On oldies

Last updated on: January 17, 2013 at 10:33 am by Michelle Van Loon

On oldies 2013-01-17T10:33:59-06:00 Michelle Van Loon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve heard it from a number of my age peers. And the number of classic rock radio stations in the U.S. bears it out.

Boomers love the music of their youth.

Of course, there’s nothing new about nostalgia. (Pun intended.) I remember my parents grooving on 1950’s and pre-Beatles 1960’s pop music, and my grandma enjoying Lawrence Welk interpretations of Sinatra and Crosby songs popular during her own salad days. Nostalgia is a filter made of cotton candy that strains out the awkwardness, mess and pain of our youth, leaving us with highly concentrated, overprocessed nuggets of the past. Honestly, I’m not trying to be a Grinch here. Nostalgia can be fun in small doses. I am unsettled by my peers who dine on a steady diet of the stuff. There’s something disquieting about battening down the sonic hatches and insisting that the music of our youth is when music was music, dadgummit, that has always seemed a little stuck to me.

Like most teens, I was serious about My Music. My coming-of-age playlist was a combination of bloviating album rock (Deep Purple; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Led Zeppelin; Traffic), arena rock (REO Speedwagon, Styx), occasional forays into country-folk rock (Eagles, Dan Fogleberg) and fledgling Christian pop and rock efforts (Resurrection Band, Keith Green, Second Chapter of Acts).

However, in the early 1990’s, after hearing one Beatles song too many, probably the inescapable and depressing “Yesterday”, a song I’ve never liked precisely because I am not not filled with longing for…um… “yes-ter-day-yay-yay-yay”, I swore off a regular diet of the old stuff. I listened to a lot of worship music, some classical (the ultimate oldies playlist) and some pop music. At the time, my husband and I were asking our kids to think critically about what they were listening to, which had the unintended effect of introducing them to the Christian punk and hardcore scene, then the music from which these derivative forms came. My own line of endless questioning of both form and content kept me ping-ponging between genres for years while assiduously avoiding classic rock. A couple of years ago, I added a pop country station to my presets in my ongoing quest to avoid checking in to the classic rock sonic Hotel California.

Yesterday, after a couple of songs in a row featuring tractors, I channel-surfed to an oldies station. I’ve recently noted on Twitter that I realized I have the complete lyrics to `70’s mega-longsongs like “American Pie”, “Free Bird” and “Stairway To Heaven” embedded deep within my brain. If I ever end up in a Dementia/Alzheimer’s Unit, I’m pretty sure I’ll be belting out the part about the bustle in the hedgerow at the top of my lungs, much to the bemusement of my children.

Anyway, I had a moment of nostalgia and compassion yesterday during my channel-surfing on behalf of my fellow Boomers, and for myself. I heard the echoey synth of an arena rock anthem, turned up the volume to 11 and sang along. I sang along to the song following it. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip back in time.

When the second song was over, I punched the preset, where Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck” (thankfully, this beautiful song is not about a tractor) was playing, and came back to the future.

Or at least, the present.

And I know all the words to this song, too.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 13, 2013

Pilgrim's Road Trip #4 – Noah

Next Post

January 20, 2013 Pilgrim's Road Trip #5 – Hagar

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Baggage Books Calendar Church and Ministry CVID Ecclesiology Everyday Christian life Faith Falling Upward From The Margins Housing Jesus Movement's Unintended Consequences Midlife Midlife Survey #1 Midlife Survey #2 Moments and Days Out To The Margins Pilgrim's Road Trip Regret Seminary Spiritual Formation Uncategorized What's A Nice Jewish Grandmother Like You Doing In Seminary? When The Heart Waits Writing

Select a Month June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the Good Shepherd in Jesus' teaching?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter Moses David Jesus