The Baby Boomers had “Hair”.
The children of Baby Boomers have “American Idiot”.
Both are about disenchanted youth.
And in seeing “American Idiot” last weekend on Broadway I came away with the realization that, from generation to generation, young men and young women get fed up with the world their parents created for them.
The Baby Boomers took the middle class comfort that their parents created after World War II and pushed back against “The Establishment.”
We grew our hair long. We wore loud clothes. We listened to loud music. We opposed a government that wanted to make us fight a war many of us didn’t want to fight.
And a lot of that angst was portrayed in “Hair,” a musical showcase that premiered in 1967 and trumpeted the anti-Vietnam movement and addressed the issues of drug use, sexuality and general irreverence.
The show had 31 songs, unusual for a musical.
It too addresses war, sexuality and drug use.
“American Idiot,” created from the music of the punk pop rock band Green Day, has 30 songs, still unusual for a Broadway musical. It’s more opera than musical.
Frankly, “American Idiot” does a much better job of telling the story of disaffected youth.
It is angrier, less afraid to show the raw emotion of impatience and disgust.
Do we assume the Baby Boomer children are angrier at their parents’ world than the Baby Boomers kids were of their parents’ world?
Not that all Gen Y kids -- the Echo Boomers -- feel alienated to the point of the rage that comes through in “American Idiot”. But you have to respect their willingness to stand up to The Establishment, circa the 21st century.
Are my own Gen Y kids disaffected and alienated? No, not really. They’re trying to make their way in a world we Baby Boomer parents created for them, and it’s not a pretty or easy place to understand or fit into sometimes.
If you’re a Baby Boomer who at any time pushed back against the establishment you’ll appreciate the message of “American Idiot”, even if you liked the music from “Hair” a little more.
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