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Gen X is trying to come to grips with getting 'old.' It's not going so well.

We are NOT prepared for Salt-n-Pepa to be played in the doctor's office waiting room, thankyouverymuch.

Gen X is eating dinner earlier and earlier.

The thing about Gen X being in our 40s and 50s now is that we were never supposed to get "old." Like, we're the cool, aloof grunge generation of young tech geniuses. Most of the giants that everyone uses every day—Google, Amazon, YouTube—came from Gen X. Our generation is both "Friends" and "The Office." We are, like, relevant, dammit.

And also, our backs hurt, we need reading glasses, our kids are in college and how in the name of Jennifer Aniston's skincare regimen did we get here?

gen x, getting older, jennifer aniston, friends, midlife We're not ready. Giphy

It's weird to reach the stage when there's no doubt that you aren't young anymore. Not that Gen X is old—50 is the new 30, you know—but we're definitely not young. And it seems like every day there's something new that comes along to shove that fact right in our faces. When did hair start growing out of that spot? Why do I suddenly hate driving at night? Why is this restaurant so loud? Does that skin on my arm look…crepey?

As they so often do, Penn and Kim Holderness from The Holderness Family have captured the Gen X existential crisis in a video that has us both nodding a long and laughing out loud. Salt-n-Pepa in the waiting room at the doctor's office? Uh, no. That's a line we are not ready to cross yet. Nirvana being played on the Classic Rock station? Nope, not prepared for that, either.

Watch:

Hoo boy, the denial is real, isn't it? We grew up on "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, for goodness sake, and it's starting to feel like we made a wrong choice a chapter or two back and suddenly landed our entire generation in a time warp. This isn't real, is it? Thirty years ago was the 1970s. That's just a Gen X fact. So what if we've lived long enough for our high school fashions to go out of style and then back into style and then back out of style again?

Seriously, though, we can either lament our age and stage in life or we can laugh about it, and people are grateful to the Holdernesses for assisting with the latter. Gen X fans are also thrilled to see their own experiences being validated, because at this point, we've all had that moment in the grocery store or the waiting room when one of our jams came on and we immediately went into a panic.

gen x, midlife, getting older, grocery store music, middle age It's a dark day at the grocery store when the music of your youth comes on. Photo credit: Canva

Fellow Gen Xers commiserate in the comments:

"They were playing The Cure in the grocery store and I almost started crying. I mean, how 'alternative' can you be if you're being played in Krogers? You guys are great! Thanks for making us laugh."

"When I turn on the classic rock station I expect the Doors or CCR not Soundgarden or Nirvana."

"I couldn’t believe it when I heard Bohemian Rhapsody being played in Walmart. That was edgy in my day."

"I know!!! Bon Jovi at the grocery store!!! That was my clue in!!"

gen x music, bon jovi, middle age, midlife crisis, getting older Bon Jovi isn't supposed to be "classic rock." Giphy

"That horrifying feeling when I realized that when I play Nevermind for my kids now in 2024, I’m playing them 33-year-old music, but when my dad played the Let It Be for me in 1984, it was only 14-year-old music."

"The first time I heard my jams on the oldies station I cried. I'm not old! I just have to take a picture of something to blow it up so I can see it better with my readers but everyone does that. Early dinners? Hey I'm hungry by 5 why wait."

"Long live Gen Xers! We have to be strong!! We can get through this together!! #NKOTBmeetsAARP"

Hang in there, Gen X. We didn't build up all that resilience and attitude in our youth just to fall apart at this point. Let's own this stage like we invented it and make it as cool as we are.

You can find more from the Holderness Family on their Facebook page, their podcast and their website, theholdernessfamily.com.

This article originally appeared last year.

@johnfishman8/TikTok

“It’s giving summer and cool kids.”

Nothing says “you’re old” quite like the foundations of your once hip and trendy music tastes being dubbed nostalgic.

But hey, Jon Fishman is making the best of it. The middle school teacher started a TikTok account dedicated to playing chart-topping 80s and 90s tunes for his sixth graders and getting their candid, hilarious and often brutal responses.

So far, the playlist has included hits like “Heart of Glass” by Blondie (which is “good” but “very old person music,” apparently), that “so-so” and “kinda disco but also western” Andy Gibb classic, “(Love is) Thicker Than Water” and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Soul to Squeeze,” aka “trash in a good way.”

But by far the song with the biggest response and the most views on TikTok goes to “1979" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

ICYMI (i.e., in case you weren’t alive in the late 90s), “1979” is one of The Smashing Pumpkins’ most highly acclaimed songs, even earning the band a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1997.

Does Fishman’s class care about the accolades? No, definitely not.

@jonfishman8 6th grade vs. the ‘90s #6thgradeteacher #teachersoftiktok #genx #musicfromthe90s #smashingpumpkins #billycorgan #music #middleschool #period4 #period6 #alternative #indie #rock ♬ 1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins

“It reminds me of depression,” one student wrote. Which, not gonna lie, isn’t inaccurate.

“Very cringe, sounds old,” wrote another. Ouch.

Another wrote that the song had “nothing to do with smashing pumpkins.” This complaint understandably drew a lot of laughs from TikTok viewers.

Still, not every comment was savage. A few students complimented the song for its “good beat” and being “very chill.”

One even went so far as to say, “It’s giving summer and cool kids.”

And perhaps the biggest, sweetest most adorable compliment of all:

“It is the bestest song in the whole wide world. My mommy and daddy listen to it.”

Fishman’s makeshift series is drawing a big fanbase, and viewers are already bidding for more “nostalgic” bands like Radiohead, Pearl Jam and The Ramones, just to name a few.

If you want to see what pops up next on the playlist, follow Mr. Fishman's TikTok here.