MEET THE NEW BOSS....

Right before Frank Sinatra died, I read or heard a thing on him somewhere, that talked about how he was, for a long time, one of the voices, if not The Voice of an era, and how at the end, when he finally died; When Frank finally kicked that bucket and bought that farm, it would be the end of something that made us, here in the USA, what we are.

I know that sounds kind of dated and old school, in that kind of Greatest Generation talky talk stuff that we, Gen-xer's ( for the love of mike!) have gotten our noses rubbed in for years. But it's kind of true. And It brings me to this thing that I really want to tell you about.

Yah, I am part of that "demo" for which that heinous term was coined. Generation-X. I grew up on the Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy and The Honeymooner's on re-runs and the Six million Dollar Man, Three's Company and MASH in first-run. I watched the Dukes of Hazzard, ALOT. Even thought I thought it was silly Hillbilly crap, and i listened to ALOT of freaking ROCK AND ROLL.

I grew up on Classic Rock, that's what they call it now. Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Kansas, Queen. That stuff. I looked forward to the Rolling Stones going on tour cause that would mean that a new album was coming. I loved the Beatles and was sad when john was killed.

The funny thing was, that even thought I loved that stuff, I was sheltered from the rest of it. I didn't know about the "NEW WAVE" until after it had been hitting for a while and when someone turned me on to "PUNK", I was almost offended, but got over it pretty quickly after the third time I heard anything by the Sex Pistols, and they were broken up and parts of them where dead by then. The Hair Bands came and went and when Alternative hit, I think i lost a tooth and then it was gone, and now although, there are still some solid acts out there, that's it, some solid acts. But no real future. Unless you think Bowling for Soup has a future.

Walking home, about a week ago, I caught sight of something terrible. it hit me like shot to the gut, it was kid. He was just coming out of that awkward, bad facial hair, arms-to-long-for-torso, part of adolescence. He need a hair cut and he was wearing a t-shirt that said, in big letters, ROCK IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE RAPPER AND THE DJ.

Now, this is some mighty bold talk. I mean ROCK? DEAD? WHA? What is this kid wanting an ass kicking? Or at least a shaving? How can anyone, ever, say that, or at least put it on a T-shirt? I mean, how pedestrian. Except. Kid's right.

ROCK N' ROLL, the Juggernaught that challenged the way we think of everything ever in America. From Elvis' swaying hips to Jim Morrison's hog exposure to Neil Young Rocking the Free World. Rock, that was the Voice of a Generation. and again in capital letters. WAS. Rock is OLD SCHOOL now. It's an old sound, it's that old song... again. Can anyone hear the laughter?

I can hear you rallying around that flag and yelling FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK! but that army, she just ain't what she used to be. Rock, was fueled by rebellion, hate, anger, lust and apathy, all the things that young people live on cause they got nothing else. Well, it's fueled by money, now. I don't want to see the Stones tour anymore, cause that means there's a new album coming.

But the New Boss! He's the same as the OLD BOSS! MAN! Yah he is. Rap is run on money, but I knows it. It relishes it and it's fed by rebellion, hate, anger, lust, and apathy as well, but it doesn't wear that "Ha-Ha Jokes on the kids" smugness that Rock wears today. The Stones are in the same boat as their fan's. We can make the MICK IS OLD joke as much as we'd like but guess what? Joke's on you cause you are getting old too, and what's more, you gotta see them one last time, like when we were kids. How does that feel? Well, let me tell you how it feels. like it's the end of something... something that made us what we were, here in the USA.