(Detroit) - I just read Jerry Weintraub's homage to Paul Anka in Vanity Fair. It has me thinking about the vitriolic reactions to Anka's two big-band interpretations in recent years of '80s pop songs. Lovers of tunes such as Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol or True by Spandau Ballet were incensed that some "old guy" was reinterpreting their songs. Walt and I absolutely love these new, brassy, big band takes. Fans of Anka's classic hits in the '50s and '60s such Diana or Put Your Head on my Shoulder, on the other hand, were livid that their boy embraced this other music. Isn't this the problem? People get locked into one paradigm - the one they know - and shut down their capacity to be open to new possibilities. In the process, they become old no matter their chronological age. This much is true.
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