Information about Old Age

"Old Age" is a song recorded by the American rock bands Nirvana and Hole. For years, it was known only as a Hole song, first appearing as a B-side on their 1993 single "Beautiful Son," and again on their 1997 compilation album, My Body, The Hand Grenade. Then, in 1998, a tape of the song being performed by Nirvana was leaked to the Stranger, a Seattle, Washington weekly newspaper. The tape was recorded in March 1991, as part of a demo for record producer Butch Vig (who produced the band's second album, Nevermind, later that year), and seemed to contradict the song's official standing as a Courtney Love composition. In a Stranger article written by Kathleen Wilson following the leak of the tape, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic confirmed that "Old Age" was indeed "a Nirvana song." In an interview with UK music newspaper Melody Maker in 1997, Love stated that "Old Age" was "something somebody had a little bit of and I said 'let me have the rest of it', and I wrote this thing in it and tried to make it goth. I found it, wrote it, and recorded it in the same night". Although, the song had been recorded a year before by Cobain, Love's lyrics were almost entirely different. Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson later clarified that the song had been given to Hole to re-write and record.

Nirvana's version

It is now believed that Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's lead singer and guitarist, wrote "Old Age" in 1990 or early 1991, and later gave the song to Love (whom he married in 1992) after abandoning it himself. It was attempted during the Nevermind sessions, with a live instrumental take and scratch vocals being recorded, but Cobain never attempted formal vocal passes. This never-completed version was released on the Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out, in 2004, and on the band's compilation album, , in 2005.

At least one other version of the song is known to exist: a solo acoustic home demo which first surfaced on the internet in 1999. Its authenticity was challenged at first, but in 2004, an MP3 of the demo was sent by the website Live Nirvana to "a panel of band associates" - including former Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson - which confirmed that it is, indeed, a Cobain recording. Erlandson believes it was recorded as a demo for Love, who then reworked the song's lyrics in time for late 1992, when it was first recorded by Hole.

External links

• LiveNirvana Sessions History A guide to every known Nirvana and Kurt Cobain recording session.

•  • [ e] Hole
Courtney Love | Eric Erlandson | Patty Schemel | Melissa Auf der Maur
Jill Emery | Leslie Hardy | Samantha Maloney | Kristen Pfaff | Lisa Roberts | Caroline Rue | Errol Stewert
Discography
Studio albums and EPs: Pretty on the Inside | Live Through This | Ask for It | The First Session | My Body, the Hand Grenade | Celebrity Skin
Singles: "Retard Girl" | "Dicknail" | "Teenage Whore" | "Beautiful Son" | "Miss World" | "Doll Parts" | "Violet" | "Softer, Softest" | "Gold Dust Woman" | "Celebrity Skin" | "Malibu" | "Awful" | "Be a Man"
Related articles
Sympathy for the Record Industry | Kurt Cobain | Nirvana | Billy Corgan | Kat Bjelland

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Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. Euphemisms and terms for older people include seniors — chiefly an American usage — or elderly. Some believe there to be prejudice against older people in Western cultures, which is one form of ageism.

Older people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other adults. For the biology of ageing, see Senescence. The medical study of the aging process is gerontology, and the study of diseases that afflict the elderly is geriatrics.

Definition

The boundary between middle age and old age cannot be defined exactly because it does not have the same meaning in all societies. In many parts of the world, people are considered old because of certain changes in their activities or social roles. Examples: people may be considered old when they become grandparents, or when they begin to do less or different work — retirement. In the United States and Europe, people are often considered old if they have lived a certain number of years.

Many Americans think of 65 as the beginning of old age because United States workers become eligible at this time to retire with full Social Security benefits at age 65. People in the 65-and-over age group are often called senior citizens. In 2003, the age at which an American citizen becomes eligible for full Social Security benefits began to increase gradually until it reaches 67 in 2027.

There are many stereotypes about elderly people, such as; the use of walking sticks, frequent doctor visits, and sleeping a lot. These can be seen however to be untrue and very judgmental, most old people are very capable of easy mobility and caring for themselves, however there are some illnesses that can be seen to come with old age.

Demographic changes

Worldwide, the number of people 65 or older is increasing faster than ever before. Most of this increase is occurring in developed countries. In the United States the percentage of people 65 or older increased from 4 percent in 1900 to about 13 percent in the late 1990s. In 1900, only about 3 million of the nation's citizens had reached 65. By 1998, the number of senior citizens had increased to about 34 million. Population experts estimate that more than 50 million Americans — about 17 percent of the population — will be 65 or older in 2020. The number of old people is growing around the world chiefly because more children reach adulthood.

Life expectancy

In most parts of the world, women live, on average, longer than men. In the United States in the late 1990s, life expectancy at birth was 80 years for women and 77 years for men. American women who were age 65 in the late 1990s could expect to live about 19 additional years. Men who were 65 could expect to live about 16 additional years.

See also

• Aging in Place
• Centenarian
• Elderly care
• Oldest people
• Pensioner
• Respect for the Aged Day
• Supercentenarian

Notable individuals

• Jeanne Calment, oldest known person ever (122)
• Granny D, political activist who ran for public office at the age of 94
• Sadie and Bessie Delany, civil rights activists
• Ruth Ellis, 101-year-old African-American lesbian activist
• Florence Holway, rape survivor and activist
• Mother Jones, Irish-American labor organizer
• Maggie Kuhn, activist and founder of the Gray Panthers
• Grandma Moses, American folk artist
• Peter Oakley, aka geriatric1927, British senior famous for his YouTube videos
• Clara Peller, Wendy's spokeswoman, famous for her "Where's the Beef?" catch-phrase
• Malvina Reynolds, folk singer and political activist
• James Vaughan, lead organiser in charge of the "Don't Pause for Menopause" society.

External links

• AARP Global Aging Program — international clearinghouse of the most relevant and timely information on aging populations worldwide
• International Federation on Ageing — informs and promotes positive change for older people globally

Preceded by Middle age	Stages of human development Old age	Succeeded by Death

•  • [ e] Human development: biological - psychological
Stages	Infancy • Childhood • Adolescence • Adulthood - Early adulthood • Middle adulthood • Late adulthood
Development	Child development • Youth development • Ageing & Senescence
Theorists-theories	John Bowlby-attachment • Jean Piaget-cognitive • Lawrence Kohlberg-moral • Sigmund Freud-psychosexual • Erik Erikson-psychosocial