Trop Rock – Not Prog Rock

“Do you want to go to a Trop-Rock concert tonight?”

The question was posed by my Mother in Law when leaving the beach after our first full day at their home in Gulf Shores, AL.

My spoken response – “Sure.”
My internal response – “What the hell is “Trop Rock” and did my Mother in Law really just ask me to go to a concert?”

When my family showed up at the local civic center’s back lawn forty minutes later my daughter immediately whispered in my ear, “Daddy, why is everyone so old?”

Thus began one of my most curious evenings in recent memory.  I don’t know if it’s fair to call it a concert – at least the way I remember concerts, but it certainly qualifies as one bizarre social phenomenon.  What was up with song after song

Brent Burns

about irresponsible living, drunkenness, and doing nothing all day?  I could understand the general theme at a Poison concert via 1988, but these were retired bankers and teachers.  These people looked like my parents (or thereabouts), but they called themselves “Parrot-Heads”.

At one point, Brent Burns (the featured musician – a career Trop Rocker) sang a song about monkeys and a bunch of retired, elderly women ran up front throwing stuffed monkeys to each other in rhythm with the beat.  For a moment I was terrified my mother in law would join them but she, thankfully, left her monkey at home.

At another juncture in the festivities Mr. Burns introduced himself as a loyal member of the local United Methodist Church to which a good number of the audience cheered.  He then proceeded to sing a song called (I’m not kidding) “I’m leaving ugly but early” – a song about how he would rather leave the bar early with an ugly girl instead of trying to make it with a beauty.  In other words, just take an ugly girl home tonight because it’s so much easier.  I watched as dozens of United Methodist’s members happily sang along with smiles on their botoxed faces.

Brent Burns and his sidekick talked and talked after every song.  They plugged their cd’s relentlessly, and they must have mentioned that they were “Trop Rockers” ninety-five times.  They were obviously very proud of this label.

Then it hit me.  I began to interpret the evening a bit.  This was a generational phenomenon of sorts.  The excessive number of older retirees, the silly and intoxicated behavior that seemed inappropriate for the current day and age, wallowing in thoughtless lyrics about complete irresponsibility, and most of all – the incessant pride of being categorized and labeled…musicians actually wanting people to label them.  This was a gathering of baby boomers and the out working of where that generation’s ethos has led them.

I’m not a fan or even a casual listener of Jimmy Buffett, but I hear tell that he is the king of the “Trop-Rock” and I can only imagine what his concerts are like.  But if you ever wonder where people congregate who failed to develop a social conscience throughout their years of professional and family life, you can certainly find them sitting on lawn chairs and singing “I”m Leaving Ugly But Early Tonight” at a local Trop-Rock concert.

 

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