Friday, August 16, 2013

Street Life

I was listening to one of my many "oldies" (or "solid gold") based audio discs recently and that 1979 hit by the Crusaders came on (among other songs of the 50s 60s 70s and 80s) and I started thinking:  You know, the "jazz crowd" are actually a pretty sleazy bunch---but they're also quite sophisticated with it at the same time.  They can be semishady, yes, but always with personality and style.  Not like the hiphoppers, punk rockers, bikers, metalheads, and cocky modern-day "rock-and-rollers" who only know how to be rude, crude, and lewd.

The "jazz crowd" are (or were) just average-to-well-educated types who have a "devious" streak or two, and who relish dabbling in the "dark corners" of life on-and-off, but with no intention of ever actually committing themselves to it.
Unlike the gangsters, punks or roughneck types who live those elements 24/7.


I myself don't enjoy frequenting "night life" places.  The false promise of living an "adult life" where one is finally free to choose how they want to live and take responsibility for deciding for themselves how they want to live, have fun, and whether or not to indulge in certain "sinful pleasures" has long worn off for me when I finally realized that "growing up" means simply trading in your parents for other "guardians" and "overseers":  the government, the police, and the business communities.
Plus I don't care for the disposition of the average surly/cocky bartenders or for the "mafia-bred" security staff, all of them silently anticipating (and seemingly almost hoping for) some kind of trouble.


Of course anything to do with sex or alcohol is automatically associated with the dark elements of life: unruliness, exploitations, violence...

When you hear or read about sexual matters it's never about someone making love to one near and dear to them.  It's always about stalking, rape, harassment, infidelity, promiscuity.

And when you hear or read about alcohol consumption it's never about, say, a retired college professor enjoying a quiet evening of Tchaikovsky, Grieg, or Bach while slowly savoring brief sips of rum-and-coke.
It's always about getting shit-faced drunk and acting wild, or rowdy redneck honkytonks, or gunfire erupting in club settings, or loud wealthy alcoholics, or rioting bikers or punk rockers or gangbangers, or about date-rape mickeys, or drunken jocks getting into brawls, or about addictions and rehab...

I don't know...I can have a beer or two myself while listening to my music alone in my apartment, and it hasn't "ruined" me yet.
 

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