You Can't Stop Rock and Roll

Must have been family night in the Hilton Theater tonight as a small mass of parents with their teenage children pushed forward toward of the stage to get a better view of Twisted Sister. Some skinny youth is waving his arms at the bass player with his hands in a devil horn sign displayed rather proudly like an A+ plus homework assignment after an entire year's worth of F's. It makes me think back to my years as a heavy metal, punk rock, and death metal junky, where I spent almost every dollar I made to go to any sort of concert of the above genres that came to town, even if I had to take the bus, then hitchhike, maybe bum a ride, there was nothing that could stop me from getting to a show, my mother gave up rather early as far as keeping me in the house, plenty of excuses to get away, from staying at friend's homes to just out right walking out the door, what did it matter, there was something larger than my dull life in rural San Diego waiting for me at the doors of whatever arena, nightclub, or veterans hall, either to hangbang, slamdance, or mosh in a pit, an energy existed where all sorts of different characters came together bonded by music, plus it was a point of bragging to the other kids at school who did not or could not attend such concerts, call it independence or outright defiance, music taught me a lot of things, but especially that last concept.

The hangbang fest has already began at the Heavy Metal Christmas Spectacular and unlike the first night the crowd looks rather prepared for the rollercoaster ride of highs and lows this show has to offer. The renditions of standard Christmas tune takes a bit of blind faith at least as far as taking the whole thing seriously, watching the entire band perform some Christmas themed song where Dee Snider comes out as Santa Claus with a reindeer team made of half naked women in thong bikinis and tube tops pulling a sleigh might be said to be quiet a way to start a show, but why not, it caught my interest, shit and I get to point a video camera on the womenwith all sorts of preverted camera shots that I have no doubt shall seal the deal on grabbing the audience's attention. But why stop there as the gathering of the new heavy metal youth start swarming around me, like a beacon, I get it, understand to some degree, how this might feel new, definitely better than current crop of overprocessed music available to them today, but I am fighting with the nostalgic overtones from a bunch of fifty somethings playing songs that almost everyone mocked right out the gate, but it seems Twisted Sister have had the last laugh as another generation is endoctrinated into the mindset of anti-authoritarianism, questioning others, and not to follow trends, these things remain, long after the music is gone, that rather subtle tweaking of the mind, which will have these kids seeking out the music Lou Reed, David Bowie, The New York Dolls, and Ozzy all of whom are considered the quintsential renegades of their time, the hall of fame of don't give a fuck. This is what is going on here tonight, these tourists who have been handed free tickets tonight have no clue, not a clue at what they are witnessing here is not merely a concert, but more like a rite of passage as well as reunion of sorts for the music fans who lived their lives as rebels, outlaws, and outcasts, right now no one is an outcast, just members of the rock and roll tribe, where the elders are respected and always have the last say, none of this corporate get thrown under the bus, never have had any influences in my life, art or music, fans here realize how fragmented the tribe has become as the elders die, the new youth are not replacing them fast enough, which may leave thought, culture, and idealism in the past as another victim of the corporate chopping block, left to be marginalize then discarded into oblivion, eventually erased from existence in this digital age.

Still, even with the advent of our digital culture, they are so many entreprenuers who have created many things for the internet, from chat rooms to social networks to phone applications, the pool of new minds has not dwindled, maybe only changed gears as the environment has changed in the past twenty years, now there might be some moral questions in regards to how useful all this new technology might be, yet it felt like our president used technology rather effectively to gain control of a group of voters who might of otherwise felt alienated, using their comfort of digital culture as leverage to send a message they could understand, embrace, then eventually get behind. has that Brave New World come to fruitition, I personally do not think so, these new tools are merely as such and for the people who can wisely use them, they shall offer a global audience that gives advertisers wet dreams in their sleep. I still can't get over the idea of blogging, like a daily novel that throws in some of Keroauc's spontaneous stream of consciousness with a bit of personal travelouge, plenty of ways to take such a thing, but the personal angle, just allows me to be a bit more open with my ideas, emotions, and experiences.

Who knows where this is going now as all the teenagers are singing We're Not Gonna Take and I hope that they get what Dee is trying to get across, not just as this high school rebellion against having their X Box taken away, grounded for the weekend, but as the larger wing clipping that is going on from presidential adminstration to presidential adminstration, where the political parties change, but the ideology stays the same, which is keep things as they always have been, just present them in a different manner, reprogram the constituents to make 2+2=5 and once you have accomplished that goal, anything is possible and will remain so for an indefinite time unless people speak up against, walking through life with their head in the sand, yet for some of these fans here tonight that might feel alright, having more than one might need is a great cure for expansive thought, wisdom, and truth, words to be planed down into sawdust, why make a mark, make a difference, isn't that what television and the movies are for, someone to cheer, who can do all the hard work, make all the sacrifices, just sit back and let the drama unfold. I think being amongst the people as opposed to a movie screen can be more often than not, be compiled with more drama than the best 10 films ever made, so I will continue to hit the streets, jot down notes at work and sacrifice some of personal indulgences in order to document the rythmn of the streets.