You heard it here first!
When this blog was launched in mid-2013 its first post featured a song called Thrift Shop. My New Old Self had noticed that rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were singing about “granddad’s clothes” and confessed to dressing in “old women’s fur jackets”. Six months later this song snagged two Grammy Awards.
Macklemore in his trademark granny fur at Grammy nominations
So can this blog claim credit for helping to add another 100-million-plus YouTube views for the song’s video? Maybe not, but thanks anyway if you were among those who clicked Play on this site. And click here if you haven’t yet heard this fun and funny tune about those shops that sell old clothes that the likes of us used to wear.
The other Macklemore song you will have seen on this blog’s inaugural post was Same Love. (Click here and scroll down to watch the video.) As these rappers went on to win a total of four Grammy Awards, this tune of theirs was the high point of the 2014 Grammys. Performed as Queen Latifah led a marriage ceremony for same-sex couples, Madonna parachuted in for a sing-along.
What interest does a blog on getting older have in this celebration of young people’s music? Well, they are called the Gramophone Awards. Still. Named for the music recording and replaying technology invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, distributed on cylinders developed by Emile Berliner in the early 20th century.
Sold by the British Gramophone company, AKA a phonograph, this one is 100 years old.
The name was never changed to Record or Cassette Awards, or more recently to Mp3 or Download Awards. The original name stuck, though the awards are now more commonly known by their nickname, The Grammys.
Besides, The Grammys have always shown respect for older musicians, especially old rockers. So it was no surprise that 2014 Grammys were won by rock groups from our era like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Three more Grammys went to pensioner Paul McCartney, including one for his tune with the remnants of Nirvana. Plus Paul and Ringo marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’s first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. So there was no shortage of musical nostalgia for those of our vintage (though why no tribute to the late great Lou Reed?)
What could be more natural than Grannies and Gramps checking out The Grammys? You gotta admit, it’s got a certain ring to it. And it’s in keeping with the vibe of My New Old Self: as time marches on, we don’t sit on the sidelines but we get out of our rocking chairs to figure out what direction it’s marching in. And sometimes – when the song hits home – we sing and dance along. Madonna did and nobody told her to sit down because she’s over 50!