The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

In my younger years, I would have accused the 60s counterculture of having sold out, but as I am nearly 32 and not 17, the trite nature of such accusations are obvious. The "sell out" accusation is always one cast by 17 year olds towards people in their 30s. Evenutally, we all sell out, even if we continue to critique the systems in which we ourselves participate. When I was a kid, Nirvana was one of the most important bands in the country. When Kurt Cobain committed suicide, it was shocking and heartbreaking. We felt like we lost someone even if you were like me and thought Pearl Jam and Metallica were better and more meaningful bands or if you didn't listen to music at all. Speaking with teenagers today--not something I do all that often, by the way--I've learned that most of them don't listen to Nirvana and they think Kurt Cobain is a joke, or at least a stereotype.

It would be too easy to criticize young people for selling out as they grew older. Nirvana signed with a major record label and had post production on their number one hits while Kurt Cobain moved into a mansion in east Seattle, gave interviews to Rolling Stone and played on MTV. The only way you get more corporate is if you change your name to Styx.

What I see is the magnitude of the status quo to tempt people away from their ideals (and I'll be the first to say there are some pretty cooky ideals out there and I'm quite thankful people leave them behind) through which they find definition and meaning. It is this money driven force that demands homogeneity, but the rewards for compliance can be marvelous.

I've probably spent too much time thinking about this in the last week, but the song wouldn't get out of my head!. Sometimes I just feel like Robert the Bruce wanting to join William Wallace but who ultimately caves in to his father's will imploring that it's ok to admire such mean as Wallace but foolish to join them or think they can make a difference. Admire from a distance and you'll prosper.