People who live in brick bars should not know Stones.
October 2, 2021 6:06 PM Subscribe
How crazy would it be if there were some actual empathetic humans at the bar who realized he just wanted a beer and some quiet. But more likely, they were avoiding him like the plague so that the old didn't rub off.
posted by jabah at 6:38 PM on October 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by jabah at 6:38 PM on October 2, 2021 [12 favorites]
we sure about this?
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:41 PM on October 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Ahmad Khani at 6:41 PM on October 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Bummer for the people who were there, but that was probably a great experience for him. He probably hasn't had many chances to just be a guy in a bar drinking a beer in the last 50 years.
I was at a coffee shop with some friends near where Robin Williams lived in San Francisco when he and his kids stopped in on a bike ride. We were super-excited but respected their privacy and left them alone.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 PM on October 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
I was at a coffee shop with some friends near where Robin Williams lived in San Francisco when he and his kids stopped in on a bike ride. We were super-excited but respected their privacy and left them alone.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 PM on October 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
I wonder how many of them made jokes about the old dude looking like Mick Jagger.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 PM on October 2, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 6:43 PM on October 2, 2021 [15 favorites]
I've seen various celebrities out in bars and restaurants and I leave them alone. Let them enjoy their beer, pool game, etc.
posted by ryoshu at 6:44 PM on October 2, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by ryoshu at 6:44 PM on October 2, 2021 [10 favorites]
I told a group of co-workers that Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones had died. One of them, a 20-something, asked "Was he the main guy? The singer?"
posted by SoberHighland at 6:45 PM on October 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 6:45 PM on October 2, 2021 [8 favorites]
Oh dear.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:46 PM on October 2, 2021
posted by kirkaracha at 6:46 PM on October 2, 2021
You know, this is a great story, and I feel great for Mick
posted by JoeXIII007 at 6:58 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeXIII007 at 6:58 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
I asked Brian if I could could talk to one of those regulars. I don’t want to make fun of them, I said. “Oh no,” he says. “We’re making fun of them.” Brian has been ripping them all morning long because those guys, those regulars, have tickets to the concert tonight. “They’ll pay $400 for a ticket on the floor,” Brian says, “but they don’t recognize Mick Jagger when he walks in the door.” Those guys have not gotten in touch with me yet. They could be horribly embarrassed. Or, you know, they could have day jobs.
That's pretty good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:00 PM on October 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
That's pretty good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:00 PM on October 2, 2021 [7 favorites]
> You know who else has been staring at it? Brian Wilson. The guy who owns the bar.
Customer: Uh I think Mick Jagger was in here before.
Owner (rolls eyes): Sure, and I'm Brian Wilson. (shakes head and goes back to polishing glasses)
posted by smelendez at 7:09 PM on October 2, 2021 [35 favorites]
Customer: Uh I think Mick Jagger was in here before.
Owner (rolls eyes): Sure, and I'm Brian Wilson. (shakes head and goes back to polishing glasses)
posted by smelendez at 7:09 PM on October 2, 2021 [35 favorites]
One of my few celebrity sightings was in London, about twenty years ago, when I was walking along King Street and Mick Jagger stepped out onto the pavement just in front of me. He shook hands with someone in the doorway, muttered something like 'yeah, thanks mate, I'll call you', then a car drew up, the door opened, Jagger got in, the door closed, the car drove off. The whole thing was over in a few seconds -- though, even in those few seconds, a paparazzo had appeared from nowhere and was frantically snapping pictures of Jagger getting into the car.
What I chiefly remember about the whole experience was how time seemed to come to a standstill. Everyone on the street, except the photographer, was momentarily frozen in the tractor beam of Jagger's charisma. So the idea of Jagger going unnoticed in a public place, even for a second, is almost inconceivable to me.
posted by verstegan at 7:12 PM on October 2, 2021 [13 favorites]
What I chiefly remember about the whole experience was how time seemed to come to a standstill. Everyone on the street, except the photographer, was momentarily frozen in the tractor beam of Jagger's charisma. So the idea of Jagger going unnoticed in a public place, even for a second, is almost inconceivable to me.
posted by verstegan at 7:12 PM on October 2, 2021 [13 favorites]
pleased to meet you
won't guess my name
oh yeah.
posted by clavdivs at 7:32 PM on October 2, 2021 [30 favorites]
won't guess my name
oh yeah.
posted by clavdivs at 7:32 PM on October 2, 2021 [30 favorites]
I looked him up for reference. He's 78. And he doesn't look much like the version of him I have in my head, which is from at least 30 years ago (back when he was roughly the age I am now). To say nothing of the most famous version of himself, from almost another 30 years earlier than THAT. Let the poor man get old.
posted by rikschell at 7:39 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 7:39 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
@Soberhighland. This story was told at Watts' death. Mick supposedly called Watts one night, just around midnight, and said "where's my drummer"? Charlie supposedly got out of bed, dressed impeccably and went to Jagger, whereupon he quickly slapped him and said "don't ever call me your drummer; you're my singer."
posted by lometogo at 7:47 PM on October 2, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by lometogo at 7:47 PM on October 2, 2021 [14 favorites]
“Excuse me — are you Mick Jagger or do you just look like him?”
“Both.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:59 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
“Both.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:59 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
I once ran into Robert Plant. It was in an all-night convenience store in Toronto, around 1AM on a Monday morning. Guy was wearing trackpants and buying some rolling papers and chocolate bars. I didn't say a word because, like, we've all done those runs.
posted by ZaphodB at 8:33 PM on October 2, 2021 [25 favorites]
posted by ZaphodB at 8:33 PM on October 2, 2021 [25 favorites]
Two things.
1. I’m reminded about Malcolm Gladwell’s story about his father, an Englishman who had absolutely no appreciation of celebrities. By chance, Mr Gladwell had an extended conversation about gardening with an A+++ English celebrity, who Malcolm could never identify, but had narrowed down to either Mick Jagger or Michael Caine, and how lucky either of them must have been to not be either Mick Jagger or Michael Caine but just some guy who wanted to talk about gardening.
2. Good for Mick.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:54 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
1. I’m reminded about Malcolm Gladwell’s story about his father, an Englishman who had absolutely no appreciation of celebrities. By chance, Mr Gladwell had an extended conversation about gardening with an A+++ English celebrity, who Malcolm could never identify, but had narrowed down to either Mick Jagger or Michael Caine, and how lucky either of them must have been to not be either Mick Jagger or Michael Caine but just some guy who wanted to talk about gardening.
2. Good for Mick.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:54 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
In the 90s, I was in line behind a man--maybe a little scruffy-looking but pretty ordinary--checking out at Europa Books in Austin when the woman working the register started quizzing him:
Employee: Are you a ... musician?
Man: [long pause] Yeah
Employee: Oh, we're big fans here. Could you maybe ... send us some of your tapes?
Man: [long pause] I guess so.
Employee: Thanks! Have a good day!
Man: [long pause] You too.
He left the store without turning around, so I didn't see much of him, but the store employee at the register called out to a guy working in back:
Her: Hey! Did you see that man? That was Warren Zevon!
Him: Wow, I never would have guessed. How did you recognize him?
And no kidding--I get that this is a case of reality being a little too on the nose--she said, "I saw it on his American Express!"
He went on to ask what books Warren Zevon had bought, and I think she said Heinrich Böll, but the guy confused my recollection by saying something like, "Oh yeah, we love old Heiny," so maybe she said Heinrich Heine. Either one would sort of fit.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:01 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
Employee: Are you a ... musician?
Man: [long pause] Yeah
Employee: Oh, we're big fans here. Could you maybe ... send us some of your tapes?
Man: [long pause] I guess so.
Employee: Thanks! Have a good day!
Man: [long pause] You too.
He left the store without turning around, so I didn't see much of him, but the store employee at the register called out to a guy working in back:
Her: Hey! Did you see that man? That was Warren Zevon!
Him: Wow, I never would have guessed. How did you recognize him?
And no kidding--I get that this is a case of reality being a little too on the nose--she said, "I saw it on his American Express!"
He went on to ask what books Warren Zevon had bought, and I think she said Heinrich Böll, but the guy confused my recollection by saying something like, "Oh yeah, we love old Heiny," so maybe she said Heinrich Heine. Either one would sort of fit.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:01 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
So the idea of Jagger going unnoticed in a public place, even for a second, is almost inconceivable to me.
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
posted by praemunire at 9:11 PM on October 2, 2021 [60 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
posted by praemunire at 9:11 PM on October 2, 2021 [60 favorites]
I totally get not recognizing some celebrity that you couldn't imagine not recognizing, particularly with a few extra years on them. Back in the early nineties, when I was just starting my professional librarian career, I went to NYC and volunteered for an arts program in Brooklyn, and was taking tickets at the door. Someone came up, I asked him for a ticket, he just sort of spread his hands out like he had no idea what I was asking him for, and the director of the program practically teleported across the room to escort him to a seat; when she came back, she drily informed me that Lou Reed really didn't need a ticket for any of our shows. I'm still not sure why I didn't simply die on the spot; if it had been Bowie, I probably would have. (Then again, Bowie supposedly had the ability to walk around NYC without a disguise, one of his many powers.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:14 PM on October 2, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:14 PM on October 2, 2021 [15 favorites]
It’s a great counterpoint to McCartney’s reaction to not making it past the bouncer.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:15 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:15 PM on October 2, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Stones were the first band I ever saw live. Snuck out of the house with my older brother. I was 11. Mick was 20!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:30 PM on October 2, 2021 [20 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:30 PM on October 2, 2021 [20 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
In both directions.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:11 PM on October 2, 2021 [30 favorites]
In both directions.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:11 PM on October 2, 2021 [30 favorites]
A day-shift bartender in a Toronto hotel failed to recognize an old guy dressed in stylish tweed as Leonard Cohen.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 11:33 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 11:33 PM on October 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5. Every generation is going to have musical groups that sell a shitload of records but never connect to anyone younger than their initial fan base.
posted by zymil at 11:49 PM on October 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5. Every generation is going to have musical groups that sell a shitload of records but never connect to anyone younger than their initial fan base.
posted by zymil at 11:49 PM on October 2, 2021 [3 favorites]
How Bill Bradley learned how power works.
Soon after [Bill] Bradley entered the Senate, said [Al] Gore, he was invited to make a speech at a banquet and sat proudly at the head table waiting for his turn to speak.posted by kirkaracha at 12:07 AM on October 3, 2021 [41 favorites]
When the waiter came over at one point and put a pat of butter on his plate, Bradley stopped him. “Excuse me,” he said, “can I have two pats of butter?”
”Sorry,” said the waiter, “one pat for a person.”
”I don’t think you know who I am,” said Bradley. “I’m BILL BRADLEY, the Rhodes Scholar, professional basketball player, world champion, United States Senator.”
”Well, maybe you don’t know who I am,” retorted the waiter.
”Well, as a matter of fact, I don’t,” admitted Bradley. “Who are you?”
”I’m the guy,” said the waiter, “who’s in charge of the butter!”
I am aware of the general notion of Mick Jagger but I would not have pegged that guy as Mick Jagger. I have recognized other famous people in public before but I think my mental concept of Mick Jagger stopped aging sometime in the mid 1970s.
posted by potrzebie at 12:19 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 12:19 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
Your favorite bandsucks is irrelevant.
posted by fairmettle at 12:38 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Your favorite band
posted by fairmettle at 12:38 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
“Excuse me — are you Mick Jagger or do you just look like him?”
“Both.”
I read an article about Steve Perry (formerly of Journey), in which the following exchange was recorded:
SOME GUY: You look a lot like Steve Perry.
STEVE PERRY: I used to be Steve Perry.
posted by The Tensor at 12:40 AM on October 3, 2021 [15 favorites]
“Both.”
I read an article about Steve Perry (formerly of Journey), in which the following exchange was recorded:
SOME GUY: You look a lot like Steve Perry.
STEVE PERRY: I used to be Steve Perry.
posted by The Tensor at 12:40 AM on October 3, 2021 [15 favorites]
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5.
Most boomer thing I've read in this thread yet.
posted by bradbane at 12:46 AM on October 3, 2021 [42 favorites]
Most boomer thing I've read in this thread yet.
posted by bradbane at 12:46 AM on October 3, 2021 [42 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe
Hey that's not true! My parents are in their 70s and also don't give a shit about Mick Jagger.
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5.
You damn kids with your baggy pants and pagers!
posted by lkc at 12:58 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
Hey that's not true! My parents are in their 70s and also don't give a shit about Mick Jagger.
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5.
You damn kids with your baggy pants and pagers!
posted by lkc at 12:58 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles
I've been surprised by how many kids I've met who know all about and love the Beatles. I figure because they're still strongly influenced by their parents' tastes, which they grew up on.
posted by trig at 1:28 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
I've been surprised by how many kids I've met who know all about and love the Beatles. I figure because they're still strongly influenced by their parents' tastes, which they grew up on.
posted by trig at 1:28 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Mate of mine tells a similar story form his days in south-east England around 1970 or so. He was drinking in a nondescript little country pub there with about a dozen other punters present when Jagger walked in with a female friend. No one bothered them at all while they were there, or even acknowledged Jagger was anything more than another random drinker. It wasn't a "cooler-than-thou" thing, simply that no-one there gave a shit. After Jagger left, there were a couple of brief conversations about who he was, then everyone shrugged and got back to their pints.
Returning to the Charlotte story, if Jagger walked into my local today without any great fuss, I think I'd be far more likely to assume it was a bloke who looked like him than the real thing. I mean, really, which is the more likely?
Finally, that whole Charlotte episode looks rather calculated to me. My guess it was Jagger and a professional photographer who were just after an unusual publicity shot. If no-one in the bar had the faintest idea anything unusual had happened, then how did the story even get out there if not from Jagger's publicity people?
posted by Paul Slade at 2:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Returning to the Charlotte story, if Jagger walked into my local today without any great fuss, I think I'd be far more likely to assume it was a bloke who looked like him than the real thing. I mean, really, which is the more likely?
Finally, that whole Charlotte episode looks rather calculated to me. My guess it was Jagger and a professional photographer who were just after an unusual publicity shot. If no-one in the bar had the faintest idea anything unusual had happened, then how did the story even get out there if not from Jagger's publicity people?
posted by Paul Slade at 2:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
"Has anyone ever told you, that you're the exact spitting image of that Mr Bean"
posted by freethefeet at 2:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by freethefeet at 2:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
David Bowie had a trick for getting around without being mobbed by fans: he would carry a Greek newspaper with him. That way, when people saw him, they immediately thought that that can't be Bowie, just some Greek guy who looks like him.
posted by acb at 3:28 AM on October 3, 2021 [22 favorites]
posted by acb at 3:28 AM on October 3, 2021 [22 favorites]
(Then again, Bowie supposedly had the ability to walk around NYC without a disguise, one of his many powers.)
I saw him and Iman at the Met museum once. They did not go unnoticed - they were given room but the air around them hummed (in my memmory they were like sharks moving through a school of sardines. Or mackerel.)
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5.
Yes-no. The Rolling Stones put out a few good albums. Coldplay and Maroon-5 are considered musically relevant by no one. Please, ask me about the Minute Men
posted by From Bklyn at 5:11 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
I saw him and Iman at the Met museum once. They did not go unnoticed - they were given room but the air around them hummed (in my memmory they were like sharks moving through a school of sardines. Or mackerel.)
I mean you could say the same thing about Millenial bands like Coldplay and Maroon 5.
Yes-no. The Rolling Stones put out a few good albums. Coldplay and Maroon-5 are considered musically relevant by no one. Please, ask me about the Minute Men
posted by From Bklyn at 5:11 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
When I first moved to NYC in the early 90s I scored a ticket to a Musician’s Emergency Fund benefit concert at Alice Tully Hall that a friend was singing in. It was open seating and since I was there early I scored a pretty good seat. Eventually as the venue filled up I found myself next to a square-jawed woman of about my parents’ age. She was very nice and we engaged in interesting conversation about the singers and musical selections in-between numbers. Afterwards my friends rushed over and exclaimed, “OhmyGod, you were SITTING NEXT TO MARILYN HORNE!” (For those who don’t consume opera, she is considered one of the great mezzosoprani of the second half of the 20th century.)
posted by slkinsey at 5:31 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by slkinsey at 5:31 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Brian has been ripping them all morning long because those guys, those regulars, have tickets to the concert tonight. “They’ll pay $400 for a ticket on the floor,” Brian says, “but they don’t recognize Mick Jagger when he walks in the door.”
In fairness, if I had gotten mugged for $400, I suppose I'd be pretty dazed and my injured brain would not be able to recognize celebrities.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:37 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
In fairness, if I had gotten mugged for $400, I suppose I'd be pretty dazed and my injured brain would not be able to recognize celebrities.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:37 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
If no-one in the bar had the faintest idea anything unusual had happened, then how did the story even get out there if not from Jagger's publicity people?
Well, yes. The very first thing in the article is the tweet where they posted the photo.
posted by zamboni at 5:38 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Well, yes. The very first thing in the article is the tweet where they posted the photo.
posted by zamboni at 5:38 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
A fact I recently learned somewhere (if generations are a 'fact') is that Mick Jagger, like Paul McCartney and many we think of as classic boomers, is a member of the silent generation! But yeah, old people are old and young people don't care does resonate. I say this as a now old person myself (Gen X represent!!)
posted by latkes at 5:51 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
A fact I recently learned somewhere (if generations are a 'fact') is that Mick Jagger, like Paul McCartney and many we think of as classic boomers, is a member of the silent generation! But yeah, old people are old and young people don't care does resonate. I say this as a now old person myself (Gen X represent!!)
posted by latkes at 5:51 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
Looking at that photo, I could have stood in front of him and not recognized him. My only mental picture of him is from photos that are probably 40 years old. And, I think it is great that he was able to go out and have a (likely non-alcoholic) beer without attracting a lot of fuss and attention.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:08 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 6:08 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
A fact I recently learned somewhere (if generations are a 'fact') is that Mick Jagger, like Paul McCartney and many we think of as classic boomers, is a member of the silent generation!
yeah a bunch of yer classic rockers were born around 1940
old enough to have a working band when the Boomers were teenagers
posted by thelonius at 6:10 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
yeah a bunch of yer classic rockers were born around 1940
old enough to have a working band when the Boomers were teenagers
posted by thelonius at 6:10 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
she drily informed me that Lou Reed really didn't need a ticket for any of our shows
Why not? I mean, I'm old, so I have some fondness for certain Lou Reed songs, but unless he was supporting those shows or that organization with money, or with volunteer hours, or with some intangible benefit, like "Lou Reed comes here so other people who are willing to give us money will come here," I don't really get why the mere fact that he was Lou Reed entitled him to a free in where everybody else had to have a ticket. I guess I'm cynical, but I find that to be one of most tiresome aspects of celebrity. I prefer Butter Guy.
posted by JanetLand at 6:32 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
Why not? I mean, I'm old, so I have some fondness for certain Lou Reed songs, but unless he was supporting those shows or that organization with money, or with volunteer hours, or with some intangible benefit, like "Lou Reed comes here so other people who are willing to give us money will come here," I don't really get why the mere fact that he was Lou Reed entitled him to a free in where everybody else had to have a ticket. I guess I'm cynical, but I find that to be one of most tiresome aspects of celebrity. I prefer Butter Guy.
posted by JanetLand at 6:32 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
QFT. The Rolling Stones peaked 55 years ago. I am assured that they were compelling at the time – but there have been some, uh, developments in the world of music since then.
For reference: there were only 40 years between the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (1941) and Slayer, Madonna, Depeche Mode, The Exploited, Front 242, Cybotron, and Shonen Knife (all 1981-ish). Do you suppose that many fans of those artists would have recognized the Andrews Sisters at a bar?
Is it really surprising that Kids Today wouldn't recognize Mick Jagger? (Or, perhaps they did recognize him, thought "huh, is that Mick Jagger?" – and then got on with their lives.)
By all means, like whatever music you like. But the sooner we can kill off this notion that classic rock is the center of the musical universe – the standard by which all music shall be measured, forevermore – the better.
(Everyone, including me, thinks that the music of their adolescence and 20s is the Most Important Music of all time. But there's a whole industry of reissues, books, documentaries, etc., which are eager to flatter potential customers by treating that belief as objective fact. And the sheer size of the Boomer generation means that their music has established a certain pop-cultural hegemony.)
I dunno. In another 10 or 20 years, I suppose that the same industry will be pandering to my generation's faded glory. I've already seen the signs.
(But, yeah. A friend and I once attended a concert by a musician who is internationally famous [in a very niche scene]. We happened to met him out front after the show. My friend was fanboying so hard that the guy was visibly irritated and uncomfortable. Please don't do that, folks. Famous people are just people.)
posted by escape from the potato planet at 6:45 AM on October 3, 2021 [18 favorites]
QFT. The Rolling Stones peaked 55 years ago. I am assured that they were compelling at the time – but there have been some, uh, developments in the world of music since then.
For reference: there were only 40 years between the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (1941) and Slayer, Madonna, Depeche Mode, The Exploited, Front 242, Cybotron, and Shonen Knife (all 1981-ish). Do you suppose that many fans of those artists would have recognized the Andrews Sisters at a bar?
Is it really surprising that Kids Today wouldn't recognize Mick Jagger? (Or, perhaps they did recognize him, thought "huh, is that Mick Jagger?" – and then got on with their lives.)
By all means, like whatever music you like. But the sooner we can kill off this notion that classic rock is the center of the musical universe – the standard by which all music shall be measured, forevermore – the better.
(Everyone, including me, thinks that the music of their adolescence and 20s is the Most Important Music of all time. But there's a whole industry of reissues, books, documentaries, etc., which are eager to flatter potential customers by treating that belief as objective fact. And the sheer size of the Boomer generation means that their music has established a certain pop-cultural hegemony.)
I dunno. In another 10 or 20 years, I suppose that the same industry will be pandering to my generation's faded glory. I've already seen the signs.
(But, yeah. A friend and I once attended a concert by a musician who is internationally famous [in a very niche scene]. We happened to met him out front after the show. My friend was fanboying so hard that the guy was visibly irritated and uncomfortable. Please don't do that, folks. Famous people are just people.)
posted by escape from the potato planet at 6:45 AM on October 3, 2021 [18 favorites]
I don't really get why the mere fact that he was Lou Reed entitled him to a free in
I like Butter Guy's attitude too, but I can still see why the Brooklyn show's organisers acted as they did. A photo of Lou Reed in the audience that night and/or the opportunity to publicise that he'd thought the show was worth seeing would be worth a lot more than the price of a single extra ticket sold.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:50 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
I like Butter Guy's attitude too, but I can still see why the Brooklyn show's organisers acted as they did. A photo of Lou Reed in the audience that night and/or the opportunity to publicise that he'd thought the show was worth seeing would be worth a lot more than the price of a single extra ticket sold.
posted by Paul Slade at 6:50 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
Well, it could be declining relevance. The only concert that I (Gen X) have ever attended with both of my war baby parents was a Stones show in the eighties. I liked them — the Rolling Stones, not my parents — well enough as a kid but I can’t recall much that I enjoy after about “She’s So Cold,” which was recorded 42 years ago. Try though I might, I cannot recall anything more recent than “Love Is Strong,” which came out in, what, 1994?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:02 AM on October 3, 2021
Well, it could be declining relevance. The only concert that I (Gen X) have ever attended with both of my war baby parents was a Stones show in the eighties. I liked them — the Rolling Stones, not my parents — well enough as a kid but I can’t recall much that I enjoy after about “She’s So Cold,” which was recorded 42 years ago. Try though I might, I cannot recall anything more recent than “Love Is Strong,” which came out in, what, 1994?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:02 AM on October 3, 2021
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
Ouch! I guess I was asking for that put-down. But I wasn't talking about fame, I was talking about charisma. Some people have it, some people don't. Jagger has it (or had it then). And the point of my story was that even in a trivial encounter on the street, you could feel the charisma radiating from him like a force-field. It was uncanny. I think anyone would have felt it, even if they'd never heard of the Stones or listened to a note of their music.
Charisma is the weirdest thing. That's it really, that's all I came in here to say.
posted by verstegan at 7:02 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
Ouch! I guess I was asking for that put-down. But I wasn't talking about fame, I was talking about charisma. Some people have it, some people don't. Jagger has it (or had it then). And the point of my story was that even in a trivial encounter on the street, you could feel the charisma radiating from him like a force-field. It was uncanny. I think anyone would have felt it, even if they'd never heard of the Stones or listened to a note of their music.
Charisma is the weirdest thing. That's it really, that's all I came in here to say.
posted by verstegan at 7:02 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
If we are citing stories of rock stars not being recognized, I think the one where Bob Dylan was arrested in NJ for looking into a house is a pretty strong contender for the best. Apparently the people who called it in thought he was a mentally ill, unhoused person, and the cop who arrested him refused to believe he was Bob Dylan for quite some time.
posted by anhedonic at 7:04 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by anhedonic at 7:04 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
The baseball cap he's got on throws one off, too.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:15 AM on October 3, 2021
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:15 AM on October 3, 2021
I went looking through Wikipedia’s entry for 1888 to look up people who would be Jagger’s current age when the first Stones album was released. Imagine if you will MetaFilter 1964 puzzling over how a star of stage and screen as big as E.E. Horton going unrecognized in public.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:16 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:16 AM on October 3, 2021 [12 favorites]
Ouch! I guess I was asking for that put-down. But I wasn't talking about fame, I was talking about charisma. Some people have it, some people don't. Jagger has it (or had it then). And the point of my story was that even in a trivial encounter on the street, you could feel the charisma radiating from him like a force-field. It was uncanny. I think anyone would have felt it, even if they'd never heard of the Stones or listened to a note of their music.
Charisma is the weirdest thing. That's it really, that's all I came in here to say.
I think maybe what the poster was getting at is that the charisma effect you are describing isn't universal. You could feel it radiating down the street I'm sure! But a 78 year old rich white guy from a band that i give no shits about doesn't really have any charisma for me, and likely wouldn't for many other people under the age of idk 50-60.
No shade to boomers or their music prefs, you do you and god go with you. Boomers liking the Stones isn't cringe at all, it's to be expected! It's the bafflement that young generations don't give a shit (e.g. don't find Mick charismatic) that is pretty cringe.
also oh god coldplay and maroon5 as 'millenial bands' made me make a facial expression that i don't want to repeat
posted by lazaruslong at 7:18 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Charisma is the weirdest thing. That's it really, that's all I came in here to say.
I think maybe what the poster was getting at is that the charisma effect you are describing isn't universal. You could feel it radiating down the street I'm sure! But a 78 year old rich white guy from a band that i give no shits about doesn't really have any charisma for me, and likely wouldn't for many other people under the age of idk 50-60.
No shade to boomers or their music prefs, you do you and god go with you. Boomers liking the Stones isn't cringe at all, it's to be expected! It's the bafflement that young generations don't give a shit (e.g. don't find Mick charismatic) that is pretty cringe.
also oh god coldplay and maroon5 as 'millenial bands' made me make a facial expression that i don't want to repeat
posted by lazaruslong at 7:18 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
My friend was fanboying so hard that the guy was visibly irritated and uncomfortable. Please don't do that, folks. Famous people are just people.
Ugh, I went to a bar, many many years ago, with my girlfriend and her roommate, and the roommate did this to Amy Ray. She lives around here (well, then, but fans found out where and that was that, time to move), she's off the road for a week or two, she thought she'd go have a beer: leave her alone. Tell her you are thrilled to meet her and love her work first, if you must, then go away.
posted by thelonius at 7:19 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Ugh, I went to a bar, many many years ago, with my girlfriend and her roommate, and the roommate did this to Amy Ray. She lives around here (well, then, but fans found out where and that was that, time to move), she's off the road for a week or two, she thought she'd go have a beer: leave her alone. Tell her you are thrilled to meet her and love her work first, if you must, then go away.
posted by thelonius at 7:19 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
There were a lot of Really Important artists from 1940s and 1950s jazz who were barely known by name to my early-Gen-X cohort. There were people just slightly older than us who were very heavily invested in the celebrity arc of these people--their personal identity and general hipness was supported by it. Now the output of that era is in libraries and music history courses, the work is still there to be sought out (and yes, some of it is genuinely great), but in the cultural flow, a lot of it is washed away.
posted by gimonca at 7:26 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 7:26 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Gen X chariot swung low for Tony Bennett, though.
posted by thelonius at 7:27 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 7:27 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Famous people I knew before they were: Pete Buck used to work at the record store we shopped at when we were kids. He was nice to us.
posted by thelonius at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
When I was in college in Chicago back in the 70s, Mick Jagger would come to town often enough (once or twice a year?), and it was well-known that he would always put in an appearance at one of the Southside Blues clubs, usually Checkerboard or Theresa's, and Stones fans would make sure to go to a Blues club that night in case he showed up there. I weirdly did not question why Mick Jagger came to Chicago so often, but I did think at the time that he was doing the club-owners a big favor by drumming up business.
This was also a time, by the way, when black kids were not the least bit interested in seeing Muddy Waters or Junior Wells live because it was old people music.
posted by maggiemaggie at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
This was also a time, by the way, when black kids were not the least bit interested in seeing Muddy Waters or Junior Wells live because it was old people music.
posted by maggiemaggie at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Also, Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. Sic transit gloria mundi.
posted by gimonca at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by gimonca at 7:29 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
This, at least according to his Twitter, happens to Tony Hawk fairly frequently. But more often he gets people asking him if he knows he looks like Tony Hawk? Which can you imagine looking like someone famous and not knowing it? "I look like Tony Hawk? No Wai! Really?"
posted by Mitheral at 7:45 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 7:45 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
The British comedian Tony Hawks finally gave up and titled his seventh book The A to Z of Skateboarding . That’s a hell of a way to boost sales.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:51 AM on October 3, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:51 AM on October 3, 2021 [15 favorites]
But yeah, old people are old and young people don't care does resonate. I say this as a now old person myself (Gen X represent!!)
Yeah, it's not that either band sucks, it's just that music famous for its resonance in a youth culture of a particular time and place doesn't necessarily age well. It's very instructive to watch some of those youtubes where younger people listen for the first time to random music of previous decades. What they pick up on, what they don't. Especially if they're not all white and suburban. I saw a diverse panel of teenagers universally unable to get past Macy Gray's delivery to enjoy "I Try." On the other hand, a black guy in his twenties (?) lost his shit watching the Stop Making Sense version of "Life During Wartime."
It stings, but in the end it's no disgrace that some pop culture remains essentially ephemeral. I just find it kind of embarrassing when people need to pretend that their youth is universal youth. Probably we Gen Xers would be doing that more if we had more media power.
posted by praemunire at 7:56 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
Yeah, it's not that either band sucks, it's just that music famous for its resonance in a youth culture of a particular time and place doesn't necessarily age well. It's very instructive to watch some of those youtubes where younger people listen for the first time to random music of previous decades. What they pick up on, what they don't. Especially if they're not all white and suburban. I saw a diverse panel of teenagers universally unable to get past Macy Gray's delivery to enjoy "I Try." On the other hand, a black guy in his twenties (?) lost his shit watching the Stop Making Sense version of "Life During Wartime."
It stings, but in the end it's no disgrace that some pop culture remains essentially ephemeral. I just find it kind of embarrassing when people need to pretend that their youth is universal youth. Probably we Gen Xers would be doing that more if we had more media power.
posted by praemunire at 7:56 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
What makes this story amusing is that people who paid money to see the show, actual fans, did not recognize him, but I guess Metafilter wants to get into a generational fight based on a headline.
posted by betweenthebars at 8:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by betweenthebars at 8:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [9 favorites]
I don’t know why, but Tony Hawks doesn’t sound suitably British. Tony Hawkes works, though.
I’ve unknowingly buffaloed past a couple celebrities, much to the consternation of the attending security personnel and assistants. Not because I’m cool. My stupid little mind is just focused on my stupid little tasks and problems. I should remember to keep an eye out for skinny, well-dressed people with big heads.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 8:02 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I’ve unknowingly buffaloed past a couple celebrities, much to the consternation of the attending security personnel and assistants. Not because I’m cool. My stupid little mind is just focused on my stupid little tasks and problems. I should remember to keep an eye out for skinny, well-dressed people with big heads.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 8:02 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I probably would have recognized Mick Jagger in a bar because I recently watched The Burnt Orange heresy and there were quite a few closeups of his wrinkly face. I certainly would not have recognized any of the people mentioned above though.
posted by leaper at 8:07 AM on October 3, 2021
posted by leaper at 8:07 AM on October 3, 2021
I've been surprised by how many kids I've met who know all about and love the Beatles. I figure because they're still strongly influenced by their parents' tastes, which they grew up on.
Or more likely, their grandparents' taste--as Gen X, I first learned about the Beatles from my parents' record collection, and Xers have kids in college now. I don't assume any of my students will even recognize a Beatles or Stones reference anymore, let alone find it meaningful (and I teach music).
The biggest difference I notice, though, is that very few musicians are even able to gain the kind of ubiquitous notoriety that the Stones or Beatles once had, because there is just so much stuff out there and the music industry as it once was no longer exists. Today, BTS can cause riots in parts of many cities all over the world simply by showing up, but I wouldn't recognize them if we had lunch together.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:13 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
Or more likely, their grandparents' taste--as Gen X, I first learned about the Beatles from my parents' record collection, and Xers have kids in college now. I don't assume any of my students will even recognize a Beatles or Stones reference anymore, let alone find it meaningful (and I teach music).
The biggest difference I notice, though, is that very few musicians are even able to gain the kind of ubiquitous notoriety that the Stones or Beatles once had, because there is just so much stuff out there and the music industry as it once was no longer exists. Today, BTS can cause riots in parts of many cities all over the world simply by showing up, but I wouldn't recognize them if we had lunch together.
posted by LooseFilter at 8:13 AM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
There is an apocryphal story that one time when Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was staying at Balmoral Castle, she went into the nearest town to browse through the shops. A woman said to her, "You look just like the Queen!". Her Majesty replied, "That's reassuring."
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:16 AM on October 3, 2021 [21 favorites]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:16 AM on October 3, 2021 [21 favorites]
I think The Stones are okay, but I can't actually think of a Stones song from the last 4 decades (since around 1981). That's something.
I've been surprised by how many kids I've met who know all about and love the Beatles.
Let's all get up and dance to a tune that was a hit before your mother was born.
posted by ovvl at 9:21 AM on October 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
I've been surprised by how many kids I've met who know all about and love the Beatles.
Let's all get up and dance to a tune that was a hit before your mother was born.
posted by ovvl at 9:21 AM on October 3, 2021 [11 favorites]
It is interesting to think about which musicians could get away with this tweet without looking completely obnoxious or out of character. If Billy Corgan or Morrissey posted about going to a bar and not being recognized, it would look like an Onion joke.
Dionne Warwick, maybe, could and would. Paul McCartney, though I don't think he would. Bono I guess. Garth Brooks in a country bar, Jimmy Buffett at an old dudes' beach bar.
The other group I could see would be pop stars who've been around for 10-20 years, say Lady Gaga or Drake, in a bar with a younger crowd.
posted by smelendez at 9:30 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Dionne Warwick, maybe, could and would. Paul McCartney, though I don't think he would. Bono I guess. Garth Brooks in a country bar, Jimmy Buffett at an old dudes' beach bar.
The other group I could see would be pop stars who've been around for 10-20 years, say Lady Gaga or Drake, in a bar with a younger crowd.
posted by smelendez at 9:30 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
It could all be as simple as not recognizing someone outside their expected context. It’s happened to all of us, seeing someone we know in an unexpected place and it just not registering.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:42 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:42 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
Let's all get up and dance to a tune that was a hit before your mother was born.
I think most people would still recognize "Over There," by George M. Cohan
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think most people would still recognize "Over There," by George M. Cohan
posted by Bee'sWing at 9:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Weird, barely-semi-related stories: I ate at two different restaurants in Chicago nearly ten years apart where I saw Laurence Fishburne. It was definitely him. My wife saw him both times, too. One time we saw him at a table of friends as we walked in. The second time a decade later, we saw him heading to the restroom.
Also, in 1995, Cyndi Lauper talked to me briefly in an elevator. This was when I was working a job where I routinely saw famous people. I took room service to Harrison Ford who answered the door in a towel (it was breakfast) and I saw his majestic pelt of gray chest hair. Many other celebrity stories from those four or five years.
That's it. Unless you want to hear some more.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Also, in 1995, Cyndi Lauper talked to me briefly in an elevator. This was when I was working a job where I routinely saw famous people. I took room service to Harrison Ford who answered the door in a towel (it was breakfast) and I saw his majestic pelt of gray chest hair. Many other celebrity stories from those four or five years.
That's it. Unless you want to hear some more.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Capt. Renault: Yes, it's a bit like the time famous violinist Joshua Bell went busking in the subway and no one noticed.
posted by JonJacky at 9:52 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by JonJacky at 9:52 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Back in the early nineties, when I was just starting my professional librarian career, I went to NYC and volunteered for an arts program in Brooklyn
If the program was ""Arts at St. Ann's," Lou Reed's permanent free admission is less mysterious.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
If the program was ""Arts at St. Ann's," Lou Reed's permanent free admission is less mysterious.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:07 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Yes, it's a bit like the time famous violinist Joshua Bell went busking in the subway and no one noticed.
I always felt that one was a little bit unfair. By definition, if you're on the subway going to work in the morning, you don't have time to linger and enjoy classical music.
posted by praemunire at 10:23 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
I always felt that one was a little bit unfair. By definition, if you're on the subway going to work in the morning, you don't have time to linger and enjoy classical music.
posted by praemunire at 10:23 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
praemunire: Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
Unless you’re that weird kid in school that listens to your grandparents record collection, none of the younger set will give a fuck. If I was in a bar in my early 20’s (late 90s-early 00s) and was told that vaudeville star Al Jolson or Frick and Frack were drinking a pint, that would have gotten an apathetic shrug from me too.
posted by dr_dank at 10:39 AM on October 3, 2021
Unless you’re that weird kid in school that listens to your grandparents record collection, none of the younger set will give a fuck. If I was in a bar in my early 20’s (late 90s-early 00s) and was told that vaudeville star Al Jolson or Frick and Frack were drinking a pint, that would have gotten an apathetic shrug from me too.
posted by dr_dank at 10:39 AM on October 3, 2021
> Imagine if you will MetaFilter 1964
Loving the concept. Excerpts:
FPP: ABC just dropped the trailer for a weird new show of with elements of comedy, the supernatural, and domestic life. Check out "Bewitched" on channel 7.
Comment: Look, they write some ok earwormy lyrics but their hair sucks. These Beetle men are just not cut out to be global stars. idk why anyone thinks a US tour would be anything other than sad cringe.
MegaThread: JFK is not even cold in his grave. Can we please not relitigate the 1960 primaries?
AskMe: I accidentally left one of those new TV dinners (the salsibury steak one) out for 2 hours and it thawed. If I cook it right now, can I still eat it?
posted by glonous keming at 10:46 AM on October 3, 2021 [28 favorites]
Loving the concept. Excerpts:
FPP: ABC just dropped the trailer for a weird new show of with elements of comedy, the supernatural, and domestic life. Check out "Bewitched" on channel 7.
Comment: Look, they write some ok earwormy lyrics but their hair sucks. These Beetle men are just not cut out to be global stars. idk why anyone thinks a US tour would be anything other than sad cringe.
MegaThread: JFK is not even cold in his grave. Can we please not relitigate the 1960 primaries?
AskMe: I accidentally left one of those new TV dinners (the salsibury steak one) out for 2 hours and it thawed. If I cook it right now, can I still eat it?
posted by glonous keming at 10:46 AM on October 3, 2021 [28 favorites]
I think most people would still recognize "Over There," by George M. Cohan
I can't tell if this is serious or a joke, but I looked up the song on YouTube and I'm pretty sure I've never heard it before, unless maybe it was background music in some old newsreel footage or something like that. Is this actually something people today would have heard of?
posted by Dip Flash at 10:53 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can't tell if this is serious or a joke, but I looked up the song on YouTube and I'm pretty sure I've never heard it before, unless maybe it was background music in some old newsreel footage or something like that. Is this actually something people today would have heard of?
posted by Dip Flash at 10:53 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
*gasp*
posted by maggiemaggie at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by maggiemaggie at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Maybe you aren't familiar with George M Cohan's music. But to me it's pretty famous and known stuff. "Give My Regards to Broadway" "Yankee Doodle Boy" (C'mon... you know Yankee Doodle Dandy, right?) etc. And I am by no means an old music buff. I'm 50, GenX.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
I don't really give a shit about younger generations not giving a shit, but a younger friend of mine never gets tired of telling people about some contemporary musician I didn't recognize in a photo and I'm pretty tired of hearing that story. So that stuff can cut both ways. (And the ageism on MetaFilter continues.)
That said, some artists reach levels of fame that means they're recognized by people who didn't grow up listening to their music. While I wouldn't recognize members of my mom's favorite band (The Ink Spots), I would totally recognize Frank Sinatra and Elvis, who, comeback special aside, was considered a has-been by my high school peers. I wouldn't think younger people would know anything about Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, but I would expect Jagger to be at the Frank Sinatra level. So I would be a little surprised by younger folks not knowing who he is - recognizing him in a bar is something else again though.
posted by FencingGal at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
I don't really give a shit about younger generations not giving a shit, but a younger friend of mine never gets tired of telling people about some contemporary musician I didn't recognize in a photo and I'm pretty tired of hearing that story. So that stuff can cut both ways. (And the ageism on MetaFilter continues.)
That said, some artists reach levels of fame that means they're recognized by people who didn't grow up listening to their music. While I wouldn't recognize members of my mom's favorite band (The Ink Spots), I would totally recognize Frank Sinatra and Elvis, who, comeback special aside, was considered a has-been by my high school peers. I wouldn't think younger people would know anything about Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, but I would expect Jagger to be at the Frank Sinatra level. So I would be a little surprised by younger folks not knowing who he is - recognizing him in a bar is something else again though.
posted by FencingGal at 11:12 AM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
If you had shown me the photo, blown up, crystal clear, with no caption, I would have said "Oh yeah, the Thirsty Beaver. Never been in there - seems like a lot of smoking. It was funny how they held out against the developers, for sure." Charlotte is definitely one of the cities where condos are going up everywhere in a three mile radius of the city center, so I imagine a lot of people got a kick out of that bar holding out. Might have been what attracted Jagger, too; it's pretty noticeably nestled in to a place that was obviously built up around it.
I'm late Gen-X-ish-Xennial-sorta. Somewhat more culturally than by age. For a white kid from semi-rural Kentucky, I was a pretty early adopter of rap (first music I bought myself was a tape of LL Cool J's Radio). I knew about the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, although people where I was from were much more into either Led Zeppelin or the 80s hair bands of the day. I had a friend in college who obsessed over Mick Jagger and patterned his own singer/songwriter aesthetic and sound after Jagger.
As far as I know I have tended to recognize famous people when I have bumped into them. Off the top of my head, the funniest two have been seeing and sorta interacting with Spike Lee at LaGuardia and (this is a much more obscure one) seeing Boris Diaw on the greenway when he played for the then-Charlotte Bobcats. Diaw was a bit infamous for being out of shape and he sped past my wife and I on a Segway with two white huskies pulling it like an Iditarod sled. I was so surprised, I chirped "It's Boris Diaw!" as he Segwayed past and he got a huge grin.
posted by Tchozz at 11:15 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm late Gen-X-ish-Xennial-sorta. Somewhat more culturally than by age. For a white kid from semi-rural Kentucky, I was a pretty early adopter of rap (first music I bought myself was a tape of LL Cool J's Radio). I knew about the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, although people where I was from were much more into either Led Zeppelin or the 80s hair bands of the day. I had a friend in college who obsessed over Mick Jagger and patterned his own singer/songwriter aesthetic and sound after Jagger.
As far as I know I have tended to recognize famous people when I have bumped into them. Off the top of my head, the funniest two have been seeing and sorta interacting with Spike Lee at LaGuardia and (this is a much more obscure one) seeing Boris Diaw on the greenway when he played for the then-Charlotte Bobcats. Diaw was a bit infamous for being out of shape and he sped past my wife and I on a Segway with two white huskies pulling it like an Iditarod sled. I was so surprised, I chirped "It's Boris Diaw!" as he Segwayed past and he got a huge grin.
posted by Tchozz at 11:15 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Analysis of this episode is perhaps complicated by the fact that, according to a 2nd-hand Twitter report, someone recognized Mick lounging on the grass in a Charlotte park on Friday evening and posted the news on.....wait for it.....Nextdoor.
posted by mediareport at 11:18 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 11:18 AM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
But really, isn't the whole point of a dive bar to not give a fuck if a Famous Person comes in? If i were the owner I'd fucking thank my regulars for not making a scene.
posted by mediareport at 11:22 AM on October 3, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 11:22 AM on October 3, 2021 [14 favorites]
(And the ageism on MetaFilter continues.)
I'm guessing the average age of Mefi regulars is closer to yours than to mine. Let's not pretend, though, that the U.S. media landscape for adults hasn't been an endless scrim of Boomer cultural self-celebration for a lonnnng time. It's been that way since thirtysomething. What's wearisome is not people loving the music and admiring the musicians of their youth, either at the time or later, it's the conviction in anyone above the age of about 25 that the music and musicians of their youth were uniquely awesome. Is anyone going to be shocked into writing an article about it that Jon Bon Jovi isn't recognized in a dive bar? Joe Strummer (RIP)? Simon LeBon? Or even Sting? Bono? (Maybe Bono, because of his post-actual-music career?) I'm not even going to pretend to ask about Chuck D. and KRS-One.
posted by praemunire at 11:30 AM on October 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
I'm guessing the average age of Mefi regulars is closer to yours than to mine. Let's not pretend, though, that the U.S. media landscape for adults hasn't been an endless scrim of Boomer cultural self-celebration for a lonnnng time. It's been that way since thirtysomething. What's wearisome is not people loving the music and admiring the musicians of their youth, either at the time or later, it's the conviction in anyone above the age of about 25 that the music and musicians of their youth were uniquely awesome. Is anyone going to be shocked into writing an article about it that Jon Bon Jovi isn't recognized in a dive bar? Joe Strummer (RIP)? Simon LeBon? Or even Sting? Bono? (Maybe Bono, because of his post-actual-music career?) I'm not even going to pretend to ask about Chuck D. and KRS-One.
posted by praemunire at 11:30 AM on October 3, 2021 [7 favorites]
QFT. The Rolling Stones peaked 55 years ago.
ummm, no.
It was 49 years ago.
posted by philip-random at 11:35 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
ummm, no.
It was 49 years ago.
posted by philip-random at 11:35 AM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Robert Frank! Great Swiss photographer who lived on Cape Breton, N.S.
This Rolling Stones really were _good_ Just plain old good.
(Coldplay never, ever made anything this solid. ...the Minute Men on the other hand...)
posted by From Bklyn at 11:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
This Rolling Stones really were _good_ Just plain old good.
(Coldplay never, ever made anything this solid. ...the Minute Men on the other hand...)
posted by From Bklyn at 11:44 AM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
METAFILTER: wants to get into a generational fight based on a headline.
posted by philip-random at 11:49 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 11:49 AM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Bono actually once shopped incognito in a bookstore I worked in, at least until the checkout person clocked him.
posted by thelonius at 12:32 PM on October 3, 2021
posted by thelonius at 12:32 PM on October 3, 2021
What's wearisome is not people loving the music and admiring the musicians of their youth, either at the time or later, it's the conviction in anyone above the age of about 25 that the music and musicians of their youth were uniquely awesome.
But that's not remotely unique to boomers, or even particularly indicative of them. Buzzfeed made their bones with endless "90s kid" posts. Douglas Coupland practically invented Generation X (and a whole career for himself--just found out that he's an officer of the Order of Canada? I didn't even know that he was Canadian) singlehandedly. And the whole concept of the Baby Boom as a distinct generation, with unique and (supposedly) positive characteristics, was invented by their parents, the so-called "Greatest Generation" (i.e. what their kids started calling them after they stopped rebelling against them and realized that they'd die someday) as a way of skillfully and profitably marketing to their own children. That tradition, fueled by weaponized nostalgia, continues; if the under-25s haven't deified the pop stars of their youth, give 'em another 5-10 years.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:55 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
But that's not remotely unique to boomers, or even particularly indicative of them. Buzzfeed made their bones with endless "90s kid" posts. Douglas Coupland practically invented Generation X (and a whole career for himself--just found out that he's an officer of the Order of Canada? I didn't even know that he was Canadian) singlehandedly. And the whole concept of the Baby Boom as a distinct generation, with unique and (supposedly) positive characteristics, was invented by their parents, the so-called "Greatest Generation" (i.e. what their kids started calling them after they stopped rebelling against them and realized that they'd die someday) as a way of skillfully and profitably marketing to their own children. That tradition, fueled by weaponized nostalgia, continues; if the under-25s haven't deified the pop stars of their youth, give 'em another 5-10 years.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:55 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
if the under-25s haven't deified the pop stars of their youth, give 'em another 5-10 years.
or if not pop stars, it will be something else equally incomprehensible to their future children, grandchildren etc. I'm just old enough to have not first seen Star Wars as a child and to this day, wonder what the hell everybody's so excited about.
posted by philip-random at 12:59 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
or if not pop stars, it will be something else equally incomprehensible to their future children, grandchildren etc. I'm just old enough to have not first seen Star Wars as a child and to this day, wonder what the hell everybody's so excited about.
posted by philip-random at 12:59 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
I was looking at magazines in the old Elliott Bay bookstore in Pioneer Square before a Jonathan Richman concert at the OK Hotel when up walked the man himself. He aped my astonishment by going wide eyed and slack jawed with arms akimbo. I had just bought Having a Party with Jonathan Richman and remarked that I now knew two songs of his using the word arcane. He did one in concert and winked at me when he sang the word. He truly is a full service performer.
posted by y2karl at 1:07 PM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 1:07 PM on October 3, 2021 [10 favorites]
As in that was then, this is now? Oh, man, stop the presses -- I mean, printer!
posted by y2karl at 1:23 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 1:23 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
What amazes me isn't how much they might not be recognized because lack of relevance. It's how relevant the Rolling Stones (and many pop music acts of that generation) remain. Think if you were 20 years old in 1964: it would be like listening to Al Jolson and regarding him as a relevant act. Were he alive in 1964, I don't think anyone would recognize him, even though he would have been the same age as Jagger today. (Well, maybe if he was in blackface). And he was huge in his time. It's kind of weird, and maybe sad in a little way that Jagger and the Rolling Stones (and their peers) have had such a long tail. I don't think it's because of the sheer, unadulterated talent, but probably a number of factors, some of which would be interesting to explore.
Here where I live, I've seen quite a few entertainers/celebrities, almost all of you reading now would certainly recognize, in casual settings (stores, strolling about, getting something to eat, etc), even though I've ever worked in the entertainment industry. It's just not uncommon. Maybe that's why the only time I've ever seen anyone make a big deal was once, at a Subway, a drunken homeless dude made a big goofy scene when he saw Ed O'Neill ordering a sandwich, hollering and laughing, trying to shake "Al Bundy's" (as he referred to him) hand. It was kind of amusing for the staff and patrons, except for O'Neill himself, who seemed pretty uncomfortable and annoyed.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:53 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Here where I live, I've seen quite a few entertainers/celebrities, almost all of you reading now would certainly recognize, in casual settings (stores, strolling about, getting something to eat, etc), even though I've ever worked in the entertainment industry. It's just not uncommon. Maybe that's why the only time I've ever seen anyone make a big deal was once, at a Subway, a drunken homeless dude made a big goofy scene when he saw Ed O'Neill ordering a sandwich, hollering and laughing, trying to shake "Al Bundy's" (as he referred to him) hand. It was kind of amusing for the staff and patrons, except for O'Neill himself, who seemed pretty uncomfortable and annoyed.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:53 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don’t know why, but Tony Hawks doesn’t sound suitably British. Tony Hawkes works, though.
Born Anthony Gordon Hawksworth. Blighty enough for you? I suppose we could add a "-Smythe" to his surname.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Born Anthony Gordon Hawksworth. Blighty enough for you? I suppose we could add a "-Smythe" to his surname.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:58 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Oh my God you guys, I love you so much but this generational back-and-forth ... Are there not walks to take ot meals to make or friends to chat with? Really, we’re gonna fight about this?
posted by Bella Donna at 2:13 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:13 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
At the risk of starting a derail, I’m not sure that place really qualifies as a dive bar. Also, did no one at the bar actually speak to Mr. Jagger? Based on my experiences over the years, a guy with his accent at an actual dive bar in the southeast United States would stand out like a sore thumb.
posted by TedW at 2:17 PM on October 3, 2021
posted by TedW at 2:17 PM on October 3, 2021
Anthony Gordon Hawksworth is profoundly British. I stand corrected.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 3:02 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 3:02 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Surely half a century singing the blues would have equipped him with the means to, if not do an authentic American accent, at least not stand out too much in a bar in North Carolina when saying “I'll have a beer”
posted by acb at 3:03 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 3:03 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Based on my experiences over the years, a guy with his accent at an actual dive bar in the southeast United States would stand out like a sore thumb.
Oh God, he's doing an accent.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 3:19 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh God, he's doing an accent.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 3:19 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
I recently was talking to a young teen at work and noticed she was wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt. I nearly said "I saw them open for Aerosmith!" but then realized it was the least cool statement that it was possible for me to make and kept my mouth shut.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:20 PM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:20 PM on October 3, 2021 [8 favorites]
At my day-job twenty-something years ago Brian Eno literally walked past my desk and stopped to look at my Oblique Strategies deck, and I didn't realise who it was until he was getting into the lift. Because context is everything: you just don't expect your favourite musician to be standing four feet away from you when you're working late on a deadline.
posted by Hogshead at 3:20 PM on October 3, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by Hogshead at 3:20 PM on October 3, 2021 [14 favorites]
Are there not walks to take ot meals to make or friends to chat with? Really, we’re gonna fight about this?
MetaFilter:
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:57 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
MetaFilter:
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:57 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
i think you all should just shut up and listen to this
posted by pyramid termite at 4:02 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by pyramid termite at 4:02 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
There is an apocryphal story that one time when Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II was staying at Balmoral Castle, she went into the nearest town to browse through the shops. A woman said to her, "You look just like the Queen!". Her Majesty replied, "That's reassuring."
Likewise, that one day she was out walking on the land near Balmoral, with a member of her security team. The land was open to members of the public and a couple of ramblers passed by and they stopped and all got chatting. Eventually conversation turned to the proximity of Balmoral and one of the ramblers asked the friendly lady "Have you met the Queen?" she smiled, nodded at her security man and said: "No, but he has."
posted by penguin pie at 4:07 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Likewise, that one day she was out walking on the land near Balmoral, with a member of her security team. The land was open to members of the public and a couple of ramblers passed by and they stopped and all got chatting. Eventually conversation turned to the proximity of Balmoral and one of the ramblers asked the friendly lady "Have you met the Queen?" she smiled, nodded at her security man and said: "No, but he has."
posted by penguin pie at 4:07 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
The fact that this conversation is about popular music recording stars and not Youtube or TikTok stars says something about our age demographic in and of itself. I'm not interested in arguing generational differences (or generational anything, really), but am fascinated by how cultural frames of reference shift, and that whole chunks of the population can be perceptually blind to the perspectives of other chunks, in all directions.
I think most people would still recognize "Over There," by George M. Cohan
Not in my experience. I sat in front of a room of 18/19-year-old students around five years ago and made my last ever Beatles reference as a teacher, after one was met with blank stares. So I asked who knew the music of the Beatles, and one single hand went up in the back; most of the students had never even heard of the band (that they could recall). I even have to ask about folk music now, because decades of cutting music in schools, especially elementary schools, means that many of my students don't even know (formerly common) folk tunes.
posted by LooseFilter at 4:45 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
I think most people would still recognize "Over There," by George M. Cohan
Not in my experience. I sat in front of a room of 18/19-year-old students around five years ago and made my last ever Beatles reference as a teacher, after one was met with blank stares. So I asked who knew the music of the Beatles, and one single hand went up in the back; most of the students had never even heard of the band (that they could recall). I even have to ask about folk music now, because decades of cutting music in schools, especially elementary schools, means that many of my students don't even know (formerly common) folk tunes.
posted by LooseFilter at 4:45 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
I don't know where Kids Today would hear the Beatles unless a friend or relative deliberately put them on or they got curious and looked them up.
Their music is famously too expensive to license for TV and movies, and they're not really on playlists that you'd hear in public or even on oldies radio much the way they were in say the 90s.
posted by smelendez at 5:08 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Their music is famously too expensive to license for TV and movies, and they're not really on playlists that you'd hear in public or even on oldies radio much the way they were in say the 90s.
posted by smelendez at 5:08 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm not even going to pretend to ask about Chuck D. and KRS-One.
Hilariously, here's an interview with Chuck D on the AARP website (with a photo), from two years ago, when he was 59.
He just looks like some guy. If he was in front of me in line at 7-11 or something, I'm not sure I would recognize him in that context. Even his speaking voice probably wouldn't tip me off. I think someone could say "hey, that's Chuck D" over there – and I would say "eh, he kinda looks like Chuck D – but nahhh".
Here are what appear to be some recent photos of KRS (56). He's a little more distinctive – but, again, if I wasn't expecting to see a titan of hip-hop's golden age at IKEA or wherever, I could easily walk right past him.
(I have no particular point to make. praemunire's comment simply had me wondering – huh, what would I do I saw Chuck D at the salad bar? And the answer is "nothing", apparently.)
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:15 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Hilariously, here's an interview with Chuck D on the AARP website (with a photo), from two years ago, when he was 59.
He just looks like some guy. If he was in front of me in line at 7-11 or something, I'm not sure I would recognize him in that context. Even his speaking voice probably wouldn't tip me off. I think someone could say "hey, that's Chuck D" over there – and I would say "eh, he kinda looks like Chuck D – but nahhh".
Here are what appear to be some recent photos of KRS (56). He's a little more distinctive – but, again, if I wasn't expecting to see a titan of hip-hop's golden age at IKEA or wherever, I could easily walk right past him.
(I have no particular point to make. praemunire's comment simply had me wondering – huh, what would I do I saw Chuck D at the salad bar? And the answer is "nothing", apparently.)
posted by escape from the potato planet at 5:15 PM on October 3, 2021 [3 favorites]
Speaking of celebrities going unrecognized, there's that story - perhaps apocryphal - of when Darth Vader had a bit of trouble in the Death Star canteen.
posted by PhineasGage at 5:32 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 5:32 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
i remember watching james cagney in "yankee doodle dandy" on tv when i was a kid, so yeah, george m cohan is something i remember well
i listened to old music and the swing era a lot before i got into rock n roll and never really lost interest in it - my dad had 78s by billy murray and caruso - that's going way back
you're missing a lot if you don't check the old stuff out
posted by pyramid termite at 5:37 PM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
i listened to old music and the swing era a lot before i got into rock n roll and never really lost interest in it - my dad had 78s by billy murray and caruso - that's going way back
you're missing a lot if you don't check the old stuff out
posted by pyramid termite at 5:37 PM on October 3, 2021 [5 favorites]
i remember watching james cagney in "yankee doodle dandy" on tv when i was a kid, so yeah, george m cohan is something i remember well
Yeah! I saw that on the Turner Classic channel Busby Berkley festival and it was amazing!
posted by ovvl at 6:19 PM on October 3, 2021
Yeah! I saw that on the Turner Classic channel Busby Berkley festival and it was amazing!
posted by ovvl at 6:19 PM on October 3, 2021
The fact that this conversation is about popular music recording stars and not Youtube or TikTok stars says something about our age demographic in and of itself.
Many years ago I was walking towards a concert hall and fell in with a group of teenage girls who were going to the same place (we were all kind of lost, we were going to different shows). Suddenly they went absolutely apeshit over a guy getting out of a taxi with friends, and he very politely allowed them to take selfies with him, but I kept moving on, thinking he was some pop star because of the grace with which he was handling the situation but not really interested. They caught up with me and wondered why I didn't want to get a selfie with him, and one of them said "She probably doesn't know show he is!' and I said no, who is he? And they excitedly told me he had a really cool Instagram account where he posted funny sayings over pictures of himself.
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:30 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
Many years ago I was walking towards a concert hall and fell in with a group of teenage girls who were going to the same place (we were all kind of lost, we were going to different shows). Suddenly they went absolutely apeshit over a guy getting out of a taxi with friends, and he very politely allowed them to take selfies with him, but I kept moving on, thinking he was some pop star because of the grace with which he was handling the situation but not really interested. They caught up with me and wondered why I didn't want to get a selfie with him, and one of them said "She probably doesn't know show he is!' and I said no, who is he? And they excitedly told me he had a really cool Instagram account where he posted funny sayings over pictures of himself.
posted by maggiemaggie at 6:30 PM on October 3, 2021 [6 favorites]
I went to see the Rolling Stones, even though they were ancient and well past their prime.... 30 years ago. Incredible that they are still touring. I remember realizing back then that those guys, old as they were, moved around more in that 90 mins than I usually did all day.
posted by chaz at 6:40 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by chaz at 6:40 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
At various points, it seems, Jagger has said he’d rather be dead than singing “Satisfaction” when he is 40 (or 45, depending on the source).
Jagger turned 40 in mid-1983, the same summer that, e.g. Mika and Amy Winehouse (and Mila Kunis and Chris Hemsworth and Adam Driver) were born.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:21 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jagger turned 40 in mid-1983, the same summer that, e.g. Mika and Amy Winehouse (and Mila Kunis and Chris Hemsworth and Adam Driver) were born.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:21 PM on October 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Most boomer thing I've read in this thread yet.
I know people in their 30s who are still self described fans of coldplay and maroon 5. Can you name other musical acts that were and are still really popular with millenials that nobody under 25 likes?
Its a genuine question and a lot harder than it seems outside of boy bands.
posted by zymil at 10:02 PM on October 3, 2021
I know people in their 30s who are still self described fans of coldplay and maroon 5. Can you name other musical acts that were and are still really popular with millenials that nobody under 25 likes?
Its a genuine question and a lot harder than it seems outside of boy bands.
posted by zymil at 10:02 PM on October 3, 2021
Can you name other musical acts that were and are still really popular with millenials that nobody under 25 likes?
Weezer?
posted by kdar at 10:30 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Weezer?
posted by kdar at 10:30 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
Radiohead.
posted by smelendez at 10:34 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by smelendez at 10:34 PM on October 3, 2021 [4 favorites]
people who paid money to see the show, actual fans, did not recognize him
pretty hard on the rolling stones to talk like there's no such thing as an actual actual fan of their music who'd be excited to hear them play, whether or not they paste constantly updated magazine photo spreads on their bedroom walls to kiss before they go to sleep at night.
I mean, I'm not saying anybody does care about their music now or ever did, but it would be kind to pretend. they think they're a band of some kind. at least, that's what I've heard.
meanwhile, pretty hard on the regular people of the world to talk like you can tell they didn't recognize someone because they, being total strangers to the recognized party, didn't approach, bother & harass them due to not being personally acquainted with them. we called that behavior "polite" and "normal" back in my day. which was, let me count up on my fingers, several centuries ago.
we knew what was what
posted by queenofbithynia at 10:49 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
pretty hard on the rolling stones to talk like there's no such thing as an actual actual fan of their music who'd be excited to hear them play, whether or not they paste constantly updated magazine photo spreads on their bedroom walls to kiss before they go to sleep at night.
I mean, I'm not saying anybody does care about their music now or ever did, but it would be kind to pretend. they think they're a band of some kind. at least, that's what I've heard.
meanwhile, pretty hard on the regular people of the world to talk like you can tell they didn't recognize someone because they, being total strangers to the recognized party, didn't approach, bother & harass them due to not being personally acquainted with them. we called that behavior "polite" and "normal" back in my day. which was, let me count up on my fingers, several centuries ago.
we knew what was what
posted by queenofbithynia at 10:49 PM on October 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Jagger turned 40 in mid-1983...
Ha, I saw the Stones in 1982 at the Kingdome, so he was still in his 30s then. They were touring Tattoo You. But better than that, I saw them at the Coliseum in 1972, when they were touring Exiles on Main Street, which to me was their last great album. Jagger had on eye liner which extended from the outside corners of his eyes into these sideways silver commas that you could see from the back rows with your naked eyes. Where we were thanks to my friends who could never be ontime. And Jagger was still in his 20s and on fire -- what a show that was. Plus we had binoculars.
One thing I learned over the years is go alone -- unless with someone who will follow suit -- go very early and be prepared to wait and wait so as to be able to stand next to the stage. Which is how I go whenever Jonathan Richman comes to town -- the last time I saw him at the Crocodile, I was fifth person back from the ropeline to their ballroom. When he and Tommy Larkin came in, he said 'Hey, I know you!' and thanked me from the stage for the CDs I had given him -- which I always do (I know his tastes).
From all that and the show itself, I was filled with helium that night and the next day and the day thereafter.
posted by y2karl at 12:55 AM on October 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
Ha, I saw the Stones in 1982 at the Kingdome, so he was still in his 30s then. They were touring Tattoo You. But better than that, I saw them at the Coliseum in 1972, when they were touring Exiles on Main Street, which to me was their last great album. Jagger had on eye liner which extended from the outside corners of his eyes into these sideways silver commas that you could see from the back rows with your naked eyes. Where we were thanks to my friends who could never be ontime. And Jagger was still in his 20s and on fire -- what a show that was. Plus we had binoculars.
One thing I learned over the years is go alone -- unless with someone who will follow suit -- go very early and be prepared to wait and wait so as to be able to stand next to the stage. Which is how I go whenever Jonathan Richman comes to town -- the last time I saw him at the Crocodile, I was fifth person back from the ropeline to their ballroom. When he and Tommy Larkin came in, he said 'Hey, I know you!' and thanked me from the stage for the CDs I had given him -- which I always do (I know his tastes).
From all that and the show itself, I was filled with helium that night and the next day and the day thereafter.
posted by y2karl at 12:55 AM on October 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
I love how Americans describe what we in Ireland\UK would think looks like a great little pub as a 'dive bar'.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:56 AM on October 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:56 AM on October 4, 2021 [5 favorites]
Suddenly they went absolutely apeshit over a guy getting out of a taxi with friends
There was a guy in my high school who was really good looking, and he also looked way older than he was. Like he could pass for 21 when he was 15. He entered a phase of bleached hair, mod clothes, that kind of thing. In this period, his girlfriend wanted to see Adam Ant, and he took her there. Well some girls seated nearby decided that he was Billy Idol, who he did kind of resemble at that time, and word spread and there was a mob scene, like he had to be hustled out of the civic center with his jacket over his head. He said it was terrifying, it was like some Stephen King version of Beatlemania and he thought he was going to die.
posted by thelonius at 5:12 AM on October 4, 2021 [7 favorites]
There was a guy in my high school who was really good looking, and he also looked way older than he was. Like he could pass for 21 when he was 15. He entered a phase of bleached hair, mod clothes, that kind of thing. In this period, his girlfriend wanted to see Adam Ant, and he took her there. Well some girls seated nearby decided that he was Billy Idol, who he did kind of resemble at that time, and word spread and there was a mob scene, like he had to be hustled out of the civic center with his jacket over his head. He said it was terrifying, it was like some Stephen King version of Beatlemania and he thought he was going to die.
posted by thelonius at 5:12 AM on October 4, 2021 [7 favorites]
Which can you imagine looking like someone famous and not knowing it?
It's entirely possible that I look unsettlingly like an older version of Bl0rpy or Ernest the Fishmonger or whoever the kids these days like and yet am totally oblivious to this.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:18 AM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
It's entirely possible that I look unsettlingly like an older version of Bl0rpy or Ernest the Fishmonger or whoever the kids these days like and yet am totally oblivious to this.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:18 AM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
I love how Americans describe what we in Ireland\UK would think looks like a great little pub as a 'dive bar'.
Oh, anything will do. People talk about ordering, I don't know, bitters, at the "dive bar". If you tried that in an actual old man bar........yeah, no.
posted by thelonius at 6:30 AM on October 4, 2021
Oh, anything will do. People talk about ordering, I don't know, bitters, at the "dive bar". If you tried that in an actual old man bar........yeah, no.
posted by thelonius at 6:30 AM on October 4, 2021
From all that and the show itself, I was filled with helium that night and the next day and the day thereafter.
You mean your voice got really squeaky for two and a half days? That is... odd.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:34 AM on October 4, 2021
You mean your voice got really squeaky for two and a half days? That is... odd.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:34 AM on October 4, 2021
Is this something I'd need facial recognition skills to understand?
There are probably 10 living celebrities I'd stand a chance at recognizing out of context. The story I find incomprehensible is the one Ben Harper tells about spending a couple of hours on Haight Street, at the height of his popularity, singing and playing songs from his own albums, getting multiple compliments from passers by about the music, and not being recognized by anyone.
posted by eotvos at 6:36 AM on October 4, 2021
There are probably 10 living celebrities I'd stand a chance at recognizing out of context. The story I find incomprehensible is the one Ben Harper tells about spending a couple of hours on Haight Street, at the height of his popularity, singing and playing songs from his own albums, getting multiple compliments from passers by about the music, and not being recognized by anyone.
posted by eotvos at 6:36 AM on October 4, 2021
Well some girls seated nearby decided that he was Billy Idol, who he did kind of resemble at that time,
Five years ago this week I was in New York where my daughter and my mom had gone to see Hamilton. I met up with them in Times Square and for reasons we decided to have dinner at the Olive Garden there (Olive Gardens have been largely gone from Canada for 25 years now and my daughter had never been to one).
My daughter mentioned to the waitress why we were in town and the waitress hauled over one of her colleagues who bore a notable resemblance to Lin-Manuel Miranda. It wasn’t uncanny or anything but enough to make one do a doubletake and scrutinize him more closely. The guy said the previous couple of years had been a little unusual for him. It took him a while to work out why people in the subway were gawking at him and taking surreptitious cell phone photos.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:43 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Five years ago this week I was in New York where my daughter and my mom had gone to see Hamilton. I met up with them in Times Square and for reasons we decided to have dinner at the Olive Garden there (Olive Gardens have been largely gone from Canada for 25 years now and my daughter had never been to one).
My daughter mentioned to the waitress why we were in town and the waitress hauled over one of her colleagues who bore a notable resemblance to Lin-Manuel Miranda. It wasn’t uncanny or anything but enough to make one do a doubletake and scrutinize him more closely. The guy said the previous couple of years had been a little unusual for him. It took him a while to work out why people in the subway were gawking at him and taking surreptitious cell phone photos.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:43 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's entirely possible that I look unsettlingly like an older version of Bl0rpy or Ernest the Fishmonger or whoever the kids these days like and yet am totally oblivious to this.
If you are oblivious you don't. What I was getting at is anyone who looks like a well known person is going to know because people will constantly be telling them they do in the same way people can't seem to help telling tall people they are tall.
posted by Mitheral at 6:47 AM on October 4, 2021
If you are oblivious you don't. What I was getting at is anyone who looks like a well known person is going to know because people will constantly be telling them they do in the same way people can't seem to help telling tall people they are tall.
posted by Mitheral at 6:47 AM on October 4, 2021
You mean your voice got really squeaky for two and a half days? That is... odd.
Anyone checked to see if y2karl is Hynerian? Maybe he just had a bad burrito.
posted by Mitheral at 6:51 AM on October 4, 2021
(Then again, Bowie supposedly had the ability to walk around NYC without a disguise, one of his many powers.)
New Yorkers take a measure of pride in the ethic of not bothering celebrities. He had the ability to walk around precisely because everyone recognized him and then did the New York thing of pointedly ignoring him.
posted by ocschwar at 6:53 AM on October 4, 2021 [4 favorites]
New Yorkers take a measure of pride in the ethic of not bothering celebrities. He had the ability to walk around precisely because everyone recognized him and then did the New York thing of pointedly ignoring him.
posted by ocschwar at 6:53 AM on October 4, 2021 [4 favorites]
I can't find the piece now where someone was walking with Bowie and claimed to witness him being able to turn being recognized on and off at will. But here's a piece where he talks about his relationship with NYC, and an amusing bit from the Onion.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:11 AM on October 4, 2021
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:11 AM on October 4, 2021
I think that was an article about Robert Redford, written in the 70s? I can't find it now either, but I distinctly remember the journalist walking with him to be amazed how Redford could "turn it on" and people would recognize him, and then turn it off and be unseen by the crowd.
posted by wuwei at 7:19 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by wuwei at 7:19 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Maybe the real stealth celebrity is the article written about them on the way.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:44 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:44 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's kind of weird, and maybe sad in a little way that Jagger and the Rolling Stones (and their peers) have had such a long tail.
I mean, Bob Mould wrote "Granny Cool" about the Stones and their ilk back in 1994, and here Bob is, 60 years old and still roaring onstage like it's 1984. As a musician who is also aging, I wouldn't want to be exempted from doing the thing I love on principle either, even if it doesn't jibe with principles I once held at 20 or 30 or 40. I might begrudge the Stones their wealth, but that's just because I begrudge individual wealth on that scale altogether.
posted by mykescipark at 8:20 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
I mean, Bob Mould wrote "Granny Cool" about the Stones and their ilk back in 1994, and here Bob is, 60 years old and still roaring onstage like it's 1984. As a musician who is also aging, I wouldn't want to be exempted from doing the thing I love on principle either, even if it doesn't jibe with principles I once held at 20 or 30 or 40. I might begrudge the Stones their wealth, but that's just because I begrudge individual wealth on that scale altogether.
posted by mykescipark at 8:20 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
I can’t think of many things worse than being so famous you literally can’t go out in public without being surrounded by a swarm of people.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:25 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 8:25 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
I was sitting with friends at a sushi bar when Robin Williams and his son came in and were seated next to us. We studiously ignored him (as did everyone else in the restaurant), until my friends' young son started to get fussy and a bit loud. Robin Williams looked over, smiled, and immediately put on a show: napkin over his hand as a puppet, talking right at the boy in funny voices ("Oh, you aren't happy with that eel!"), making manic faces. The boy was so stunned he didn't even laugh, although every one of us adults did. But the kid did stop fussing. Then Robin Williams stopped and turned back to his own son before we could even mouth "thank you," so we sheepishly continued to ignore him for the rest of the evening.
posted by PhineasGage at 8:25 AM on October 4, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 8:25 AM on October 4, 2021 [6 favorites]
This happens to Tony Hawk fairly frequently.
Is it possible that Mick Jagger is really good at skateboarding?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:36 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Is it possible that Mick Jagger is really good at skateboarding?
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:36 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Paul McCartney used to say that if anyone bothered him in the street, he simply walked rapidly away. Ian Dury once explained on a chat show that this was all very well for Macca, but added that if he tried to follow suit, his leg brace meant he'd immediately fall over. No doubt he found other solutions of his own.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:35 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 9:35 AM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
Boomers' unwillingness to recognize that younger generations don't tend to give a shit about the Stones or the Beatles is an unending source of cringe.
As some old boomer song by some dumb band named the Beatles goes: "you'll be older too..."
posted by treepour at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
As some old boomer song by some dumb band named the Beatles goes: "you'll be older too..."
posted by treepour at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
"Will you still need me, will you still feed me / When I'm sixty-four..."
posted by PhineasGage at 9:52 AM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 9:52 AM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
I am not Hynerian. But I am a big fan of Claudia Black.
posted by y2karl at 10:24 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by y2karl at 10:24 AM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't know where Kids Today would hear the Beatles unless a friend or relative deliberately put them on or they got curious and looked them up.
You'd be surprised. Kids Today have access to virtually all of the pop culture that has ever existed, through a variety of streaming services (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). My 13-year-old daughter was playing me her current playlist the other day, and it included "Eleanor Rigby" (a Beatles song, for those of you who don't give a shit about old music) and Ben Folds' "Rockin' the Suburbs" alongside Harry Styles and bunch of new stuff I don't know. Her bestie at school is also getting her into early-60s singers like Lesley Gore.
While most of us older folks formed their cultural or generational personalities around whatever was on the radio when we were teenagers, today's kids can literally listen to whatever they want from any time period.
The kids are alright.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 12:09 PM on October 4, 2021 [8 favorites]
You'd be surprised. Kids Today have access to virtually all of the pop culture that has ever existed, through a variety of streaming services (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). My 13-year-old daughter was playing me her current playlist the other day, and it included "Eleanor Rigby" (a Beatles song, for those of you who don't give a shit about old music) and Ben Folds' "Rockin' the Suburbs" alongside Harry Styles and bunch of new stuff I don't know. Her bestie at school is also getting her into early-60s singers like Lesley Gore.
While most of us older folks formed their cultural or generational personalities around whatever was on the radio when we were teenagers, today's kids can literally listen to whatever they want from any time period.
The kids are alright.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 12:09 PM on October 4, 2021 [8 favorites]
Folk singer Christine Lavin on meeting Harrison Ford
posted by mikelieman at 3:06 PM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by mikelieman at 3:06 PM on October 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
I met a UK coworker who had never heard of the Beatles...in London. It doesn't surprise me that he was able to go incognito like this...dude is wearing a ball cap and doesn't look like a rock star in this photo.
I am Gen X, so the boomer/millenial back and forth is entertaining. The Stones have been performing live since the 1960's...very few bands can claim that kind of longevity, and even so, comparing them to, say, Al Jolsen is kind of pointless. My point being, even if you're under 25, you can still purchase a ticket to one of their shows, so regardless of how big Rod Stewart was in the late 70's/early 80's, not a lot of the kids today will even know who that is...he's not in the zeitgeist still. The Stones, however, are still relevant and selling out stadiums, so the odds of them being at least known by a music lover is pretty high. Instagram influencers, or Tik Tok stars, are fleeting. In 20 years, most of them will be vanished into the ether. Good luck finding any of that content anywhere...it's designed to be throwaway.
posted by Chuffy at 3:32 PM on October 4, 2021
I am Gen X, so the boomer/millenial back and forth is entertaining. The Stones have been performing live since the 1960's...very few bands can claim that kind of longevity, and even so, comparing them to, say, Al Jolsen is kind of pointless. My point being, even if you're under 25, you can still purchase a ticket to one of their shows, so regardless of how big Rod Stewart was in the late 70's/early 80's, not a lot of the kids today will even know who that is...he's not in the zeitgeist still. The Stones, however, are still relevant and selling out stadiums, so the odds of them being at least known by a music lover is pretty high. Instagram influencers, or Tik Tok stars, are fleeting. In 20 years, most of them will be vanished into the ether. Good luck finding any of that content anywhere...it's designed to be throwaway.
posted by Chuffy at 3:32 PM on October 4, 2021
I can’t think of many things worse than being so famous you literally can’t go out in public without being surrounded by a swarm of people.
This footage of Kate Moss being swarmed by paparazzi at LAX just makes my blood boil.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:36 PM on October 4, 2021
This footage of Kate Moss being swarmed by paparazzi at LAX just makes my blood boil.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:36 PM on October 4, 2021
I know people in their 30s who are still self described fans of coldplay and maroon 5. Can you name other musical acts that were and are still really popular with millenials that nobody under 25 likes?
I'm in my thirties and know zero such people. Maybe they were, to use a boomer phrase, pulling your leg? Coldplay and Maroon 5 is the kind of muzak you hear as background music in CVS because it doesn't offend the olds in any way.
Under 25? I think for people under 40 that cultural pop stars on the level of Boomer's half-century-plus infatuation with the Stones no longer exist at all. It's because we grew up with the internet and not 3 radio stations and 2 TV channels. There is no cultural touchstone that sums up "millennials", much less the younger kids these days, in the way your undying love for Jagger does for you and your generation.
And that's why we think this whole thing is hilarious.
posted by bradbane at 5:55 PM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm in my thirties and know zero such people. Maybe they were, to use a boomer phrase, pulling your leg? Coldplay and Maroon 5 is the kind of muzak you hear as background music in CVS because it doesn't offend the olds in any way.
Under 25? I think for people under 40 that cultural pop stars on the level of Boomer's half-century-plus infatuation with the Stones no longer exist at all. It's because we grew up with the internet and not 3 radio stations and 2 TV channels. There is no cultural touchstone that sums up "millennials", much less the younger kids these days, in the way your undying love for Jagger does for you and your generation.
And that's why we think this whole thing is hilarious.
posted by bradbane at 5:55 PM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
Weezer?
Weezer is actually so popular on alt tiktok that it has been a meme a couple times. When they started playing shows again this summer teens would film themselves standing near the stage ironically enjoying Weezer.
Radiohead.
Radiohead is also very popular with teens and twenty somethings. There's a creep femcel meme that was huge last year.
I'm in my thirties and know zero such people. Maybe they were, to use a boomer phrase, pulling your leg? Coldplay and Maroon 5 is the kind of muzak you hear as background music in CVS because it doesn't offend the olds in any way.
They've gone to concerts, so if they're pulling my leg its a good joke I wish I was in on.
posted by zymil at 6:08 PM on October 4, 2021
Weezer is actually so popular on alt tiktok that it has been a meme a couple times. When they started playing shows again this summer teens would film themselves standing near the stage ironically enjoying Weezer.
Radiohead.
Radiohead is also very popular with teens and twenty somethings. There's a creep femcel meme that was huge last year.
I'm in my thirties and know zero such people. Maybe they were, to use a boomer phrase, pulling your leg? Coldplay and Maroon 5 is the kind of muzak you hear as background music in CVS because it doesn't offend the olds in any way.
They've gone to concerts, so if they're pulling my leg its a good joke I wish I was in on.
posted by zymil at 6:08 PM on October 4, 2021
I'm in my thirties and know zero such people.
Find a karaoke box full of thirtysomethings and you will find those semi-earnest renditions of “Moves Like Jagger”.
Of course, whenever I do karaoke, I make sure to put on “Mr Brightside” and “Bring Me to Life” at the same time.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:56 PM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
Find a karaoke box full of thirtysomethings and you will find those semi-earnest renditions of “Moves Like Jagger”.
Of course, whenever I do karaoke, I make sure to put on “Mr Brightside” and “Bring Me to Life” at the same time.
posted by betweenthebars at 6:56 PM on October 4, 2021 [1 favorite]
"Hey, isn't that Charlie Watts' singer?"
posted by Paul Slade at 11:58 PM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Paul Slade at 11:58 PM on October 4, 2021 [3 favorites]
New Yorkers take a measure of pride in the ethic of not bothering celebrities. [Bowie] had the ability to walk around precisely because everyone recognized him and then did the New York thing of pointedly ignoring him.
It's true. I saw him several times in the 90s and early 00s when I lived in Manhattan: Walking down the street near his apartment, at a Franz Ferdinand show at Roseland, at a Supergrass show at Webster Hall, playing with his daughter at a Greenwich Village playground when she would've been 2 or 3. And if the stories about him popping up at indie concerts with his assistant/friend Coco Schwab are true, then I also was at shows for Arcade Fire at United Palace Theater, and for Sigur Ros and Godspeed! You Black Emperor at Bowery Ballroom that he also attended.
The one celebrity I saw ALL THE TIME when I went to shows at Bowery Ballroom was David Byrne. One night as a friend and I were leaving a Prefuse 73 show, we saw him and I jokingly said in what I thought was only loud enough for my friend to hear, "Good night, David!" He looked around, saw me and said, "Good night!" and biked away. I'm still a little embarrassed by that.
I saw that Mick photo. I would leave him alone if I saw him at the bar. That's just manners.
posted by droplet at 9:57 AM on October 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
It's true. I saw him several times in the 90s and early 00s when I lived in Manhattan: Walking down the street near his apartment, at a Franz Ferdinand show at Roseland, at a Supergrass show at Webster Hall, playing with his daughter at a Greenwich Village playground when she would've been 2 or 3. And if the stories about him popping up at indie concerts with his assistant/friend Coco Schwab are true, then I also was at shows for Arcade Fire at United Palace Theater, and for Sigur Ros and Godspeed! You Black Emperor at Bowery Ballroom that he also attended.
The one celebrity I saw ALL THE TIME when I went to shows at Bowery Ballroom was David Byrne. One night as a friend and I were leaving a Prefuse 73 show, we saw him and I jokingly said in what I thought was only loud enough for my friend to hear, "Good night, David!" He looked around, saw me and said, "Good night!" and biked away. I'm still a little embarrassed by that.
I saw that Mick photo. I would leave him alone if I saw him at the bar. That's just manners.
posted by droplet at 9:57 AM on October 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
What amazes me isn't how much they might not be recognized because lack of relevance. It's how relevant the Rolling Stones (and many pop music acts of that generation) remain.
Not uncommonly, I see twenty-something students wearing Stones or Pink Floyd or The Who t shirts and I'm always struck by the persistance of musical brands that their grandparents would've been acquainted with. I listened to the Stones, etc, when I was in my 20s, but I can't imagine buying a Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey t-shirt. I suppose—who knows?—that may have less to do with the current popularity of those bands, than the fact that their names have just become sort of free-floating signifiers, identifying simply, "band."
I don't know if I would've recognized Jagger or not. I was once in a small bar with Kevin Bacon and never knew it until afterwards.
posted by a Rrose by any other name at 10:48 AM on October 5, 2021
Not uncommonly, I see twenty-something students wearing Stones or Pink Floyd or The Who t shirts and I'm always struck by the persistance of musical brands that their grandparents would've been acquainted with. I listened to the Stones, etc, when I was in my 20s, but I can't imagine buying a Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey t-shirt. I suppose—who knows?—that may have less to do with the current popularity of those bands, than the fact that their names have just become sort of free-floating signifiers, identifying simply, "band."
I don't know if I would've recognized Jagger or not. I was once in a small bar with Kevin Bacon and never knew it until afterwards.
posted by a Rrose by any other name at 10:48 AM on October 5, 2021
The advent of streaming music changed everything. When folks over 40 were growing up we could listen only to music 1. that was on the radio, 2. that our parents owned, or 3. that we bought. Now the kids have access to an infinite jukebox of nearly all recorded music.
Although I hate to admit it, because of this availability many of 'em have more eclectic, sophisticated, open-minded tastes than I did when I was their age, let alone now. Whether that extends to visually recognizing musicians is another issue entirely.
posted by PhineasGage at 11:14 AM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
Although I hate to admit it, because of this availability many of 'em have more eclectic, sophisticated, open-minded tastes than I did when I was their age, let alone now. Whether that extends to visually recognizing musicians is another issue entirely.
posted by PhineasGage at 11:14 AM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
Think if you were 20 years old in 1964: it would be like listening to Al Jolson and regarding him as a relevant act.
Whereas listening as a 20 year old to Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven in 1964 and regarding him as relevant for that alone would be evidence that you appreciated true greatness.
posted by y2karl at 11:25 AM on October 5, 2021
Whereas listening as a 20 year old to Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven in 1964 and regarding him as relevant for that alone would be evidence that you appreciated true greatness.
posted by y2karl at 11:25 AM on October 5, 2021
their names have just become sort of free-floating signifiers, identifying simply, "band."
There's a lot of truth in that, I think. Every time I see someone under 40 wearing a Ramones T-shirt, I want to grab them by the shoulders and demand they name six of the band's songs. But of course, it's just the shirt's presidential seal design that they like.
Similarly, Che Guevara T-shirts no longer indicate any knowledge of who he actually was - simply a vague wish by the user to to associate themselves with the idea of youthful rebellion. The Stones and Who logos still seem to carry that connotation too, no matter how dull and irrelevant the surviving musicians from those bands have actually become. They're just another bit of corporate branding now, selling themselves on a message that boils down to"I like raucous fun".
posted by Paul Slade at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
There's a lot of truth in that, I think. Every time I see someone under 40 wearing a Ramones T-shirt, I want to grab them by the shoulders and demand they name six of the band's songs. But of course, it's just the shirt's presidential seal design that they like.
Similarly, Che Guevara T-shirts no longer indicate any knowledge of who he actually was - simply a vague wish by the user to to associate themselves with the idea of youthful rebellion. The Stones and Who logos still seem to carry that connotation too, no matter how dull and irrelevant the surviving musicians from those bands have actually become. They're just another bit of corporate branding now, selling themselves on a message that boils down to"I like raucous fun".
posted by Paul Slade at 11:29 AM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
New Yorkers take a measure of pride in the ethic of not bothering celebrities. [Bowie] had the ability to walk around precisely because everyone recognized him and then did the New York thing of pointedly ignoring him.
Also true in London. Getting excited about seeing a famous person is uncool.
posted by atrazine at 12:52 PM on October 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also true in London. Getting excited about seeing a famous person is uncool.
posted by atrazine at 12:52 PM on October 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Maybe you aren't familiar with George M Cohan's music. But to me it's pretty famous and known stuff. "Give My Regards to Broadway" "Yankee Doodle Boy" (C'mon... you know Yankee Doodle Dandy, right?) etc. And I am by no means an old music buff. I'm 50, GenX.
40s, not an old music buff, and I only vaguely know these songs because of how often they were used in the Looney Tunes cartoons of my youth. (Which I only watched because my parents were purists about childhood TV and forbade the actual popular cartoons.) I see no context in which my niblings (ages 5 and 8) would ever hear these songs--they're certainly not being sampled by Paw Patrol or what have you.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:15 PM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
40s, not an old music buff, and I only vaguely know these songs because of how often they were used in the Looney Tunes cartoons of my youth. (Which I only watched because my parents were purists about childhood TV and forbade the actual popular cartoons.) I see no context in which my niblings (ages 5 and 8) would ever hear these songs--they're certainly not being sampled by Paw Patrol or what have you.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:15 PM on October 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
I met a maybe 22 year old waiter last night wearing a radiohead shirt I bought at a show in 2003. Asked where he got it and said he spent a ton of money on it on ebay. I told him I have all kinds of collectible shit from the Kid A/Amnesiac era (20 years ago) and he about lost his shit. I've also been hearing a lot of The Bends in stores around Brooklyn lately, so I think the kids bringing early radiohead back into rotation which is interesting and also lovely and adorable bc I was a superfan when I was their age.
posted by greta simone at 7:00 AM on October 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by greta simone at 7:00 AM on October 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Hilariously, I had an on-topic opportunity yesterday to ask around 30 undergrad students, in a Music History class, how many knew the names and/or work of Irving Berlin and George M. Cohan*. Students range in age from around 20 to mid-30s. Only 4 or 5 recognized the names of the composers, songs or shows; and maybe a third recognized any of the tunes I could think of to share. So no, younger adults are not ubiquitously aware of popular music from a hundred years ago, those songs are not in the water like they were when most in this thread were young. Great songs, yes, but not sort of "known" like they were a generation or two ago.
(Same class last week, I started to make a Beatles analogy, and stopped and asked the class how many were familiar with the music of the Beatles, and maybe five hands went up? So no more out-of-context Beatles references.)
* - (the chapter we were covering is music between the wars, 1920-40, and part of the discussion was the origins of American musical theater, and of course Berlin and Cohan came up, especially Berlin because of the compositional innovation of 32-bar form in popular song--ref. "That Mysterious Rag," 1911.)
posted by LooseFilter at 8:03 AM on October 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
(Same class last week, I started to make a Beatles analogy, and stopped and asked the class how many were familiar with the music of the Beatles, and maybe five hands went up? So no more out-of-context Beatles references.)
* - (the chapter we were covering is music between the wars, 1920-40, and part of the discussion was the origins of American musical theater, and of course Berlin and Cohan came up, especially Berlin because of the compositional innovation of 32-bar form in popular song--ref. "That Mysterious Rag," 1911.)
posted by LooseFilter at 8:03 AM on October 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Additionally one thing that occurs to me following this conversation is that, despite being for much of my life a pretty avid music listener (not really anymore tbh) and concert attender, I just don't know that much about bands. I grew up in a DEEPLY restrictive environment re: pop culture, and when I came of age and could choose my own art it was the dawn of CD ripping and Napster. I don't buy albums; I haven't seen liner notes since who knows when. I kind of missed out on the Music Video Era.
I didn't know the name "George M. Cohen" and I barely know Irving Berlin as "didn't that guy write a Christmas song?" But I knew the tunes once I googled them, because of Bugs Bunny. Similarly,I might know all the words to some 2006 song by The Sounds playing at the bar, but I don't know where The Sounds are from or who the members are or what they look like. I love Radiohead but I couldn't tell you their albums in order or pick Thom Yorke out of a lineup.
And sure, at the level of Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger or David Byrne, even I have a basic visual reference but it isn't dynamically updated, so to speak. All in all it seems entirely likely that while my ex (who was some 7 years older) would NEVER miss Mick Jagger in a bar...I totally might.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:48 AM on October 6, 2021
I didn't know the name "George M. Cohen" and I barely know Irving Berlin as "didn't that guy write a Christmas song?" But I knew the tunes once I googled them, because of Bugs Bunny. Similarly,I might know all the words to some 2006 song by The Sounds playing at the bar, but I don't know where The Sounds are from or who the members are or what they look like. I love Radiohead but I couldn't tell you their albums in order or pick Thom Yorke out of a lineup.
And sure, at the level of Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger or David Byrne, even I have a basic visual reference but it isn't dynamically updated, so to speak. All in all it seems entirely likely that while my ex (who was some 7 years older) would NEVER miss Mick Jagger in a bar...I totally might.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:48 AM on October 6, 2021
The Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh posted a nice picture of Mick, who stopped by to smell the flowers. He did a typical tourist photo standing in front of the waterfall, as one does. Big, broad smile.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on October 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:04 AM on October 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Sir Mick posted some pics of himself doing touristy things around Nashville. Walking a trail, standing in a wrecking yard, being watched by deer, standing in an empty parking lot outside the stadium.
I like this version of Mick.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:08 AM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
I like this version of Mick.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:08 AM on October 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Did the deer recognize him?
posted by InfidelZombie at 12:15 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by InfidelZombie at 12:15 PM on October 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Not all of them recognized him - only his deerest fans
posted by cynical pinnacle at 1:13 PM on October 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by cynical pinnacle at 1:13 PM on October 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
I generally believe the story as it's being told. But the cynical part of me wonders if this was all arranged. Mick Jagger's people called the bar and said "Mick Jagger wants to have a quiet beer at your bar. Tell all your staff to treat him like a regular customer, and if any patrons ask 'holy shit is that Mick Jagger?' they should reply 'nah, that's Ron, every time he comes in here someone mistakes him for Mick Jagger.' In return we'll have someone tweet out a picture of Mick at your bar and you'll get a ton of publicity."
Probably not… but maybe.
posted by Tehhund at 6:42 AM on October 17, 2021
Probably not… but maybe.
posted by Tehhund at 6:42 AM on October 17, 2021
I realize this is an old thread, but:
I think for people under 40 that cultural pop stars on the level of Boomer's half-century-plus infatuation with the Stones no longer exist at all. It's because we grew up with the internet and not 3 radio stations and 2 TV channels.
I think this is a key point. The "rock star" – or, at least, the kind of rock star exemplified by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones – seems very much a product of the technology and economics of mid-20th-century media.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:09 AM on October 18, 2021
I think for people under 40 that cultural pop stars on the level of Boomer's half-century-plus infatuation with the Stones no longer exist at all. It's because we grew up with the internet and not 3 radio stations and 2 TV channels.
I think this is a key point. The "rock star" – or, at least, the kind of rock star exemplified by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones – seems very much a product of the technology and economics of mid-20th-century media.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:09 AM on October 18, 2021
Mick posted some more pics, of him around LA, including one of him in front of a mattress shop with a mural of Mick on it.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:54 PM on October 21, 2021
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:54 PM on October 21, 2021
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posted by awfurby at 6:25 PM on October 2, 2021 [4 favorites]