“What a drag it is getting old….”

The other day I was reading a review in Mojo of Ian Hunter’s latest album. The review was basically positive, but at the end the reviewer claimed that Hunter hadn’t quite made the record he was capable of, the kind of album that had revived the careers of other “middle-aged rockers.” I did a double-take and looked it up – Ian Hunter is 68 years old.

So have boomers redefined middle-age so that it lasts all the way to 70 now? Or are rockers not subject to the age classifications that the rest of us live with. I remember years ago sending my little brother a birthday card on his 30th birthday saying ‘welcome to middle age,’ and he scoffed at the idea that middle age began at 30. I guess I thought it was 30 until 50. Now that I’m over 50, I definitely do not feel middle aged anymore, but I always felt like an old man even when I was younger. (One of my mother’s nicknames for me was Grandpa.)

I understand that rock & roll is historically a youth-based culture, but can’t we get beyond that now that the boomers are all grown up? I’m embarrassed every time I see an aging rocker with dyed hair. There’s this huge demographic bubble of us out here. Shouldn’t we want music that reflects our experience? Nick Lowe looks and sings like a man who is the age he is, but other musicians in his age range seem to prefer taking nostalgia to the bank, even if it means a trip to the colorist every week.

Are there any signs that Generation X and its successors will do any better at this aging thing?