by Writing Like A Renegade

Created on: June 03, 2008

"THE MIXED TAPE - The Dead Art Form of Generation X"

There are defining moments in history for each generation that are reflected on time and time again,because they touched alot of people's lives around the world at the same time.

Often you hear people tell you they will always remember where they were and what they were doing when JFK was shot.

I remember as kids my mom making us watch on TV - the Berlin wall coming down. While we were still a bit young to fully understand the rise and fall of communism she did so because it was a moment in history that was part of her generation and ours.

As a girl with a mad love affair with music, I suppose I will always remember what I was doing the morning of April 8th, 1994. The day Kurt Cobain shot himself.

He didn't save the world but he was one of the friends in music that pulled me through my awkward teenage years.

I come from 'Generation X'. A term popularized by Canadian author David Copland's first novel, 'Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'.

And it became the label for those born from 1964-1978. We've been described as the cynical, hopeless, frustrated and unmotivated slackers.

Oh great, why didn't they just call us 'The Doomed' or 'Generation Cynical'.

But I for one am proud to be part of this X'r crew. And if you are too, you will smile in delight remembering some of the highlights of our youth the Atari , Merlin and Monopoly. G.I Joe and The Six Million Dollar Man. Hot Wheels and the Rubix Cube.

The vending machine was born and 'fast-food' became the new catch phrase.

And another symbol of the time - my personal favourite was not something made by Mattel or Fisher Price, but made by me and maybe you too. But we'll get to that in a second.

If you are an X'r you will likely remember the late 80's as the time when grunge music emerged from Seattle filled with distorted guitars and angst ridden lyrics. By the early 90's anthems for Generation X were being sung and Nirvana was indeed the zeitgeist.

As a teenager it was the time of Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains - all following the leader - in his Converse runners, dirty blond hair and signature cardigan sweaters until his untimely death fourteen years ago.

For better or worse, I spent my teen years going to a highschool in small town Dundas, Ontario -population 25,000 - where the affluent families lived.

It was there that the only highschool for miles was located. So all the teenagers, including me, from the rural districts were shipped

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