Too Old to Punk?

by Anthony Medici in Opinion Posts, Uncategorized

Folks, I’m going to need some help here. I’ll need your thoughts on this. Lately, I’ve felt the stirrings of a new infatuation, and I don’t know what to do about it. Should I indulge my passion, or impose some self-restraint? Am I too old to develop yet another liaison, or should I rest comfortably with my old flames? Oh, I’m not talking about my personal life, or, at least not that aspect of my personal life. No, this is about yet another musical infatuation: Punk. What I need to know is whether it is seemly for an aging Baby Boomer to launch himself into a passionate affair with punk rock.

Those lovely readers who have kept up with my posts know that I have a serious commitment to jazz. I have traveled the country listening to jazz concerts, jazz radio (not much of that left), and buying jazz records (to the ruination of my bank balance). I don’t pretend to have plumbed the profundities of jazz, or exhausted its pleasures. I’ve continued to explore its various highways and byways, from Swing to Bop, from Post-Bop to current interdisciplinary efforts, and lately exploring European and Free jazz, an exploration which is, in itself, worthy of a lifetime. A great jazz record is soul, spirit, and intellect, passion and cool, earthy and hip. Shouldn’t I be happy with that?

Of course, I’ve had a serious affair with classical music, which I have not quite shaken, nor do I want to shake, but which has definitely cooled over time. Many of my classical albums sit forlornly waiting to be played. And I admit to occasional flings with “classic rock” (I grew up in the Sixties and still love the music), so I am not a R&R neophyte. But Rock has been making serious inroads on my attentions interests lately. Cribbing from my daughters’ collections, I started listening to The Killers, The Rapture, The White Stripes, The Flaming Lips (these groups clearly love the definite article), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and others. I had crossed into what is now labeled as “alternative” rock. I liked it.

Recently, things have taken a more serious turn with The Fall, New York Dolls, The Prodigy, Ramones, heaping helpings of Velvet Underground. I stand at the used CD shop listening station rocking out to these and other groups. Is it right for a fading Baby Boomer to be doing this? Aren’t I too old for this? It seems so, especially with punk, becuase it is so much of a youth “thing.” It’s not just about the music, it’s about the lifestyle. I’m not about to spike my hair, or engage in other forms of outrageous anti-establishment conduct. Been there, done that. Anyway, punk is dead, isn’t it? It’s already historical, succeeded by post-punk, No Wave, Alternative, whatever. Which makes the whole thing very peculiar for me. It’s not like jumping on a bandwagon; it’s like jumping on a bandwagon that is long-parked out back.

So, dear readers, what should I do? Is this just a foolish infatuation to be put aside? Or is a real relationshp possible? Is one ever too old to Punk?