Eleven notes on anno domini
When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now 1
I still have a full head of hair, in this I take after Samson. 2
I was surprised last October to find myself at 60 years of age, it felt unlikely.
At age 20 I aspired to an English Jack Kerouac, now I look to Montaigne in his library surrounded by books.3
Charlie Harper is 79 and still touring with the UK Subs. 4
I first realised I was aging at the age of 41 after listening and responding strongly to ‘Range Life’ by Pavement (2004)
‘I wanna settle downIf I could settle down
Uh, I would settle down’
God I love that song.At the age of 60, officially, I belong to the ‘Boomers’ but this is wrong, my parents are of that generation not me. Yet I’m too old to belong to ‘Gen X’. Rather I am of the ‘Blank Generation’ as Richard Hell put it:
’I belong to the blank generation and
I can take it or leave it each time
I belong to the ______ generation but
I can take it or leave it each time’Talking of Generation X, as a 60 year old I strongly object to this turning up in Google searches:
As opposed to this:
The poet Robert Browning wrote about aging
Youth ended, I shall try
My gain or loss thereby;
Leave the fire ashes, what survives is gold:
And I shall weigh the same,
Give life its praise or blame:
Young, all lay in dispute; I shall know, being old.Reading my diaries from 40 years ago, the me of that time is akin to a nephew, perhaps a favoured one. I try hard not to criticise, I hold my tongue and nod indulgently, though I really want to say something. Okay, I will say something:
”Smile at the ‘Italian girl’! For godssake stop writing about her and smile instead!”The older I get the more likely I am to talk to people I encounter, stopping for a chat is a joy
At 60 you can officially refuse to use QR code scanner apps in bars and restaurants.
I don’t need to tell you where this comes from
Not the NWOBHM band of the same name (NWOBHM - New Wave of British Heavy Metal)
Do I have to tell you about Montaigne? Okay, just in case: Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592) is celebrated for pioneering the essay as a literary form, he is famous for his scepticism encapsulated in the phrase "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?").
Teenage
I wanna be teenage
I wanna be teenage
I wanna be teenage
(UK Subs - Teenage, single, pink vinyl 1980)
I’m not far behind you Martin, and still got that Gen X album, even if I haven’t listened to it for a while!
While you’ll always be teenaged Martin generously taking me off to my first “proper” punk gig at Wapping, you’re also the older Martin exploring the world in different ways. I can like both.
I loved living the immediacy and strength of young life, but I like the reflection and memories, and maybe even a bit of wisdom, that all those intervening years of experience have given. Still out there living, experiencing, arguing the toss, thinking and trying to get things right.
Loving this blog, always a pleasure to read!
I will turn 60 in a few months. I resolutely refuse membership in the Boomer generation. That's my parents' club. Falling into the seam between two identities is my mode of being, apparently.
I love Range Life, too, but I first heard it at 30. It was recorded when Stephen Malkmus was 28, and I remember thinking, "why is he out on his skateboard in the humming night when he's pushing 30? Grow up!" Now I think back on that severe judgment and wonder what sort of person I was then. (Even then I no longer had a full head of hair.)
I still love William Burroughs, Samuel Beckett, etc, but it's Montaigne I keep on my bedside table. That's a change. For the inevitable bouts of insomnia. Some things never change.