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The selfishness of Baby Boomers continues to burn unabated, and now their loss of innocence is viewed through the rosy bifocals of nostalgia. Due to either their unparalleled uniqueness or potential to generate commerce, these people influence media, politics and history for all who must cower in the shadow of the coolest generation ever, really man, the coolest. There's nothing new about self aggrandizing. It's a tired cliché when boomers celebrate their singular and unique contributions to contemporary culture and assert no one else should even bother trying.
It would appear humanity owes a great deal to this generation, as they invented not only sex and drugs, but rock and roll. The actions of Hester Prynne, snuff snorting Yonomami Indians and Chuck Berry only served to inspire the generation who really did it right, in the only decade that really mattered, the 60s. There's no disputing The Dave Clark Five, Cyrkl, The Swinging Medallions and The Turtles REALLY rocked. Certainly Tim Leary, Papa John Phillips and Phyllis Diller were stoned to the bone on something during the 60s. The birth control pill and woman's empowerment has made the world sexier and safer.
Every era, each decade, all generations contribute to the greater culture. America's boomer bias is due to their numbers -- to quantity, not quality. The sneering haughtiness with which 70s, 80s and 90s "culture" is regarded, is an opinion to which some are entitled, but it's editorial, not gospel, and its selectivity is shameful.
This is not a defense of Disco, John Denver, homegrown grass, key parties, herpes, The Clash, MTV, The Facts Of Life, AIDS, Boy George, coke, Metallica, Flannel, crack, Nirvana, TB, heroin or Britney Spears. Nor is this a trivia showcase, where obscure vs obscure results in some self-serving analysis grasped by 3 other really cool people. For example, consider the influence of the Sonics (from the early 60s, not the later ballad-y crap) on 4 track recording, mono and grunge. Could it be the weather in the Pacific Northwest causes a super fuzzed out guitar sound and garage style delivery? Did any of their children end up in Nirvana or on the Estrus label?
Boomers are underestimating themselves, as they've brought our culture more than Keith Richards, civil (yeah) rights, and tie-dyed apparel. This hypocrisy inspires derision. The 60's also gave birth to anti-establishmentarianism which brought us plummeting voter turnouts and the Reagan/Bush regime. The elevation of self pleasure over societal constructs spawned high divorce rates and fatherless generations. Though Earth Day helped raise consciousness and recycling rates, who is driving all the giant gas guzzling smog machines? Senior citizens? Gen Xers? Illegal Aliens? Visiting Canadians?
The realization they've become fatuous self-inflated hypocrites, causes the "deification" of all associated with their innocence, and loss thereof, way back in the 60s. They think if they keep clapping their hands, Pete Townshend will fly them back to their youth. Once there, they can relive that first hit, first sexual experience or first pop star infatuation while pissing off the 'rents (aka the greatest generation EVER) and pretending a 388 pound crocodile with an alarm clock in his belly isn't nipping at their heels. The vitality of their icons is a reflection of their own vitality, especially for men. Someone is buying tickets to The Moody Blues/Kinks/Who's last show ever, for real this time, man (Admittedly the last-tour-ever thing draws in suckers of all ages. I know a slacker couple whose first date was The Who's first last tour ever way back in 1990. Last I checked they're still married).
What way would you like to thank the boomers for creating a culture of escalating affluence built on credit and its long term affects? How shall we thank all the tireless crusaders for women's rights who gave up after ERA and are now making 70-cents to a man's dollar just like their daughters are? How do we thank them for building luxury homes on farmland and parking their Chevy Gigan-tors with the Eddie Bauer interiors in the driveways? Could they ever be repaid for raising children who seem to embrace rap, hip hop culture and, for want of a better word, "wiggerdom"? Perhaps their kids really do know how to piss the folks off -- Jimmy Page plays his ass off, while Puffy Combs grunts "uh huh" and makes millions.
Wouldn't it be neat if Jim Morrison was still alive, singing at Biker Rallies and State Fairs -- a living interpretation of Elvis' bloated excess? Imagine Bob Dylan flapping his jackson at the Divorced Dads Hall of Fame when they canonize John Lennon, who left his first family, Cynthia and Julian, 2 red cents and a nice last name. If Eric Clapton were hog-tied and beaten with hickory switches by half of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' kids it would be a strike for justice. Should Anton LaVey rise from the grave and claim Carlos Santana as one of his kin in service to the Dark Lord, it would explain much. Every generation has a dream.
Assaulting us with their cultural superiority is a ploy to disguise they really aren't that cool anymore, and they're out of touch with "music today" and have been, for oh, maybe 30 years.