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music for the masses, part 2: smile

I took the kids to the nearest Media Giant Conglomerate today. In this particular mall, it was called Sam Goody. Each kid had a few bucks to spend in addition to some gift cards leftover from their birthdays.

Natalie headed straight for the best sellers wall and searched frantically for the Kelly Clarkson CD. DJ went to the DVD section to see if there were any Yu Gi Oh! movies he didn't have yet.

I was thinking how wrong this was going. A trip to the biggest music store around and they are going to come home with some shrill pop music and really bad anime?

And then they walked towards the CD aisles, pulled in that direction by the strains of a song vaguely familiar to me. Was that....Anthrax? I could swear it was I'm the Man. No, no. It was just a lame rip-off of that song. Ah, Sum 41. That was it.

Natalie and DJ converged in the "S" aisle, both grabbing for the same Sum 41 CDs. Oh, they aren't total posers. They already had two CDs by the band. They wanted the rest.

No, wait. Natalie was moving away from the S's and towards the A's. DJ was headed the same way. What could they possibly be....no. Oh, hell no.

There was Nat grabbing some Ataris. DJ was in the AFI* section. They jostled and pushed each other until each had grabbed the selections they wanted and proceeded to look through the song titles for the ones they recognized.

I thought it would be cool when my kids finally picked on the music I like. Nevermind that I don't really care for the latest offerings from either band, it's just the point. They don't even realize that they were listening to AFI and The Ataris by default years ago. But now, I just felt....icky. That's the ony way to describe it. It felt wrong.

It's not that I've turned into one of them. You know, those parents who lock their kids in the bedroom with nothing but wholesome entertainment until they turn 21 and then the kids wind up confused and befuddled that the world is not like a Disney movie. I mean, Natalie's first CD was Green Day's Dookie when she was two. DJ's, at two, was Offspring's Smash. I have a tape somewhere of him singing at the top of his lungs gotta keep em separated, except it sounds like gotta keem em pepper dated.

It's disturbing to me to see AFI and The Ataris on the Billboard charts. It freaks me out to see a ten year old kid walking around in a Minor Threat sweatshirt. I don't know why I'm so troubled by it. Maybe it's because Natalie and DJ are discovering my favorite bands after my favorite bands have jumped the shark, so to speak.

It's my problem, I'll deal with it eventually. I'm just hiding the NOFX CDs until I do.

For your listening pleasure:

The Ataris - San Dimas High School Football Rules
AFI - Smile

I wish I wrote these lyrics:

I'll set the world on fire and,
in burning light I'll write my first love song
and I will feel warmth.


* This site was originally named A Fire Inside, a testament to my love for AFI.

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Comments

::sigh:: The new AFI definately wasnt up to par with the last two albums. . . . maybe it'll grow on me?

However, i think i understand the dissapointment- I have a younger sister who I've exposed my music to on a number of occasions, and then she hops onto the Good Charlotte bandwagon as soon as there's a TRL guest spot. It kind of takes away from the personal connection I've made with the music- the whole having to kind of hunt it out, finding those college radio stations, ordering the CD's from websites since they cant generally be found at the smaller corporate (is that an oxymoron?) stores near my habitat. but now the bands that we feel were talented for whatever reason have changed (ahem, "evolved"), and become popular. and mass-accessable. and trendy. and therefore, can be compared to Furbys and treasure trolls a passing fad. so sad. I think I'll go console myself with a listen of Black Sails

I'm getting ready to feel that pain again. I think I finally got over the Bosstones seeing major airplay, and now I'm hearing new Less Than Jake on corp radio up here in New England of all places. I'm happy for them getting the exposure, but I'm feeling that chill wind bowing across my soul... again.

My one-year-old dances like a lunatic to "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" by Marilyn Manson, and anything by Slipknot. Bad Brains made her cry once though. Hah. :)

somewhere in the world there is a photograph of me playing air guitar in front of the san dimas high school sign. i'm not proud.