Immature or Merely Irritating?

The cover of this week's New York Magazine made me gasp both in horror and in recognition. The cover story, titled "Forever Youngish,"  looked, at first glance, to be about people who dress and act inappropriately young, given their advanced age. A topic I may or may not be on intimate terms with. The cover of the magazine was a bunch of scruffy-haired, messenger-bag-wearing, guys in their mid-thirties and forties. In short, every guy I've ever dated. (Except these guys looked to be legally employed.)

But the feature itself was all about parents who dress in stylish outfits and play Bloc Party instead of Raffi for their kids. These people live in expensive condos, have seemingly tons of disposable income, and don't hesitate to have lives outside of their families. Snore. How is that not grown-up? The kids are fed, well-dressed, everyone has a job—what's the problem?

I guess the problem the writer had is that these people didn't turn into single-focused, babyphilic drones once they popped a kid or two out. Is that so wrong? Is it inevitable that you start cooing in baby talk, begin making unironic Neil Diamond CD purchases, and dressing in stretch pants and polyester suits upon becoming a parent? I don't think so. Make no mistake, most of the couples profiled sound pretty lame (exception, Neal Pollack, who cracks me up), but none seemed neglectful or at all immature. Annoying, yes; immature, not especially.

Comments

[jules]

Ohhhhh Judy! You will be singing a different tune when you finally become a mommy!

[rose]

hmmm, i already do all of the above. i buy neil diamond albums with no irony, dress in stretch pants when i can and sometimes talk baby talk. well i don't talk baby talk or wear stretch pants. BUT WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WTIH NEIL?
remember that boy who bartended at that bar down the street who did a wicked neil diamond?
i just hate the hipster kids with the babies in their rock shirts on bedford.

[dansroka]

Typical New York Mag cover story - they interview their friends and call it a trend.

[la_depressionada]

keep the g-damn baby carriages out of bars and expensive restaurants. indeed keep them of the island of manhattan. i do miss the days when the city was inhabited only by blacks, puerto ricans, chinese, 80 year old jews and 18 year old punk rockers.

[Solitary Man]

as a musician,this article made me sick to my stomach.Indie is the new Raffi.
Music for such shallow,walking gap-commercials selfishly overpopulating their toilet earth with kids they dont know what to do with,because they never grew up.

I dont want my music to be the soundtrack for NYC's version of soccer moms.Indie (especially Punk)music will become the most safe,milktoast garbage in the world if momies and babies start become its audience.Coming up next-Punk Songs for Children (can I throw up now?)

Indie music used to be the music made by anti-social misfits for anti-social misfits.Not the overprivilaged uptown breeders with their nannies and fat wallets.And this is punk's offspring?Joey Ramone is spinning in his grave.