The Hit List - Musical Shade

When I was in middle school, I got heavily into punk rock music. I’m heading towards AARP age, so we’re talking a long time ago – back when it was controversial and not yet a fashion statement.

I lived in a rural area, so getting my sweaty little paws on these albums required major resourcefulness on my part (you youngsters with the internet don’t know how good you got it, yo). I would page through Creem magazine and obsess over Bob Gruen’s reviews. Once I decided which album seemed “cool”, I would march down to the record store on the weekly family grocery outing and get ready to spend my hard earned allowance on musical crushes such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash.

The Led Zeppelin lovin’ owner of the store had to special order the stuff I wanted (none of this was carried in any local stores back then). He’d shake his head and say to me “are you sure you want this?” At the ripe old age of 13, my tastes were already pretty set so there was never any doubt. I knew what I wanted and didn’t care what he thought.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only person who was troubled with my preferences.

I got a lot of flack from other kids. Luckily, I had zero interest in being popular or following along to the current top 40 stuff, so I was able to brush that crap off. In fact, I was more than happy to “have my music for myself” and not to share it with them. Let them have Heart and Kansas. I had the Buzzcocks!

Besides, I had bigger problems than fellow middle schoolers: my parents. They took issue with my musical tastes and would confiscate my albums and burn them. This was a major pisser and meant I would have to go through all the trouble to save up and special order them again. (After a while, I got wise and started switching my albums with their polka records. Buh-bye Bobby Vinton! Burn, baby, burn!)

It was very strange to get so much crap for my musical predilections. It’s not like I was off doing drugs. (I just happened to like musicians who were.) Why not let me like what I like and mind your own musical business?

As the years have gone by, I’ve become fans of many types of music: chalga, industrial, alternative country, goth, grunge, and yes, even disco. I’ve got music in my soul and I’m surrounded by musical folk to it’s hard not to get turned on to all sorts o’ stuff.

My current fave flavor is rap. And, once again, I find myself receiving some haterade for that. It’s usually from people my age (younger people seem to be amused by my Rick Ross lovin’ ways). I can understand parents having problems with what their children listen to but an adult getting all judgey about what another adult listens to? Huh? For example, about a year ago, I had some white middle aged dude direct an angry jab at me that basically suggested a “white middle aged woman” had no business listening to rap.

Cue the record scratch.

Why would anyone say such an ignorant thing? What am I supposed to listen to? Is the color of my skin, my gender, or my age a barrier to certain types of music? Now that I’m “a white woman of a certain age”, am I not allowed to enjoy artists like Wiz Khalifa or Onyx? Am I supposed to get into Celine Dion now (not that there’s anything wrong with that)? I’d really like to know what it is considered “appropriate” for me. Actually, on second thought…I don’t care what someone like him thinks I “should” be doing because I’ve never cared much for “shoulds.”

I cannot fathom the triflin’ mindset of someone trying to dictate what someone “should” be grooving to. Why would anyone care what’s on someone else’s turntable? Throwing shade because you “don’t approve” seems pretty petty in the grand scheme of things. It’s especially off putting when it’s someone my age getting down like that. You’d think they’d have more important things to focus on, like world peace ‘n stuff.

But the one thing that I learned from middle school is that haters gonna hate – and often for the dumbest stuff. When they toss their musical fascism in my direction, I’ll continue on my merry way, bopping along to the beat of Earl Sweatshirt in my headphones and tuning that tripe out.

Night walking with my husband. Who totally gets me, by the way.

Other stuff:

I’ve always liked tough, feisty chicks. Tura Satana was one of my fashion muses. I’m also obsessed with Fritzi Ritz.

A “C string” looks pretty uncomfortable. I’ll pass on this fad.

Big issues with the Terry Richardson piece over at the New York magazine. I’ve been watching this story unfold for a while now and I don’t think this one is over by any means.

Have you seen Gay of Thrones? OMG so funny! “Blonde Cher” – hahahahaha!

Meet The Exodus Road – a non-profit that works to free child sex slaves. These guys are doing powerful work.

Got a gross guy hitting on you at the club? Give him this number and send him off to disappointment land.

I had a great time chatting with Dr. Suzanne Gelb about tarot. Check out my interview.

This school in New York is working hard to tackle cyberbullying. Imagine if everyone stood up to that stuff. A kinder online world sounds pretty good to me.

A harrowing read: This is How A Domestic Violence Victim Falls Through the Cracks.

Your daughter gets kicked out of school for wearing a dress that’s too short? What’s a good mom to do? Wear the dress to her graduation, that’s what.

What flights looked like back in the 50’s. Scotch, smoking and all!

Getting ready for some road trips this summer now that I just got my new Garmin nüvi 42LM 4.3-Inch Portable Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps (US)! First stop: Chicago (it’s a bear to navigate, trust me).

What I’m Grateful For:

ITunes

Fresh journals

Pepto Bismal

The freedom to do what I want

New Game of Thrones action figures

A girl’s night out

Soundtrack for 6/21/14: “It’s My Life” by The Plasmatics – classic punk with one of my idols, Wendy O, the original badass punk babe.