A few years ago TISM released a song about popular music called Garbage moaning that kids were recycling "their parents' adolescent angst". One verse went:

"Paul McCartney once said the Sex Pistols
Were another band playin' Chuck Berry;
At the time I thought, "You boring old w----r", (sorry the wretched profanity filter won't let me post the real word)
Now I think it's down right scary."

Pop has always fed on itself. Glen Matlock maintains that the Pretty Vacant guitar riff was inspired by S.O.S, by ABBA. Rock music owes a huge debt to Robert Johnson, who's been dead for nearly 70 years. Elvis took black music and made it (somewhat) acceptable for white audiences. Everyone steals ideas. The Byrds covered Mr Tambourine Man, using Beatles-style harmonies and bassline (and a 12-string Rickenbacker, just like the Beatles).

Marketing and management have always been an integral to rock music. It's doubtful that Elvis would have succeeded without Colonel Tom Parker. In The Great Rock 'n Roll Swindle Malcom McLaren tried to claim all credit for the success of the Sex Pistols because of his brilliant "marketing".

Most popular music is rubbish, always has been, always will be. For every Dylan or Robert Johnson, there are a thousand Kenny Gs, Mili Vanillis or Celine Dions. We only hear the 1% of good stuff from the 60s, not the 99% dross. Listening through the haze of nostalgia also helps.

There are always mavericks, musicians who command a big enough audience that they can ignore the A&R men and record what they like. People like Dylan, Neil Young, kd lang, Brian Eno. Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed and our very own Nick Cave and Ed Kuepper to name just a few. Do yourself a favour and give some of them a listen. If you're an adult, you need to listen to adult music. Leave the stage-diving to the kids, who think they've invented something new.

Or, in the immortal words of Johnny Rotten:

"Don't ask us to attend 'cos we're not all there.
I don't pretend 'cos I don't care"

Can I walk beside you?
I have come here to lose the smog,
And I feel to be a cog in something turning.

Well, maybe it's just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man,
And I dont know who I am,
But you know - life is for learning.

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration.

And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky,
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation.

We are stardust (billion year old carbon),
We are golden (caught in the devil's bargain),
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden.

----

I recalled the above from memory, although it was written a while ago. I seem to remember a million words from a thousand songs.

And it's sad that my dad missed out on that, but it's not yet too late for my kids and grandkids to appreciate it.

- nor you either.

no thanks

What was that you said about antagonism, Goddess?

Dealing With the Mob
http://www.badapplebullies.com/mobtheory.htm

Chris,
Must you continuously interject with common sense and logic, are you unaware it is now the 21st century and these once important themes are important no more.

I guess we are not young enough to know it all anymore.

Dealing with the mob,
What I meant by antagonism is that the people who did those despicable things to you could see your posting the facts as
exposing them for what they are.
Liars and cheats will eventually get what is coming to them.
You need to move on and rise above these idiots and let the healing begin.
You sound like too good a person to keep suffering.
Get happy again and show them that you won in the end.