Frosh

The kids are going to university, college and whatnot.. Wearing their various matching school organization t-shirts and roaming the streets in packs. I don't know if it's cute or disgusting that none of them know how to ride the bus. They all huddle at the front during rush hours, affraid that if they go towards the back of the bus they may not see their stop or somebody will yell at them. The truth they are in the most dangerous position where they stand: in my way.

This weekend Hess Village was also hopping. I'm not sure if I'm feeling particularly older, being only 23, or realizing that I'm just prickly. But the kids seem so young, daft and annoying. Haha, you are pouring the taps when the bar tender isn't looking! And you're totally loaded, talking loudly and generally looking just so very 19-years-old.

For instance, earlier in the evening at a friend's metal show we're talking outside. And this little Goth-let stands next to us. Mike mentions something about In Flames...

"In Flames SUCKS MAN!" She announces.

This is met with dead silence as we stand there. Not sure how to react, suddenly realizing again just how awkward high school was and how glad we are to have left. The moment becomes awkward for us all but Mike, Justin, Maggie and I stand there not sure what particularly to say for a few seconds.

"They're not even heavy music.... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry" She confesses throwing her head down and soon runs inside the bar.

It's not like I wanted to hurt her feelings or anything. It's just the approach really. What do you say to that kind of... rapt enthusiasm? Personally Metal and "heavy" music is the one area of music I find myself totally yawning around these days. Mostly the fact that the various heavy genres are especially full of half-hearted imitation and un-originality to a degree unmatched perhaps by anything other than Top-40 Hip-Hop and R&B. I suspect it's because the earlier metal heads are now in higher income brackets making the whole thing more lucrative.

But that's beside the point. I felt bad for letting the girl get, like, totally humiliated. I'm sure I did similar things to older IDM nerds back in the day. Diss-ing LFO, Underworld or Aphex Twin or something. You know to establish my cred, yo. I wish I could have made her feel better by saying something like:

"Honey, it's awesome you're coming to shows and are so enthusiastic but we don't want to fight with you"? or something... I'm just not that quick with my tongue.

But that's the catch-22 really. Drink with the wet backs newbs and have to ignore their antics or with all the old folks elsewhere and bother to listen to their boring drunk anecdotes. The solution is probably to do other things with my time off.