Tuesday, July 11, 2006

TANGLED UP IN YOUTH

Recently my Boss entered the small cramped office room my co-worlers and I share. "Anyone heard of a Big Name Band having a concert at the Wizards Stadium?"

We turned and showed each other our quizzical expressions, shrugged and returned our attention towards him.

"Some old guy" he continued, "Like my age."

"Jimmy Buffett" Smart Aleck #1 asked.

"No...but someone like that". He then proceeded to quote us the figure they wanted for our Corporate Suite that night. The price for 20 people to attend.

"Wow" said Smart Aleck #2. He immediately got on the phone and called the Stadium the moment Boss left the room. He got the name of the Top Secret not yet released name of the Big Band!

"Thanks" he concluded, turned toward us and waited for just enough time to gain an air of drama.......

"Bob Dylan."

Pause.

"Who's he?" Smart Aleck #1 asks.

Co-worker #3, The Hunk leans back in his chair and twirls his pen between his fingers, "I never liked him much." Looking at me he says, "You tell them."

I begin.

"Blowing in the Wind".  Blank faces from the Smart Alecks.

"Rainy Day Woman".  Still blank.

"Like a Rolling Stone". Now head shaking.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" More head shaking.

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" They both look incredulous. I begin to Rap the words (like Dylan did all those years ago)......


"Johnnys in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government"

Now they look like they are going to start laughing.

I suddenly had the image of my Mother rapping Guy Lombardo trying to convince me 30 years ago there was no better music than THAT.

I gaze across the abyss of the generation gap and suddenly it hits me!

"Guns and Roses?" Finally they nod. "They covered his "Knocking on Heavens Door".

"OOOOOOOOKKKKKAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY" Smart Aleck#1 says in his Napoleon Dynamite imitation and they resume their tasks at hand, ignoring me and the Hunk.

"Gun's and Roses is over the Hill for them" he informed me. Then he resumed working.

I sit stunned.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahahaha!

Nothing like a smack of reality to make you feel..."mature".
hehehe
How 'bout Lay, Lady, Lay?!?!

oopsie ;X
Niki

Anonymous said...

Hello friend. Just popping in to say hi. Tammy http://journals.aol.com/memes121/AsIAM/#Entry703

Anonymous said...

Tell them you don't remember and that they should google if they want to know, lol!

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Baseball bats make nice "accoutrement" to conversations like that...

Anonymous said...

LOL!  Jae

Anonymous said...

lol you feel old now?

Anonymous said...

Too funny!
http://www.boiseladie.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I constantly admire your musical knowledge.  It is pretty astonishing to not even have HEARD of Bob Dylan.  Like a stereo needle stuck in an LP groove,  I am frozen in a 60s rut,  but at least I have HEARD of most of big names since the 70s.
However, the Smart Alecks aside, I'm often surprised how many younger music afficionados do enjoy lots of golden oldies music.  One of my 12 year old students not too long ago asked me if I liked Paul Revere and the Raiders.  He had Cherokee Nation on his IPod. That's from like 40 years ago!   On the other hand, few of our generation as teenagers listened to music from the Roaring 20s forty years before our time.  Rock and Roll 4ever!  
*debbi*

Anonymous said...

Funny...not knowing who Bob Dylan is!

That G n' R cover is a good one...you could also mention The Wallflowers connection.

Anonymous said...

Good grief!  I watched a documentary on PBS on Bob Dylan recently.  It was done by Scorcesi and was very good.  I can't believe that anyone, even a twenty-something, hasn't at least heard of Dylan, especially if they claim to know anything about music.  I'm 40 (born in '66), and actually listened to Guy Lombardo and his contemporaries, too.  I'd like to hear you rap to Lombardo ;) .  I loved Subterranean Homesick Blues (especially the video, with him holding the signs, and the bum in the background....yeah, good music).
Lori

Anonymous said...

Are you sure they weren't putting you on?  That's a pretty high level of ignorance.  Then again, I didn't know about the Guns 'n' Roses cover. - Karen

Anonymous said...

OMG....I'm in shock....Dylan was and continues to be a major force in the entire music world.....

I guess it's true "Everybody must get stoned"

Anonymous said...

Their time WILL come.....!!

Anonymous said...

My husband ADORES Dylan, has millions of his CD's (it seems like) and plays him all the time...

Anonymous said...

This entry just cracked me up! And WHOA I am so far behind in here! For some weird reason the feed to my Bloglines is broken.