Suitable

 

I enjoy watching interviews with Ian McGilchrist for his interesting insights into the creative mind. While we’re both boomers, he’s more professorial and has the “uniform” for it (Oxford shirt with V-neck vest). But so is Robert Fripp, who also is an intellectual and a rock musician.

Many artists find themselves straddling different domains and having to navigate them. The problem with pop music is that it requires being in costume all the time and as you get older you don’t want to be. It’s interesting that Robert Fripp’s costume has always been a suit and tie so as he’s gotten older the suit actually suits him, and all the things that he’s been interested in all along suit him now that he’s older (Theosophy, Gurdjieff, other “spiritual” interests). But it’s a weird juxtaposition to see someone in their 70s playing a Les Paul--even though Les Paul himself played it when he was in his 80s.

It’s interesting how both artists and musicians who grew up in the 60s and 70s are still doing the same things that they were doing as they’ve aged and it takes a little bit of negotiation both with yourself and the public to kind of pull that off. But I’m not in a position where I want to give up any of that. I suppose when you’re 95 and playing a Les Paul there might be some optics that you’ll have to consider, but of course, blues guitarists even played Flying-Vs (Albert King) when they were elderly. #riff