I Get It Now - Loud music

A local rock music radio station in my area once had a tag line that said “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.” I first heard it when I was in my late teens and understood it the way it was intended. That rock music was cool if it was loud, and you were lame if you didn’t like that.

Now, I just take it as a statement of fact. I am, actually, too old.

As an adult with a lot of responsibilities, it feels like there are too many things to keep track of and not enough mental space to do so. I spend a lot of time trying remember all the things I need to remember, and going over the list again to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything. I can’t say that my mind was ever really calm, but I can say that I didn’t always have so many things competing for my attention. When you are an adolescent, loud music is a rebellion against a world that acts on you and over which you have little control. As an adult, I have a lot of control, but that means loud music is just one more thing insisting that I pay attention to it.

When I was a teen, the old fogies around me - anyone over 30 - would complain about how loud the music was. I had trouble understanding the complaint, beyond the fact that they were lame. The music was awesome, why wouldn’t you want to play it loud? It’s living out loud. Who wants to sit around without some sweet tunes? But I get it now, because the answer to that question is me. I want some peace and quiet.

“An appropriate amount of fun” is my motto for having a good time as an adult. Sure, occasionally I will turn up the volume and we’ll dance around the living room. For a song or two. That’s enough, let’s not get too crazy here. One of the great things about youth, and especially adolescence, is that learning about the world is done through pushing boundaries. It’s ridiculous to listen to loud music for any length of time, but that makes it cool. There’s no such thing as an “appropriate” amount of fun because being appropriate is for the lame oldies. When you are a teen, you dance until your legs are jelly.

Aging doesn’t automatically confer wisdom, but it can provide perspective. It’s a high price to pay, but it’s not like we can do much about it. Still, if there was a pill that guaranteed immortality, or at least the end to aging as we know it, I don’t think I would take it. I’m not so old that I forget the exuberance of youth, and I remember my grandparents’ delight and interest listening to my siblings and I describe our myriad adventures. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it’s a model for growing old: to accept that one is no longer young, yet to delight in the next generation as the same.

So, I hope the current youth enjoy loud music and other fun adventures. Just not too close to me. 

Wes