PETE PAPHIDES
We’ve all seen those clickbait articles that sit at the bottom of the internet, offering you a shot of brutal perspective on the passing of time. “Want to feel old? Look at these child stars now!” reads the caption, countering the immense resistibility of the question with a picture of, say, Zammo from Grange Hill or the girl from St Winifred’s School Choir as we remember them back in the day. Suddenly, you find your inner voice exclaiming, “Yes! Maybe if the carrot being dangled before me is the prospect of that sweet little girl now literally looking like the grandma she once sang about, well then, I VERY MUCH DO WANT TO FEEL OLD!!!”
I can tell you that a similar effect can be achieved merely by commencing the conversation I had with my daughters a few weeks ago, concerning the way we used to consume music. The spur was the yearning keyboard intro of The Motors’ Airport – enough of a cue to propel me into an instant reverie concerning the obsession that took hold of me on first hearing that song.