One nice thing I'll say about the passage of time: Outside of that movie, it really feels like people don't talk much about Elvis anymore. When I was a kid it felt like oldies stations were more of a normal thing (or maybe they're still normal and they're just playing different oldies now) and that motherfucker was inescapable. Then after I got out of high school all the rockabilly shit came back and some people I thought of as friends went out of their way to do their hair in an Elvis-like way? A guy a few years younger than I am named his kid after some Elvis reference?

Then in hip-hop you had Chuck D and 3rd Bass bringing up Elvis in a few different (negative) contexts.

I am not building up to any big point here, I would just like to say fuck Elvis and it's nice that he is far less of a presence in today's pop culture. Motherfucker cast a long-ass shadow and his shit always sucked. These are the things that cross my mind while I'm waiting for an energy drink to get cold in the freezer. Important shit.


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in reply to @jeffgerstmann's post:

The other day I was thinking about the weird ubiquity of Elvis impersonators in pop culture. Why is/was that a thing? Because it's easy visual shorthand for Vegas? And why not, say, The Beatles? It feels like they're still culturally relevant in a way Elvis isn't anymore. Maybe it's because half of them are also still alive. I don't know, man. Elvis impersonators, weird stuff.

It is weird, and despite Honky Tonk Man being the big Elvis impersonator of the pro wrestling world, TNA's short-lived The Flying Elvises somehow, when thinking about the topic, come to my mind first (more appropriately ridiculous?). Maybe Elvis just lends himself to parody more than some other really popular acts. 🤔

I think the lack of staying power compared to the Beatles is due to him being a performer & entertainer rather than a musical artist. His entire thing was based on force of personality, and once his fans started aging out of cultural relevance, he began to fade as well. He was basically a more popular Liberace.