To put it more plainly: As you grow older, you face the interconnected questions of which parts of yourself to preserve, which parts of yourself to evolve, and which parts of yourself to abandon .

I think these are fun questions to work over, because they’re questions without easy answers and, anyway, there’s no opting out of them. You can ignore them, sure, and continue to Unc out on autopilot, but that’s obviously its own kind of answer and, whether you like it or not, Merciless, Indifferent Time is going to answer for you.

The other day I was at lunch with a friend talking about graceful and ungraceful washedness as relates to new music. This was the core of the conversation, which you can extrapolate to all kinds of non-musical contexts:

When you encounter the work of a musician that cool people who are younger than you love — a Bladee, say, or an Oklou, or a Yeat, or a Playboi Carti — is it more Fatally Washed to react to their music in a spirit of deep bewilderment, or in a spirit of total command?

All things being equal, that is, what’s the more admirable Oldhead Reaction upon hearing a new Playboi Carti single:

“Oh, I get this — I’ve heard Suicide, I’ve heard Yeezus , I’ve heard Death Grips, this is nothing new. Next.”

Or

“This music operates according to physics and principles I do not comprehend. I am going to play it again in an attempt to at least start wrapping my head around it.”

My own opinion is likely clear from the way I’ve phrased things, but I think dismissive, know-it-all, “total command” is the wacker Oldhead Reaction of the two.

Obviously there’s cases where you’re beyond justified in hearing some new cheesy derivative dogs--t and dismissing it accordingly. Ditto cases where you’re justified in saying, “I’m gonna abstain from giving a f--k here, and leave this to the children.”

But, on balance, I think the best way to Grow Washed Gracefully is by proceeding from a position of Curiosity, Confidence, and Confusion , where each informs, undercuts, and counterbalances the other.

Are you even alive if you aren't confused?