Halloween might be the personification of the death of class, especially on a college campus. I was walking in my golden track shorts and Dancing Elk Condors tee (for those of you who missed the reference (or the movie altogether), Michael Cera from Juno), and a baseball team passed by me. I'm not sure what league they play for, but if you tried to slide into home plate with the booty shorts and heels these girls had on, I'm pretty sure you'd rip off your first four layers of skin, break your ankle, and flash the catcher. I was under the impression Halloween was when the spirits come to play, not the strippers. I'm unclear on when "dressing up" became "barely dressing". Someone enlighten me?
While it's most apparent on Halloween, I find culturally this generation is somewhat devoid of class. I was up in New York a few weekends ago with my mom, her boyfriend Chris, and my cousin Emily at an absolutely beautiful penthouse apartment 25 stories above Times Square. I felt almost wrong being in that apartment, like a stain on a white linen couch. I dressed nice just to sit around eating pita chips, French chocolates, and drinking champagne, and felt guilty about anything remotely unclassy I'd done in my life. That whole weekend felt like a very classy movie: a horse show in New Jersey, tapas on the Lower East Side, martinis in Hell's Kitchen, a glass and silver penthouse, museums to see original Babar drawings. Forgive me for being theatrical, but I want my life to be like that all the time. At tapas, over crab artichoke dip and vodka citrons, Chris asked Emily and I what we did with our friends when we went out. Answers included Bars, hanging out in people's rooms, live music, talk...
"Dancing?" Chris asked.
"You mean nearly getting impregnated and in danger of having 7 different STDS by the time you leave the club? Cuz that's what dancing is now."
Now I know we're not the first generation to walk on the raunchy side; the jitterbug and jazz music were considered low-class, risque, even dangerous in their day. But going to a club now is like asking to get mock-raped. So is that going to one day be considered classy? And if so, what will be considered sleazy? It's an upsetting future to think about. I would love to go back to the days where men wore slacks and button-ups, girls wore dresses and heels, and it wasn't considered pretentious to sit around listening to jazz. When guys held open doors, and going out dancing meant getting dressed in your best and having a partner who's face you actually saw once in a while. I am by no means a traditionalist, nor is this a comment on social ettiquite between men and women. I just think there's something to be said for carrying yourself with dignity.
I'm not saying we need to be pretentious-I felt classy sitting in a Cheers-esque bar with Emily, eating nachos and downing Yuengling. It's not as much a matter of what you're doing, it's the way in which you do it.
And now for something completely different....
Weekends in college are usually underwhelming (10 Things anyone?), or at least mine are. But what I find interesting is that the good moments are never where I think they'll be. I went to two parties this weekend, both were costume parties with people I love, and were expected to be the highlights of my three precious days off.
Despite one party being rave-themed and thus lending itself to being a highlight, it didn't come until this afternoon, six minutes away from the end of the radio show I'm on at GW, Vibrations of Nations. In the control room, there are these office chairs. None of them are intact. They're missing arms, parts of the cushions are ripped out, they have no restraint on how far back they lean...naturally, this makes for endless entertainment. Wyatt and I tend to rock out when we've got a good playlist going, and he played a song this week, Sandcastle Disco by Solange, that lent itself to just that. It is the best dance song ever.
Especially when your partner is a broken office chair.
It was a movie moment. Again, forgive the theatrics, but two college djs rocking out to funk with their broken office chairs?
That's part of what I love about being on the radio. While I get to share my passion with as many people as will listen to the show, I don't have to actually perform or be "on" for anyone. Sure, you can watch us be ridiculous via the webcam, but I can't see you. And yet I get a response as if I were in front of a crowd. Listeners IM me throughout the show, complimenting the playlist, giving me great tidbits about the bands I can then share with everyone on the air, or introducing me to new artists I might like, and will probably play in the coming weeks. It's put me in touch with people I don't necessarily talk to, and people I look up to are complimenting me on my work. Plus, I can come in there a complete mess, but the rhythm of pushing all the buttons, logging the show, chatting with Wyatt and everyone who's listening, I feel completely calm when I leave.
It's a good place to be-I'm doing my own thing, while still connected to everyone, still contributing something to life on this planet.
Speaking of which, I've gotten a lot of requests for the playlists from the show. Here's what we played this afternoon (in the order we played them, and going title, artist, album):
1. Mafia feat. Eugene Hutz- Acquaragia Drom- Rom Kaffe
2. Either/Or-Elliott Smith-New Moon
3. Heckuva Man- The Sweet Divines- Soulshaker Vol. 5
4. Thank You Mario But Our Princess is in Another Castle-The Mountain Goats-Black Pear EP (free online!)
5. Pepper Box- The Peppers- Pepper Box
6. Fake Tales of San Francisco-The Arctic Monkeys-Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
7. Deep Blue Sea- Grizzly Bear- Friend
8. I Believe in You-Cat Power-Jukebox
9. Lie Next To Me- The Blakes- The Blakes
10. Shopping Trolley-Beth Orton-Comfort of Strangers
11. Evil Bee- Menomena- Friend & Foe
12. Love You Madly-Cake-Comfort Eagle
13. Salty Dog- Cat Power- The Covers Record
14. Taper Jean Girl-Kings of Leon-Aha Shake Heartbreak
15. Hang Ups feat. Abdominal- Speech Defect- Come for da Funeral, Stay for da Food
16. She's Fantastic-Sondre Lerche-Phantom Punch
17. No Man Worries- Speedometer (feat. Ria Currie)- Four Flights Up
18. Heretics-Andrew Bird-Armchair Apocrypha
19. Guerreiro- Curumin- Achados e Perdidos
20. Cigarettes Will Kill You-Ben Lee-Single
21. Multiply- Jamie Lidell- Multiply
22. See Fernando-Jenny Lewis-Acid Tongue
23. Eanie Meanie- Jim Noir- Tower of Love
24. The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1-Neutral Milk Hotel-In an Aeroplane Over the Sea
25. See You At The Lights- 1990s- Cookies
26. Cristobal-Devendra Banhart-Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
27. Sandcastle Disco- Solange- Sol-Angel & The Hadley St. Dreams
28. Ses Monuments-Sea Wolf-Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low
29. Hey-Pixies-Doolittle
30. Phantom Punch- Sondre Lerche & The Faces Down
31. Electro-Socket Blues-Rogue Wave-Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Original Soundtrack
Enjoy :)
How's the Weather?
14 years ago
2 comments:
I don't think it's really fair to say that our generation is devoid of class. You have to consider that while many people may be into the raping-in-the-making style clubbing, there are plenty of alternatives. I don't think it is really considered pretentious to go to a jazz club, and if it is it's because you're around the wrong people. At the halloween party I went to, not a single girl looked like a slut and there were a good 40 or 50 people there. We spent most of the night dancing to gypsy music and, while we bumped bottoms from time to time, there was no unwanted intercourse. If you want to be classy all you have to do is be classy. You go to those clubs because you enjoy it, and there isn't anything wrong with that, but I don't think you should really complain about it when all you have to do is check out the internet or a newspaper and find cheap ways to treat yourself to some culture. There are always events going on somewhere!
i think you're right, i guess what i'm saying is i wish it was more pervasive in this culture, and not considered so "alternative". i definitely have found awesome things to do without having to go to a club once especially being in theater and on radio here, it's a good group of people who aren't into that. i just find it amazing that so many girls are willing to do that at all, and it just makes me wonder about where we're headed.
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