Keith Richards once commented that you can't play rock and roll
with a guitar that looks like your parents just bought it for you for
Christmas. That comment fueled the demand for vintage guitars. As prices
soared and the supply dried up, people started buying new guitars and
beating them with chains and sanding down the finish to make them look
old and beat up. Soon the manufacturers got into the game and started
selling "Relic" guitars, new guitars that came from the factory already
beat up and worn.
This seems right in line with pre-ripped jeans and new scruffy
looking jackets. To those of us who throw away our old and ripped jeans
and carefully polish our guitars after each gig, this seems kind of
bizarre.
Now I am seeing apps that make your photos look like poorly
processed film from the sixties. I spent most of my photography career
trying to minimize grain, trying to keep highlights from blowing out,
and shadows from blocking up. Now that look is in style along with beat
up guitars and ripped up jeans.
I have to admit, however, a certain appeal of "Rat Rods." These are
cars that look like that were put together from a few old junk yard
parts for nothing, when in reality they costs tens of thousands of
dollars and thousands of hours to build.
Could the automobile manufacturers start building pre-wrecked cars
and home builders start building homes that look like they were already
hit by a hurricane? Remember you saw it here first.
However, if you see me out on a photography job, I probably got
there in a shiny new car and I will be using a new camera with the
latest technology. Just saying.
