Time Does Not Stand Still ...

So, I'm watching the documentary "Time Stands Still."  I've always thought of myself as a Rush fan but after watching this, I realize that I've been wrong.   I don't have a room with filing cabinets full of Rush clippings and tickets.  I haven't been to see them 132 times.  I don't own a closet full of Rush t-shirts.  I think the last one I bought was on the "Roll the Bones" tour and wore it until it was in rags. But despite that well-worn tee, I definitely don't own an 8 track of 2012.   I guess I must be a poseur ...

Fan status aside, this documentary has made me think of a theory that I've had for awhile.

We are the first generation seeing our rock idols grow old. 

Okay ... okay ... not just my generation specifically.  Some of our parents are watching their favorite musicians grow old and die.   They spent the late 60's and 70's listening to The Rolling Stones and CCR and The Who other famous bands that I won't mention.  My mother loved Elvis Presley ... and she watched him evolve from a handsome young man to a Las Vegas side show to a corpse.

But Elvis, while still The King, doesn't really strike me as rock.   An argument was made to me once that our grandparents watched big band leaders die ... and Chubby Checker and Chuck Berry ... and so on and so on. 

But I'm not talking about Pat Boone and Eddie Fischer.  I'm talking about The Who and the Stones and Led Zeppelin and KISS and, hell yes, Rush.  It's the end of an era.   We're watching these golden gods of rock and roll age.   These musicians, who were eligible years ago to move into senior living facilities, are still getting up on stage and putting it all out there.

And watching Time Stands Still, you see how hard that is for them.  As we age, the physical demands of playing that kind of music take a toll on the body ... and tours become grueling marathons.  Supposedly the R40 tour will be Rush's last.  And, unlike KISS, their claim seems genuine.  Several bands have made this declaration ... the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over tour, for example.  But most of them wind up back on stage.  Whether for their overwhelming love of the music ... or their need for the cheers and adulation ... or maybe just for the money?  Who knows.

But we're watching an era fade away.   Growing up, I remember being so excited to hear the summer tours coming through ... getting tickets for everything I could afford.   Aerosmith and Rush and Night Ranger and KISS ... and then Poison and Motley Crue and Warrant and Mr. Big.   So much music ... so many concert tickets.  And everything I love has gotten old ... ... ... just like me.

The first group I remember being utterly fascinated with was Van Halen.  Their song 1984 came out and the video was everywhere.  So I started going back and listening to their older albums and was in love with David Lee Roth.  I believe the lyrics "I reached down between my legs ... and eased the seat back ..." caused an egg to drop and triggered my first period.  But ... time marches forward ... and over the years, Eddie Van Halen, guitar god, has had a hip replacement, tongue cancer, and surgery for diverticulitis.   Nothing shouts "cool" like hip replacement and poop issues.

I'm not judging.  I know it sounds like I am ... but I swear I'm not.  I have a picture of me when I'm about 23.  I'm sitting cross legged on the floor ... gloriously big hair ... balancing an empty beer pitcher on my head and laughing uncontrollably.   I love that picture.  Its not classy.  At ALL.  But it captures this wild youth that I used to be ... parties every weekend ... friends and laughter and music.

But I'm not that person any more.  I wouldn't want that life any more.  Let's be honest ... that life, while fun at the time, is fucking exhausting.  And when you're young that's fine.  But there comes a point when you age out of that ... and you want something different.   So watching the documentary today, I can see why a musician, at 64, would not want to head out on the road again.  It has to be an unnerving decision.

So here we are ... getting older each day.   We're losing our parents ... we're losing our friends ... and we're losing our music idols.   There's nothing sweet bout this ... it's all bitter.   But I guess it's life ... and it's the way all of this works.   Bottom line?  Next time you have a chance to go see one of your favorite bands?  Go.   Because Keith Richards can't last forever, people.   Have you seen Robert Plant???  Jesus Christ!  Go.  Now.

Time stand still
I'm not looking back
But I want to look around me now
Time stands still
See more of the people
And the places that surround me now 

 

Rush - Time Stands Still