Twenty-Four Years Old

I turned 24 years old last month, but I'm convinced I'm still young. And that's because I've figured out the measuring stick for youth:

Of all the consciously-hip, vaguely-artistic, indie-inclined films that have come out in recent years and struck a chord with the general public, I was already familiar with the bands that made up the backbone of their soundtracks.

The songs that encapsulate Garden State, Juno, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist were uploaded onto my iTunes library before I ever bought my ticket. There was always that one (maybe two) defining song that played during the crux of the storyline, and I've already heard it before. Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Ellen Page, and the kid who played George Michael Bluth all made valiant efforts to introduce me to some new music, but I beat them to the punch. The Shins? Yeah, Oh, Inverted World and Chutes Too Narrow both came out when I was still in high school. The Moldy Peaches? A friend of mine included them in a mix for me a while back. Vampire Weekend and the Submarines? My subscription of SPIN magazine tipped me off to them well in advance.

Not saying that I don't like these bands or that I'm somehow above them -- well, maybe the Moldy Peaches because "Anyone Else But You" has become absolutely insufferable. I mean, have you heard the bizarre re-write for that Atlantis resort commercial? Something about "riding dolphins." Horrifying. -- but I'd be lying if I didn't admit there is a sense of reassurance I get from remaining ahead of the music curve. "If I've heard of them, they may be good; if I've never heard of them, they must suck" has been my (very narcissistic) mantra since the about the age of 17. And, seven years later, I'm proud to say that this is still mostly true. But once another Next Big Thing comes around and I'm completely unfamiliar with it (or worse yet, actually threatened by it), I'll know that my time has come. It's a fine line between being up-to-date and past-your-prime. If I'm the only person in the theater who can't sing along to the lyrics of the catchy song playing during a new trailer, I'm in trouble.

For the time being, I remain young.