen to jazz, Big Band and music that to me defies categorizing like New Ireland Orchestra and Norah Jones (another CD coming out, woohoo!), Jane Monheit and Renee Olmstead. Blues and orchestral music. Eclectic to say the least. And I find comfort in classical music late at night as an escape from the world.
I don’t wear polyester like my dad so clearly I’m not at all like him. Actually I’m not even sure where you get that much polyester or why it wouldn’t register with you that it didn’t work – the polyester foray into fashion coolness died dad, give it up. Stop wearing socks with sandals and I find it hard to believe that you can’t find a good pair of jeans that go all the way down to below your ankles. He’s also big on generic stuff because it’s cheap and cheap is good even though cheap usually equates to crap in my book. I wear Levis. Apparently they make my butt look good according to female review. I don’t really care, they’re just plain comfortable. Anyway, good thing I had this morning muse to realize I haven’t become become my parents. Whew. Dodged that bullet. Go back to your lives citizens, coolness crisis is over…
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Jeff,
About how our musical torture scared you for the early part of your life. You also forgot about the rides and the music you were forced too listen to in the Lincon Continental. I’m sorry you and your brother and sister still cringe when you hear such songs, but it must not have been to traumatic for them as they have said nothing about that.
N
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Next:
See, what goes around comes around about all the stuff you were subjected to as a child.
And as for the clothes, I’ll tell you that I only wore poyester back in the early sixtys, now I am just like you wearing jeans but not the suit and tie you have to wear.( you do look good). I have learned to not wear socks with sandals.(but my
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(but my feet must have been hurting) I must have been in my growing period when my socks showed below my pants. Since I have stopped growing I don’t have that trouble any more.
I have enjoyed reading your blogs but just had to comment about the last one… All in fun son, you are a triffic writer and glad you can poke fun at me, you have a great since of humor. Thanks for all the laughs
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He does have a good sense of humor and he can really write, I laugh, cry, shake my head at him.I just got through crying reading about Blaze. I’m not going to go into all the music stuff, I like a varity of music, Kenny Rogers, Motown, Beatles, Cher, and just about all of Michael Jackson (I think he was an awesome singer and had a beautiful voice)Elvis, I can go on and on, Jeff turned me on to some of the country songs. Not really into Led Zeppelin, Meticalla, AC/DC. I might just like one song a group has sang. I basically like most of the music from the 60′s on, not that hard rock stuff. Some of Dean Martin, Bing Crosy, Sinatra. I wore polyester, because I’m lazy, I don’t want to iron anything and I haven’t. If I buy something expensive, I wait until it is on sale. I do Wal-Mart and my cheap stuff lasts longer than the expensive. I used to be a brand person, but I buy what I like and what I think looks good on me. No way am I going to paid $50, $60 or whatever it costs for a cotton pair of jeans. I’ll pay maybe $10-$15 for jeans, and like I said if a good pair is on sale, I may buy them. I have bad heels so I wear my crocs around the house with socks, I don’t want all that dirt getting on my feet. I wear socks all the time, can’t stand for my feet to be cold. I don’t really remember my folks listening to the radio or playing any kind of music, they listened to it on TV. You do become your parents. You are so bad with your girls. I would like to think I would be a cool mom and like whatever music my kids were into, but since I never had kids, I don’t know. I know the kids at school, I liked some of what they listened too, some not all of it.
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This is so like me! I just cringed at country music. When I started liking it, I didn’t want to even admit it!.
I even like a few of the old twangy ones now. I said a few.
Country music is so great now.
I love all that same music Jeff.
I try to keep up with what kids are listening to, but agree some of it drives me crazy. Too much auto tune! I do like some though. I like Lady Gaga for some strange reason. Just cause she is so bizzare. I thing she can actually sing.
I laugh cause I started listening to a transistor radio, small boombox, then walkman, discplayer and now ipod! Shows how old I am. I wonder what will be next?
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Wait til they have blogs and those memories start to pour out unbidden…