That Awesome Moment When... Music Edition

"Old Guy In a Record Store" - Original Artwork by @Demon_Jello

Recently, I had a pair of music-related encounters with members of two very different generations occur within a couple hours of each other. So cool were these short interactions that they deserve a mention so as not to be consigned to the ephemera.

The first took place during an afternoon visit to a brick & mortar record store. Whilst perusing a rack of sale CD's, an older gentleman who was easily closing in on his octogenarian years, asked me if a particular disc he'd picked up was a re-issue. I explained that at the minimum, if the album was older and had a jewel case with a clear top spine, as opposed to the traditional dark slate grey, that it was more than likely a re-issue or at least a more recent pressing.

He continued to flip through the stacks a moment, before starting to relay a story to me about the time he saw Jimi Hendrix play live (he was by then holding a copy of Electric Ladyland). I was expecting to hear a tale about Woodstock, but was instead regaled with a description of the performance Hendrix gave at "Devonshire Downs" in the San Fernando Valley in 1969. It was fascinating and enlightening to listen to his story, ending on his somber observation that Hendrix would be gone just over a year later. We talked for a few more minutes and I wished him happy hunting as I made my way through the store.



A while after leaving the record shop, I happened upon the opposite end of the music fan spectrum. Pulling up to a red light, I was singing along to a just acquired album (specifically, "Thrills in the Night" from KISS' 1984 release, Animalize) when I glanced to my left. There, in a stereotypically suburban SUV was a girl who couldn't have been more than 10, clearly singing and rocking out in the passenger seat with a fervor that put my steering wheel-air guitar virtuosity to shame. She turned, saw me and gave the universal "what's up" head nod of approval and went right back to rocking out. Clearly, her parents are raising her right.

It just goes to show that you are never too old, or too young, to enjoy music, no matter what form strikes your ear's fancy.

Special thanks to Demon Jello for providing original artwork for this article. Check out more of his creations on deviantART and follow him on Twitter.

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