Monsters of Folk in their new self-titled
album tuck it to Baby Boomers in the song
"Baby Boomer".
They are today's supergroup in the vein of the supergroups that charged up the Baby Boomers: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, for example, or the Traveling Wilburys.
And just as some music in the 1960s and '70s bemoaned the political ills of our elders, in particular the Vietnam War, so too does some of the music today take Baby Boomers who are now the elders to task.
The current supergroup Monsters of Folks has a new self-titled album that includes the song "Baby Boomer."
It picks up on a societal trend of late that scapegoats the Baby Boom generation for everything from climate change to the current recession.
See related stories:
Baby Boomers apologize to graduates
No retreat, no surrender for this Baby Boomer
To read and interpret the lyrics (I got some help on the latter from my Gen Y son David) you get the impression that "Baby Boomer" is a paean to CSNY's "Teach Your Children."
"The first verse suggests that 'we,' the generation of Baby Boomer progeny, must reevaluate what we think we know about where we came from and the state of the world today. We must gain this deeper understanding based on our own perceptions, not what we've been told by the (seemingly) wiser generation of our forebears," my Gen Y interpreter says.
"The second verse builds on this idea, reinforcing that we must rewrite history based on our new-found understanding. By understanding our true history, not the history we've been told, we can glean where we are today."
The two verses of "Baby Boomer" in question are as follows:
We gotta stand a little closer
To what it is we’re leanin’ on
Who was it that first said it?
Could it be he could be wrong
About the pilgrims and the natives
Having dinner on the lawn?
I think if I was ever king
I would buy a censorship
Where the only books upon the shelves
Were the ones that I had written
Oh, and put them up in borders, set my photo down the spine
To tell the story of the livin’ without forgettin’ those who’d died
The Monsters of Folk are made up of Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, and M. Ward of She and Him.
They aren't names that most Baby Boomers would recognize, but then again our parents didn't much recognize David Crosby of the Byrds, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, Graham Nash of the Hollies, and Neil Young of Crazy Horse.
And they are holding their elders to a higher standard ... just the way Baby Boomers sought to hold their elders to a higher standard.
"Baby Boomer" from YouTube:
Comments
Interesting. Not sure anyone needs to be held to a so-called higher standard, only to the standard they claim to hold. Yet, this includes everyone, including those pointing fingers. As Boomers examine their stands and their realities, they also need to examine their standards and their realities.
Paul--Interesting piece. For the sake of accuracy, it would be Neil Young of Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse was the band that backed up Neil. The billing was always "Neil Young and Crazy Horse."
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