I was born too late...

"I'm sorry" said the old bat behind the desk in an almost 'too sweet to be tolerated' tone. You know the ones where they sound overly apologetic? The ones that just shove you right over the edge? Yeah. Those ones.
"You're sorry" i echoed "What for?"
She looked at me as if i were an insect buzzing around her head disturbing her peace. She wanted to squish me.
"You're late..." she replied again, in such a high tone I was having trouble keeping my hands on my side of the desk, she contintinued, "... so we dropped your appointment back down. You could come in tomorrow"

It's like being told off by a magistrate. First they give you the horifying news that you are going to be incarcerated for the next 6 months and then they say something like "it's only for a short time" to soften the blow.

Thats what it's like when you're late for anything in this world. You get bumped to the back of the line, you could be two minutes late and you would pay for it for the next week. But what happens when you have no control over you lateness? It happens... All the time. I tell you what, it's the most frustrating thing in the world.
Rewind to December 8 1980. Where were you? I mean everyone remembers where they were the day John Lennon was killed don't they? Or lets go back further August 1953. The Year Elvis first signed to a label. Do you remember where you were then? How about when those 4 fateful days took place in August of 1969? Woodstock. Where were you? The point is, these are moments in musical history that have gone down and become legendary. They are all moments that are years and years old, decades old even and yet, they still conjure the feelings they once did. They shaped the generations of which they were a part of.

Lets skip forward again. August 2006. What headlines do we have? Pete Doherty has once again been arrested on drug charges. Another band has made it big thanks to Myspace. Oh and Keith Richards has just fallen out of a coconut tree. Now i'm not saying these headlines are any less important than those that happened 50 years ago, or that they won't be moments that help shape our generation. But think about it from a young person's point of view. Their parents grew up in times of growth, times when people cared about what was going on, times where not just anything could be news, times when music was music and technology didnt have power over everything. I mean i'm 18 and I can't help but feel i was a little bit late in making an appearance in this world. It seems as though all the 'good stuff', all the stuff that made an impact, has already happened.

What is left to be said for today's generation then, if all the 'golden moments' have already happened? I mean, play The Sgt. Pepper album today and your mum sits there corresponding of a dog who has just eyed the box of treats in it's owner's hands. The dog knows what it means, it means it gets to taste the goodness of those choccie drops, just like it did the day before. Just like your mum knows what the album means, it means she gets to sit there and reminisce about the time, tastes the time the album was released. The sixties. A time you can only wish you were a part of, even if it's just for the musical revolution that took place. You sit there, knowing that her mind is being inundated with thoughts of... god only knows what... but you know its filled with thoughts you can only wish you had. After she is done recollecting her thoughts on the wonderous time you missed out on, she turns to you. You gulp. You know what's coming, the 'Oh what a time! They don't make music like that anymore! There will never be another band as good as The Beatles...Ever!" Your eyes roll into the back of your head and you make a comment such as "Eh I don't really give a shit", and before you know it, you're in the back room dusting the electrical equipment. Bitter. Bitter that you missed out on almost every single music defining moment in history. But most of all bitter that you are stuck in the dust- ridden back room with the statement 'There will never be a band as good as the beatles' lingering around your mind.

'Does that mean there will never be another band like The Beatles?' you wonder, as you start to feel a tickle in your nose from the dust on the crumbling record player with the broken needle. 'No' You think... 'there are plenty of bands LIKE the beatles'. 'Well maybe it means that there will never be a band as successful as The Beatles?' That has to be it right? 'Yes' you conclude as you make your way to the bookshelf standing in the corner of the room, the corner you and your brother call the corner of death as it is filled with educational materials. Then you have an epiphany. 'Does that mean Music has changed for the worse? Has all the 'good stuff' already happened? Was 23rd August 1987 too late to be born into a world that seeminly cares less and less about everything, not just music? Have I been Jipped?" you wonder with such intensity that you stop the up and down movement you hand has been making for the last 10 minutes, you drop the feather duster and just stand there, stand there and stare at the book entitled 'The Jacaranda Encyclopedeia'. 'I WAS jipped' You think with finality.

Music today isn't what it was. Obviously. Change happens and it's good. But has music changed for the worse? A lot of people would say 'no. It's time to move forward.' And they are right, But what are we moving into? Think About it. The other day I was uploading songs from my computer to my ipod (Another change, digital music) when it asked me what genre I wanted to put The Strokes in. As if on que a list pooped up out of nowhere, sorry list is an understatement, I should say catalogue, I sat there in amazement. There were so many options. Pop, Rock, Country, Ska, Reggae, Brit Pop, Indie, Alternative, Punk, Post- Punk, Garage, Rap, Hip hop Grunge, Lo-fi, Dance, Techno, Hardcore, Metal, blues, Jazz... the list went on and on and on. Naturally, you become overwhelmed and dumped it in (as you usually do if you have no idea what to class it as) the alternative pile. You have a whine about it to your Dad. "When I was your age there was Pop, Rock or other". Artlessly, you take what he says with a pinch of salt. Afterall, we are talking about the man who, until last year thought Eminem was just a form of confectionary. But his statement gets you thinking. Are we spoiled now? Too spoiled? Can just anything be classed as mucic in today's society? But music does the loop right? You have the Rock'n'Roll of the 50's, the Psychadellia of the 60's, the Disco of the 70's, the Punk (which joined the 70's and 80's) and Rap of the 80's, The Pop of the 90's and now, in the 00's what do we have? We have a bit of everything. Good. But is it too much sometimes? Yes. Is it easier to Lump music into one big net? Yes. But why would we do that when we now have all these genres? It's like a fisherman having one net to every species of fish, trying to catch them and lump them in is hard work, whats even harder is trying to keep track of it all. Are we losing track of what music has become? And does this mean that we have lost track of the way society has changed? What does this mean for the youth of today? And the future generations? Will the future generations have the dreaded feeling of 'lateness' when they hit the age they actually start to think about things with depth?

"Ok" you say to the stuck- up woman behind the desk "I'll come back tomorrow"
You make your appointment and walk out the door, cursing yourself for being late. But most of all cursing the lady behind the desk. As with most things in life, it's easier to blame someone else for any misfortune you may encounter. Even if it is being born 30 years after a musical revolution. It's not your fault that your parents waited until that hot summer's night in November of 1986 to create you... it's theirs. Therefore... you were late because of them. Who knows! there may be a musical revolution start tomorrow!Or the day after, or the day after that. But as far as you know there is nothing coming up so you are left with the pain of knowing, as with so many other things... you were just too late.