A Look at Growing Older: An Opportunity for Experiences

Images and ideas of growing older are uniquely our own. Often times the images are negative, even frightening. Loss of bladder control, hearing loss, hair loss, losing a spouse, loss of mobility. Lose, lose, lose. What does it mean to turn 30, 35, 40, or older? For me, I am making a concerted effort to stay on top of, and explore music. Not only Indie, but also jazz, ambient, and everything else. With the schedule of a full-fledged member of the adult population and a family to take care of, this does take effort. I believe it's possible to remain cool, perhaps get cooler with age.

Music. It moves me; it is part of my being. Some people have fantasy football; some enjoy gambling, and other have a penchant for antiques. I need music. Sometimes I need Billie Holiday; sometimes I want to hear Chemical Brothers. My recording collection appears schizophrenic: Agent Orange, Goldfrapp, 50 Cent, Babyshambles, The Specials, Billie Holliday, Louis Armstrong, Radiohead, Dave Brubeck, Cabaret Voltaire, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Mozart. Might it be that the perceived curse of age is a blessing of knowledge, a fine-tuned ear of appreciation, and expanded taste?

Once part of the upper echelons of the alternative music scene in my hometown, I have grown content with not having my music so closely tied to my identity. To remain exclusively the "punk" or the "goth," or whatever, is nearly impossible unless you choose to isolate yourself from certain indvividuals who could be very interesting and fabulous people. At my age, I have friends who listen to country, to jazz, even to Jimmy Buffet-something I never would have considered in my early twenties. How fortunate it is that I have aged and become tolerant and more open-minded.