Chrissie Hynde has recalled a recent conversation with Johnny Marr in which the pair agreed that nobody seems to call anything “cool” anymore.
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The frontwoman of The Pretenders wrote an extended post on Instagram about their conversation.
“We were saying how nothing is ‘cool’ anymore,” Hynde wrote. “Has anyone else noticed that? It used to be… ‘That guy looks cool’. Now it’s ‘That guy’s hot.’ So whatever happened to cool?”
“In case you don’t know what I mean (because you’ve grown up with social media) I include below a list of ‘cool’ versus ‘uncool’ to give you an idea,” she continued.
She began by defining cool as “quiet and reserved” and “modest but mysterious” whereas to be uncool was to be “loud and showy” or “boastful and oversharing”.
In her mind, “sports cars in the ’60s” were cool and “any SUV” or “any car you might see parked outside the London Dorchester Hotel” was uncool. Also considered cool are low music in restaurants, bands, discretion, good manners, reading a book on public transport, “attention to detail in one’s dress” and “watching any form of theatre or event sans phone”.
By contrast, the things Hynde believes are uncool include “banging computer made sounds that you can’t talk over”, backing tracks, vulgarity, “talking loudly down the phone in a public place”, eating on public transport, “sloppy, dumpy attire” and “using a phone for any reason at a live event (especially a Pretenders concert”).
To finish, Hynde invited anyone “in favour of bringing back ‘cool’” to post their own ‘cool’ and ‘uncool’ list, “(unless you think lists are ‘uncool’ “.
In other news, late last year Hynde issued somewhat of an apology to fans after sharing a set of rules for returning concertgoers.
In October, Hynde drew the ire of fans when she asked that those who purchase tickets to multiple concerts don’t take up space in the front row so “local” fans have a chance to be up front.
She then addressed it in a post where she partially apologised for asking fans to put their phones away: “First of all, I’m sorry that I’ve never adjusted to the phone/filming/picture taking culture. I’ve sworn and berated the very audience that is there for us. There’s no way to explain how distracting it is and why I have a meltdown when I see a phone. Every night I come off stage scolding myself and saying it’s just no worth it and maybe it’s time to hang up the guitar and find a new vocation.”
She then went on to note that she’s not alone in her sentiment, and that she’s seen several venues imposing a no-phone rule at gigs.
Hynde then touched on her thoughts about repeat fans in the front row at gigs – she did not apologise, but instead doubled-down on her stance: “The other thing I said which seems to have caused offense in some quarters is when I asked that anyone who has seen more than a few shows, move back out of the front row and let the locals have the front.”
She continued: “I will reinstate that we love to see people come back for more, but we travel the world to play to a new audience each night, so it’s good to see the locals up front. Come one and all… but be fair!”
