Stop Looking Back

Will boomer nostalgia ever end?

September 21, 2006—Evidently, mucking up both the Middle East and Social Security wasn't enough—now the baby boomers are intent on ruining our fall as well. Their weapon of choice? Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan. All of the sudden, these two—one of whom hasn't even been alive for years (that would be Warhol)—are all over the place.

Modern Times, the latest overpraised croakfest from Dylan (or, "an iconoclast haunted by God," as The New York Times' boomer critic called him) was just the beginning of the season's Bob juggernaut. Next week, NYC's Morgan Library showcases a bunch of handwritten lyrics and other leftover crap under the unassuming title Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966. Next thing you know, they'll be making a Broadway musical. Oh wait, they are. It's choreographed by Twyla Tharp and previews start Monday. Warhol, meanwhile, is lording over PBS via Ric Burns' four-hour documentary (the final part airs tonight), and in November the white-wigged one returns to the big screen in Factory Girl. He's also the subject of shows at L&M Arts in New York, the Michael Kohn Gallery in L.A., and Gagosian Chelsea this fall. "He wasn't just the greatest artist," Burns recently told us. "He was the most important cultural figure of his time."

Maybe so, but the times, they have a-changed. So, with all due respect to Andy and Bob, how's about we dial back a bit on the boomer nostalgia for a minute? A rehash of old Warhol paintings may be a great way to fight empty-nest syndrome, and that Twyla Tharp knows how to stave off thoughts of one's impending demise via splashy dance routines, but let's move on here, folks. In fact, if you boomers weren't sucking up all the cultural oxygen with your nostalgia, there might even be some room for the next Dylan, the next Warhol, to emerge. To paraphrase something we once heard, these guys had their 15 minutes, and so have you. Maybe it's time to learn shuffleboard. It's really fun—and hey, it's on us.