reposted from two years ago – because you never saw it…
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i was a child of the ’70’s. the first new year’s eve i can remember was 1971. the tv shows that left impressions upon me were all in the family, the odd couple, m*a*s*h, f-troop, get smart, happy days, welcome back kotter, and i’m sure i’ve left out other very good ones.
more important than television was the music of the 70’s. led zepplin, CCR, springsteen (who transcends several decades), tom petty, the who, the punk era, early disco, and everything now known as “classic rock.”
when i was a kid in the ’70’s, my parents listened to “oldies,” which was and still is the four seasons, the supremes, the coasters, dion and the belmonts, the everly brothers, jerry lee lewis, the del vikings, and anything that falls under “doo wop.”
let’s do the math: i was 13 in 1975, the middle of that decade. to me, of course, my parents were old. their music was 15 to 25 years old at that time. my older child is now17. my music dates back 20 to 30 years. i am now officially old. not because my kids constantly say so or because my students call me “granpa.” i’m old because my music says so.
brainsnorts inc. 
Gosh I love Springsteen. And all the others too!!!
been to more of his concerts than all others combined.
I wanna go!!!! : ) yes… I know… just buy a ticket.
i don’t usually go until late summer/fall when he comes back from europe. he always tours in three parts. spring – 1st US leg. summer – europe. fall – 2nd US leg. by then, he’s got the show and the songs and the timing perfect. in the early shows, lots of experimentation that sometimes doesn’t work out well.
Aw, you aren’t old – those fuckers are just young 😉
“fuckers” that’s funny. i recently asked someone to watch a movie with me, and they know i like black and white movies, and they said, “okay, but i ain’t watching any of those black and white fuckers.” was very funny. kinda.
Black and white? Maybe you are old. Just kidding. I love classic movies. Oh, see there you have it. You aren’t old you are classic! LOL
i accept!
Even when I was your age, I used to listen to Bach. That makes me ancient… I don’t think the music is such an important indication. In any case, Enjoy your old age, Rich.
i like bach and mozart. handel too. but i was going more for humor and entertaining my kids than being accurate.
aha… how nice that your kids read your blog.
actually, i wish they didn’t, but it’s nice that they do.
I was born in 54. When I complain to my mother that I’m getting old she says, “How do you think I feel?” She’s in her eighties. I guess Einstein was right, everything is relative. Funny piece.
thanks, and yes, everything is relative. compared to some, i’m an idiot. to others, i’m a really big idiot. all relative.
one shouldn’t be too self-ingratiating
or too self-indulgent
especially with relatives.
Randy
My mother says the same thing.
Are you my sibling?
Randy
http://www.thewritersvillage.wordpress.com
no, but my mother wanted to name me randy when i was born.
too bad,
randy is a fine name
and a great way to be
I’m with WhiteTrash .. they’re just too fucking young. I was an 80s child only two when you were 13, but I loved Led & CCR & The Doors and classic rock and all those shows adding Bosom Buddies to that mix.
then you’re just like my brother with music and such. except you’re smart.
Awwwe … don’t you just have a way with words 😉
Usually. It’s how I’ve both gotten and lost several jobs. Really.
LOL!
I suppose I can laugh about it now. The judge has probably forgotten all about it. And the monsignor. And his neighbor. I mean his neighbor’s wife. The daughter was on spring break. Luckily.
You are making my stomach hurt… stop teasing 😉
Okay I admit I did make part of that up. I really don’t know if they had a daughter at all.
just got a copy of the ‘brady bunch’ from a friend for my 12 year old son to watch.He thinks he’s very cool and mature but he loves it and hums the tune all day – won’t admit it to his friends.though. Also – my husband is 6 years younger than me and when we met , hundred years ago, he didn’t know who Janis Joplin was. Seems I was already old then
you weren’t old. you were a wealth of experience.
thanks rich. apparently 60 is considered the prime of life in china – still years to go till I peak
Im counting on that.
ps love the pic of the old man napping
made me laugh out loud.
he is napping isn’t he?
hope so.
Much maligned at times, the 70’s was a colourful time – I remember it with a real fondness.
would love to rewind the clock, even with the sacrifices of technology.
A lovely thought. A time machine would be handy.
I’m currently reading “11/22/63.” Stephen king’s time -travel story about a guy trying to stop the Kennedy assassination.
I did like the sound of that when it was first published. And the whole Kennedy assassination saga paralysed a generation for a while, so it’s a great idea. I’ll add it to my to-read list.
I will give you my opinion when I am finished but I will not tell you too much just in case
I look forward to it.
I am listening to it on cd, Not actually reading it. I am on cd number 22 out of 30.
Audio books are the new lit. I’ve never tried it myself, but people tell me it rocks – especially in the car on long journeys.
I have a part time job that requires a lot of driving. Reading a book puts me to sleep so cds make perfect sense. For me.
the first time I felt old was when I tried to explain to my nephew that the song he thought was AWESOME by JayZDoh (can’t remember the artist) was actually a cover song from one of my favourites (can’t remember that one either). I made him listen to it and then he saw the year of release and looked at me in wonder that I was still alive. Cheeky bugger 😀
oh, i have that talk constantly. my kids listen to songs that have totally lifted music from things 20 or more years old, sometimes not even that old, and it’s annoying.
You are not that old Mr – THAT IS an old man who was listening to new Benny Goodman in his hey day – I love how he slumps though. Satellite radio is great for hearing old mixed with new music – check it out
satellite is great for that. and ipods are helpful too.
You mean you really aren’t Bruce Springsteen? But your icon ….
Anyway I saw all of those shows too. You gotta get over the fact that you’re old, because if you are lucky you’ll be old for a lot longer than you were young.
I’d like to see the odd couple again. I don’t know if it’s on DVD. I can still hear the opening music. Dada..dada…dada…….dampa dampa da da…da….
yes, it’s on dvd. i have all 5 seasons. where i live, there’s a cable channel called METV, stands for something like “memories entertainment television.” odd couple is on every night at 10 or 10:30. followed by the honeymooners.
I was born the year before you and I feel like I’m raring to go – I think you do too really.
yes i do. was just being funny and going along with my kids who enjoy telling me i’m old.
I’m glad about that.
I was born in the 70’s and remember all of those great shows and songs. I enjoy black and white movies and listening to all types of music including some of the oldies. My kids are always making wise ass remarks about my age. I remember being in my teens and
thinking people in their thirties and forties were old and now I am one of those people. You are only as old as you feel!Oh and someone may want to nudge the guy in the rocking chair just to be sure he is really sleeping!
oh, i don’t feel old really. just having some fun because my kids like to call me old. we were playing softball recently with friends and i was the only one who hit a homerun. they said, “well, yeah, you’ve had 200 years of practice.”
Laughing that is funny!I don’t feel old at all.My kids are constantly teasing me. I was listening to the country station when my 12 year old go into the car and said “What are you listening to grandma?”I just chuckle knowing they will get it in return someday 🙂
I don’t see any grandmas in that gravatar pic.
lol No grey hair or wrinkles yet! That is actually my daughter and I.
Thought so. Which are you?
The older looking one in the green lol
I see the green but I do not see the older looking. I will just have to take your word for it.
Thank you that is a very kind thing to say:)
Do not thank me for telling the truth.
It’s all relative. Heck, I remember when The Boss’s parents were born.
no way
Yep – my sister was a babysitter for Mama Boss’s family.
wow. didn’t know you were from the east coast.
Nor did you realize that I’m over 100.
clearly i did not. i worked in the high school that he went to. a few teachers remembered him, but most had moved on. one teacher, and art teacher, had saved every gradebook he’d ever had and showed me bruce’s grades. they were mostly low but not from inability, more from apathy and having other things on his mind.
As you know, many low grades are for the same reason. And just so you know, sometimes I like to go fishing.
what to you prefer to fish for?
I occasionally toss hooks to see what grabs.
good practice.
http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/on-59/
i remember that post because i remember being surprised by the nascar fact in there.
Which means?
that only 18 races had been run with a #59 car. all those years and all those races, and only 18.
the heck with the students saying grandpa,
it’s my grandsons that really hurt me when they call me that.
I tell them that i prefer bro’ or dude or…
but then grandma and daughter and son-in-law start giving me all those nasty-ass looks.
Randy
http://www.thewritersvillage.wordpress.com
i know what you mean. i tell my nieces and nephews to drop the “uncle.” sounds old too.
My nieces call me “unc”
Now that i like
Randy
If you are “old”, then I am a dinasaur!
Listen to some ‘Sly and the Family Stone’ then have
a great day!
i listened to them in the 70’s, but i wasn’t big with soul and funk, which i think they were.
I do like Bruce Springsteen and I do listen to Tom Petty and CCR, oh boy…. 🙂 your post reminds me of a movie I saw recently… http://youtu.be/mejPllxcEJI The music never stopped..awh!
never heard of that movie. i’ll have to look for it. thanks. the trailer was fun.
yea it’s a real sweet movie… 🙂
I’m 10 years older than you gramps but the 70’s was my era for music too – Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Supertramp and yes, Led Zeppilin, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull…-sigh-
The great thing about being old is we got to see all of the cool bands in concert! I graduated high school in 1975. I got to see Led Zeppelin in ’73, The Allman Brothers, Santana, the Doobie Brothers, Humble Pie and so many more.
and tickets were damn cheap too!
David Bowie, Ted Nugent, Billy Squier, Jethro Tull and the list goes on and on. I still listen to all those great tunes.
we’re hanging on to it, just as our parents hung on to their doo-wop and others.
I was born in the end of 75′ and I feel pretty damn old too.
but.you.are.not.so.don’t.even.try.to.compare!
Ah music! I still have a lot of the ticket stubs from the concerts I went to in the 70’s / early 80’s. I’ve thought about scanning them and posting on my blog. Maybe invite others to add theirs. My first concert was Blue Oyster Cult… haha! Good memories. Rich, we may be getting older but we’re still cool! 🙂
very cool
I remember that TV guide cover. Obviously, my old kicks your old’s butt.
I think I should be happy about that but I am not sure.
I love M*A*S*H (both TV show and original film) and All In The Family! That Archie Bunker is something else. In one of my film studies classes, we basically spent the entire semester studying film of the late 60s and 70s and in one of the books we had to read All In The Family was described as, “one of two new [popular] programs that challenged the traditional depiction of both whites and African-Americans on television and stretched the confines of subject matter considered suitable for situation comedies” Yeah, I actually took the book our of my bookshelf just to type this. hehehe. But I already knew where to look and sure enough it was underlined.
And you’re not old. My daddy’s old. He’s looking like the guy in the picture as I write this. Only he’s a lot darker, doesn’t have as much grey and has two small pomeranian dogs on his lap. 😉
“All in the family” was a very big deal as you know when it first television. I’m glad I was able to push your mind back to that time.
Back to college? Yeah, it was a big deal.
And wait, do you teach at a high school? English I’m assuming?
High school and middle school.
May the force always be with you. I shiver at the words “middle school”. If I go on with this blog as personal as it’s been, you’ll note some of my saddest and funniest stories were in those years. I guess those years are hardest on us all with the whole going into the adolescent phase. *shivers* Oh wait, that’s the fan! Silly me. No really, middle school fuckin sucks. You’re brave!
Was brave. I’m done now.
Oh right, it’s on your “about”. I’d forgotten. 🙂
Nothing I expect anyone to remember.
Have you read my awards post?
Well if you haven’t, I added three last minute awardees the other day and you were one of them. I hope it’s not insulting you were one of the final three. Well, you’ve been awarded. There you go!
believe it or not, just found this today. thanks for reading. sorry i didn’t see it sooner.
My last child was born in 1970.
You are only as old as you allow yourself to feel. Some days I’m 12. Some days I’m 80. Today I’m 17. My day is full of promise. I’m exhilarated b the unknown. And it’s raining. It’s such a good day for this 44 year old to feel like she’s 17 again.
got that right!
🙂
Oh my God, Rich… !!! I usually agree with all that you post, but please allow me to say that here you are WRONG!!!!
My opinion is that age is only a matter of how we feel about ourselves… For your info I was born some (not many) years after you but I listen to oldies and disco and classic rock and heavy metal… I even listen to Mario Lanza, Sinatra, Jacques Brel, Piaf and many many others… so what does this say about me??? Am I 100 years old??
According to this logic I am very old… 😆 no way… I am only a kid deep inside, and so are you… Come on, you’ve just put a bug in my drink, I’ve just kissed your cheek for saving the ladybug… 😆 😉
Oh dear. That was just in fun because my kids like to call me old. Just having fun.
Oh dear… 😀
try listening to some heavy metal just for fun, they will be shocked 😆 😆 😆
They know it’s mainly Bruce around here.
And I must also say, I am happy that you decided to reblog older posts … Maybe I was too blind to find them, but I really really love them!!!! 🙂 😀
Great. I’ll keep at it.
🙂 T H A N K Y O U! 😉
Thank YOU for caring.