‘So, E-Rock, I guess this was all a little unexpected?’ asked Aurora, who was young enough to be Eric’s granddaughter.

You could say that again, thought Eric. As far as he was concerned, his musical career ended somewhere between mother-in-law jokes being cancelled and winklepickers trying to force a second revival – an attempt abruptly ended when Russell Brand put them firmly back into the ‘best to avoid’ category.

‘I’m still not sure what TikTok is,’ Eric finally answered. ‘But it’s put me here with you, so it’s alright in my book.’ He attempted a flirty wink. It was ill-advised.

‘I guess it’s just your time… your second time,’ Aurora smiled playfully at Eric before turning to the ring of light around her iPhone and changing expression to let her followers know that, yes, she had seen it.

‘I’ve always found it feels better the second time,’ he ventured, falling back into an old habit.

‘Quite,’ Aurora said, flicking her eyes at the camera again. ‘So, what is it about your band, The Age of Reason, that you think has struck such a chord with Gen Z?’

Eric had thought about nothing but this question since taking the unexpected call from his old agency to drop the bomb that tracks from his album were back in the charts. He’d only known they were on streaming services in the first place because he’d once been sent enough money to buy a grab bag of Hula Hoops.

‘Well, I guess since the world seems to have left the actual age of reason back in the 20th century, younger people are trying to find a new one,’ he said, thinking it sounded pretty smart. ‘“Overly Sentimental Rock…” is probably an even more fitting album today than it ever was.’

‘Are you saying my generation is overly sentimental?’ Aurora's tone changed. Eric panicked.

‘No, God no, not you, love,’ he froze. ‘Sorry. Can I call you love? I mean. Sorry. No, if anything, it's my generation that are the overly sentimental ones. And don’t just mean the birds. Sorry, women. It's us blokes too. Gammons is it, that you call us?’

Aurora gave no reaction, like an android pausing to recharge.

‘I’m a big fan of Gen-Z, especially young girls, like you,’ Eric placed the palm of his hand on Aurora’s thigh as his words tumbled out.

Months later, on a barely remembered website in a corner of the internet only frequented by a few people, mostly of Eric’s age, a post was left by an amateur music journalist who was much older and less well-known than the teenage TikTok billionaire, Aural Aurora.

‘As it happens,’ the summary read. ‘The sociopolitical landscape of 2025 provided the perfect environment for a resurgence of The Age of Reason and their seminal album, “Overly Sentimental Rock for an Overly Sentimental Rock”. Unfortunately, their lead singer and songwriter, Eric “E-Rock” Anderson, was less in tune with the cultural climate of the time. A shame, but not a surprise.’