Up next, a look back

Aging, death, the future — none of these trouble me too much. What really blows my mind, though, is that if I make it to old age, there will come a time where I recognize and can remember the heyday of every single person on the Grammys’ “In memoriam.”

So far, many of the artists featured on “In memoriam,” that glorified ad bumper, have been elderly people I’ve barely heard of, excepting the overdoses and tragedies that inevitably cut down a smattering of youthful musical artists each year.

It seems impossible that the eternally young, eternally cool, eternally fly people who make music nowadays will someday turn “classic,” not going out in a blaze of glory, but fading away because they refuse to die before they get old. Perhaps they will pop up for a lifetime achievement award, sitting there while the flavor of the month new jacks take to stage to honor the award recipient with renditions of his greatest hits.

Finally, they’ll show up “In memoriam.”

“Oh man, look at this!” I’ll say to my wife. “Wowww. Did you know so-and-so died? I remember when he was the man!”

I can accept my own mortality. But the idea that Snoop Dogg will some day drop dead and no longer be on my television saying “fa shizzle” in ads for laundry detergent? Inconceivable.

Noone’s from the old school cause rap on a whole
Isn’t even twenty years old
Fifty years down the line, you can start this
Cause we’ll be the old school artists
And even in that time, I’ll say a rhyme
A brand-new style, ruthless and wild
Runnin’ around, spendin’ money, havin’ fun
Cause even then, I’m still number one!

- KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions, “I’m Still #1″ (1988)

Filed under category glory daze and music.  [More Categories]