My Generation

At The Barbers

So I'm sitting there waiting on the sofa at the barber's and the music channel Max is playing video clips. Suddenly, it's the Who with 'My Generation' blaring out of the screen. A kid who must have been about 8 started singing along to my amazement. He knew the words, right down to "Hope I die before I get old."

Which generation are you talking about kid? I thought.I mean, it's not like Pete and Roger were able to live up to that adage.

An old geezer greying at the temples and beard was sitting across from me and his foot started tapping, his fingers started rapping the leather, and pretty soon, without much of an expression, he's grooving to Keith Moon's fills and Entwistle's bass. He looked like a Babyboomer for sure The irresistible force that is rock, right there in front of us. It all had me smiling.

Of course, I'm gen-X, so The Who shouldn't be my band, but they are. Just who's generation are we talking about again? Anyway, it figures that it's always 'my' generation for whoever identifies with the song. It's 'my' generation for whoever wants it, and it's 'my' generation for whoever plain dig the band. It's never their generation if they don't get *it*.

The  actual video was a cut-up of The Who's carer from various periods. I could see all the familiar footage from Kilburn and 'The Kids Are Alright'. Then, at the climax of the song, it became a montage of The Who smashing their equipment.

"Wow, said the boy. They're smashing their guitars!"

The barber who is an Englishman let out a laugh. Business is good for him, he's opened a second store recently.

I told the kid they used to do it all the time.

"Everyone?"

"No, just those guys."

Pretty soon, it gave way to Madonna and everything went back to banality-as-usual. You could just feel everybody in the barbershop losing interest in the screen in an instant.  ...but I think the auto-destructive act was capturing the kid's imagination already. The future is bright.