I saw this piece as I was perusing the Twitter the other day. The opening struck a chord with me:
Gen X refuses to die with dignity. We will die in the spirit of Grace Jones and Poison, thank you, as we express ourselves in any way we see fit, whether that be in a regular suit and tie, or a full body of tattoos.
Most of us are not, as our parents did, dressing our age. We see those articles — the ones that say we’re supposed to stop wearing strappy sandals and high-tops, combat boots and miniskirts, or skin-tight jeans with holes — and we consider them for a second until we say “fuck that.” We’ve always worn whatever we wanted and we don’t particularly give a crap if you don’t like it. We grew up in the ’80s, the age of flash and color, punk, metal, and hip-hop. We learned to live loud and we aren’t giving it up. Our music is still loud and so are our clothes. So are our opinions, which we’re not afraid to share with you. We might be leading the PTA or playing bass in this cool little band on the side, or maybe we’re just taking our kid fishing, to show them what it’s like to do something outside.
Indeed. I think about this type of stuff more frequently than I care to admit.
So, I love music. I listen to music all day while I'm at work (well, at my desk at least). While I have some more "mature" playlists that help me to focus (think, classical music), it is not uncommon for me to listen to the likes of the Beastie Boys, The Clash, Run-DMC, or The Police. I could definitely go on...
Somewhat recently I was at my desk nodding my head to "Sure Shot" and I had a moment of introspection. I wondered to myself, "Were my parents like this at my age?" When I was young (middle and high school-aged) I never considered my folks to be 'hip'. Did they do things that they still thought were pretty cool and I never noticed?
And I would ask that of anyone in their mid-40s. Do you find yourself doing things that you still think are cool? Music? Fashion? What are you doing right now that you never thought that your parents would have done?
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