About the Old Men Last Night

We watched a bit of the RNC last night, hoping to catch Donald Trump’s talk, and I couldn’t help note that the entertainers who took the stage were all old. I mean, my boys didn’t even know who Hulk Hogan was (“He’s our generation’s John Cena,” I said, but he’s more likely between John Cena and The Rock. I told them I watched the cartoon in the 1980s.

And Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” is forty years old this year.

I remember seeing him perform that song at Savvis Center in the St. Louis Blues home opener in 2001, the first game since the attacks (somehow I managed to be at Busch Stadium when it reopened in 2001, but all we got was Jack Buck reading a poem). That was twenty-three years ago.

And my beautiful wife was surprised that Kid Rock was a rapper. She was not familiar with his 1990s work.

“Bawitdaba”
“Cowboy”

“You’re more familiar with ‘Picture’,” I said, knowing that his 21st century work, the hits that have crossed over onto the country charts/radio stations, are more sung songs.

“Picture” (2002)
“All Summer Long” (2008)

Sweet Christmas, “All Summer Long” was sixteen years ago.

But my wife was not actually familiar with Kid Rock’s oevre at all. Which is to say she hasn’t listened to the radio in a long, long time. “Cowboy” and “Bawitdaba” make appearances on classic rock stations, and “Picture” and “All Summer Long” were all over The Greatest Hits of the 80s, 90s, and Today stations and country stations back when they were fresh (but I don’t hear them much anywhere now).

Still, they are all old.

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