Kurt Loder is 80??? I Think My Back Just Went Out.
- John Kotrides
- May 5, 2025
- 2 min read
Okay, GenXers gather 'round. Let's have a little chat about mortality, the relentless march of time, and the horrifying realization that we are not kids anymore. ToysRUs Kids? Maybe. But actual kids? Not so much.
The catalyst for this existential crisis? Kurt Loder. Yes, that Kurt Loder. The voice of MTV News, the guy who delivered the good, the bad, and the ugly about every music video we obsessed over. That man, my friends, turned 80 years old today.
Eighty. Let that sink in. Eighty years old. The man who once judged whether Guns N' Roses was still cool is now probably getting AARP mailers.
Suddenly, all those articles about "Gen X being the forgotten generation" make a lot more sense. We're not forgotten, we're just… old. We're the generation that remembers when MTV actually played music videos, and now the guy who told us about them is octogenarian.
I swear, it feels like just yesterday I was sprawled on the floor, glued to MTV News, waiting for Kurt's sardonic take on the latest Pearl Jam vs. Nirvana feud. His eyebrow was our compass, his wit our guide. And now? Now, I'm pretty sure my eyebrow has more wrinkles than his ever did.
This isn't just about Kurt, though. This is about us. This is about the slow, agonizing realization that we are no longer the young, hip rebels we thought we were. We're the people who remember when "alternative" music was actually alternative, and now we're starting to understand our parents' complaints about "kids these days."
I bet Kurt Loder still rocks a perfectly faded black t-shirt. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure my old Doc Martens are currently residing in a landfill, and my lower back went out just thinking about moshing.
So, happy birthday, Kurt. Thanks for being the soundtrack to our youth. Thanks for making us feel cool, even when we weren't. And thanks for reminding us that time is a cruel, cruel mistress. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to some Smashing Pumpkins and contemplate my impending middle age. Anyone else need a Metamucil?
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