My mother plays the piano.
My mother plays the piano at old peoples' homes for the benefit of the residents.
My mother plays old standards--the music that was popular when the old people were young people.
This thought struck me the other morning. I am currently in the bracket mostly labeled 'young people'. (I feel like I'm hurtling toward the 'old people' bracket with a speed that can only be described as ludicrous, but never mind.) The young people bracket, as a demographic, have a certain collective taste in music. This has always been the case. Throughout history, old people haven't been satisfied unless they could turn to each other and tut and roll their eyes and moan about the rubbish the young people of the day were listening to.
So...our rubbish, yeah? What's going to happen when we're all old and gray and relegated to assisted living facilities and the nice lady who coordinates the activities thinks having someone in to play the piano for us would be nice?
I mean, can you really hear T-Swizzle's Blank Space as a solo piece? 'Cause I sure can't.
I'm sure we've got some popular music these days that will lend themselves to future singalongs at the ol' geriatric garrison, certainly, but you have to admit that most of our modern music just doesn't quite work in that sort of quaint little setting. I also don't see us all in our wheelchairs rocking out to Smashmouth's All Star while some poor high school kid who is just trying to do a bit of community service because it'll look good on his college applications tries valiantly to plunk out the bass line on a piano that hasn't been tuned in about seventeen years.
Actually, I can kind of see that. It's hilarious.
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