‘Who are these people?’

I just finished the New York Times preview of the upcoming fall season. You know, what’s coming up in the next few months in television, cinema, theatre, music, books, etc. …

I finished all those categories feeling like I must have been living under a rock this last decade or more. Yet, the very fact that I was reading that paper meant that I was still interacting with the outside world and my brain was still very open to taking in new stimuli.

Who are these people? So many of the names of actors, musicians, authors, etc., meant nothing to me. Their names, indeed some of their own past accomplishments, did not register at all. Where have they been? Where have I been?

I certainly admit that my music tastes have atrophied since roughly the late ‘60s to the mid ‘80s. That mid ‘80s roughly equates to when I started raising kids, so there’s that, but I did listen to the radio, watched MTV and purchased music during that time and afterwards. And I even attended some concerts.

But analyzing that time period, I realize now that I was more prone to buying the latest Stones album or attend the latest Springsteen tour than seek than seek out a new artist. I guess there was comfort with the familiarity.

My work-life responsibilities also increased during that time, so there’s that. So, with limited leisure time I gravitated toward artists and genres of music that I had already been exposed to and knew I liked. The pattern here is my radio dial presets were more likely to be what we used to call “oldies” stations.

What about theatre, books and television? Broadway simply priced itself out of this middle-class guy’s budget. At most, maybe one trip into the “Great White Way” a year. But I did keep up with what was opening and who was starring, even if I had to wait two or three years before it came to a local stage.

Economics played a role in my literary choices as well. I never stopped reading, but the last book I bought new was the last “Harry Potter” and that was in euros in Ireland. I started not to care if I was reading the hottest best seller when it just got released and just was happy that somewhere down the line discounted, library, free library or a thrift store I would read it.

I never stopped enjoying movies, especially with my having worked in the theatre business going all the way back to managing that beloved piece of lost Americana, the drive-in. There, it’s a bit easier to pinpoint when it changed for me. When COVID basically shuttered the theatres, there was no choice; by the time they all reopened, there was a lot of catching up to do as far as new releases and this new thing called “streaming,” which I never subscribed to.

Some movies bypassed the big screen altogether and others, if they made it into theatres and you blinked your eyes, they were gone. (Movies have to play in a theatre to be considered for the Academy Awards.)

Television, I used to blame my work life, too. Between my hours working and the commute, I was never home to catch it. Sure, I could “tape” it, but that didn’t give me any extra hours in the day to watch it. Many series ran for multiple seasons, garnered many awards and I never saw an episode. Some, I’ve never even seen even in reruns or now with streaming options. With TV, outside of sports and news and maybe a few special events, which I still watch… I simply lost interest.

Now that I’ve spent the column both bemoaning my lack of knowledge of the stars of today and their media vehicles, I find my life is no less rich for my not knowing these stars.

Think of all the time I’ll save when awards season comes along.

Brian Curry is a longtime columnist for the Long Island Advance and a three-time winner of the New York State Press Association “Column of the Year”. He is a 2026 inductee to the Patchogue-Medford Hall of Fame. You can contact him at currypointofview@yahoo.com