August 12, Generation of Swine, Boomer Report Card, Popular Culture.

Moving on to popular culture, Brooks once again grants The Generation of Swine a grade of A, citing the likes of Bob Dylan, Steven Spielburg, Meryl Streep, Steven King, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, Ron Howard, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder. 

First, Bob Dylan was born in 1941 making him ineligible by at least a half a decade from inclusion among the Swine.  Ditto Jimi Hendrix who was born a year later.  Ditto the Beatles and Stones and the British Invasion, most of whom were born well before 1946.  But set against the likes of the great vaudeville actors who populated our television screens during television’s “golden age” and who performed live before a national audience, the offerings of the Boomers pale by comparison.  Yes, there were meaningful popular songs written and performed by the likes of Dylan and Paul Simon, but songs like the Sound of Silence, or Dangling Conversation were soon enough replaced on the airways with the likes of  “The Ohio Express’” Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, I got love in my Tummy”, or the “Archies” outselling the Beatles and Stones in 1969 with “Sugar, Sugar.” Mindless tripe that reflected a generation.

But then Brooks, born in 1961, was a late Boomer arriving late in the generation.  He missed the mindlessness of Howdy Doody, the crooning of Pat Boone, the milquetoast rhythm and blues of Elvis.  Oh yes, Elvis—old swivel hips whose best work was done before the camera in thoroughly forgettable film.    It took a foreign cultural invasion to shake us loose from this pap, the Boomers had little to do with it and, by the time most of them were reaching the age of majority they were hopelessly lost in the deserts of disco.  From Elvis to Disco, the bookends of a generation.

An Br’er Putin, he jus’ laugh and laugh.

Grade F.