Where’s Buddy Holly? Why Van Halen is killing my oldies experience

By: CHRISTINA CLARK
Columnist

I’ve noticed more and more Van Halen sneaking into my Oldies ra­dio station at work. Van Halen has never been something I considered an “oldie” (they’re certainly a good­ie, when the mood strikes).

I’ve begun to realize that though I’m in my mid-twenties, the world is shifting faster and faster, and things that I hadn’t noticed changing be­fore are suddenly disappearing.

I had noticed that Elvis, Buddy Holly and songs like “Soldier Boy” by The Shirelles (not to be confused with “Crank That,” Soulja Boy; this song is actually about staying true to a soldier who is away) have all but disappeared from my beloved Old­ies station.

Maybe it’s because singers like Be­yonce and Justin Timberlake have continued to top charts since I hit puberty. Maybe it’s because Metal­lica was huge for my cousin who is nine years older than me, and Me­tallica was a huge discovery for me in middle school. Everything old is new again, right?

This feeling of change and age has been most prominently felt in the 100-level courses that I am working through.

It took me a little bit to realize that the points I was attempting to make with examples that were relevant to me (presenting protest songs about 9/11 and the Iraq War were deeply personal to me), but to my classmates, who had no recollec­tion of the Twin Towers or 9/11, nor the news reporting and hearing of friends going overseas to fight, they couldn’t understand the depth I was trying to communicate.

It hit me: this is why learning his­tory is so important.

In wars past (and other economic situations and political climates), I’m sure those who have experi­enced hardships, fought, or known people who fought and died have a similar feeling when blank eyes meet theirs on a subject they hold very dear to their hearts. The feel­ing that you can’t make someone understand something on your level is very reminiscent of my younger, angrier, hormone-filled years.

Situations like these (as small and insignificant as they might seem) have created an appreciation for history in me.

Often I’ve heard Winston Churchill’s quote: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Up until recently, I thought that meant obvious things, and maybe not personal attitudes.

The more I notice things chang­ing, the more I find things seem to stay the same in some ways, when attitudes are not evolved.

Listening to others can create a world of difference in your per­spective on the world. Disagreeing and speaking up about it is great, and promotes change when enough people get together and voice griev­ances and create change.

However, in everyday life, listen­ing to people and paying attention to their stories will be what really preserves them and helps shape the future for us both personally and as a population.

So while “YOLO” (“you only live once,” and yes, it was painful to type) is all good and well, don’t forget to pay respect to elders and learn a little bit about what they’ve been through. It can be as easy as just offering a smile and a posi­tive attitude to someone, or sitting down with a parent or a friend and letting them tell you a story. Find­ing roots is important, and from the past and learning about heritage, a new future can be born.

Or in the very least, find the roots of rock and roll music and girl-groups/boy-bands and appreciate them.