I know that sounds like joke aggregate thread title, but it’s not.
When I went to Starbucks yesterday for a Venti Gingerbread Eggnog Latte (fucking delicious at ~900 calories, by the way), I read the quote on my cup with a little chuckle for that monster of a thread that we had. But then I was infuriated - not because of a religious quote, but by Mary Chapin Carpenter’s new cup quote, which went something like this (paraphrased);
Bullshit, you tired-as-hell country hag.
I refuse to believe that this happened. If I had been standing next to you with my dingus in your latte, I wouldn’t believe that this happened. If I had BEEN the kid behind the counter who said this, I wouldn’t believe that it happened.
I’m just so sick to death of lame, lazy baby boomers like Mary Chapin Carpenter always wanting to get their stupid little credit for being “with it” and sticking it to “the kids these days.” Your average 18-year-old in 2005 has access to so much more information resources than ever before; I bet this kid not only knows “Strawberry Fields Forever,” but has downloaded 10 home demo version of it that have never been officially released.
Guess what, fogies? The kids aren’t “totally lost, man.” They probably knew four times as much as you ever will by the time they were 15. The Beatles are not a forgotten cultural treasure that only you and your boomer buddies are privy to. They’re the single most known and recognized band in history. GET OVER YOURSELF.
This did not happen and is a complete fabrication, contrived to gloat over the state of “the kids these days.” Fuck that, you Nashville hag.
Well, when I worked in a record store in the late '80s, a kid about 14 came in looking for the ‘new’ Ozzie Osborne song. Said he saw the video and everything. This was about a year after the Randy Rhodes tribute album came out. After about 15 minutes of picking this kid’s brain - granted, most of the time was spent looking for his brain - I finally realized he was looking for Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”. It was an MTV Closet Classic clip.
So based on that little anecdote of mine, I would say that it is entirely possible this happened to her.
But in keeping with the spirit of the OP, fuck her for telling it to The Evil Empire!
I will agree with you that kids these days have easier and greater access to information, but I think you underestimate the power of the generational gap. The gap can be absolutely huge in many areas of popular culture, particularly music. Just because the exposure to a past generation is now greater doesn’t mean most kids these days will necessarily care. Do most kids these days have an idea of who the Beatles were? I’d so say. But are most kids these days going to be able to identify a particular Beatles song? I’m not so sure that they could. In general, they’re going to be more concerned with what is cool and hip presently rather than what was cool and hip 30-40 years ago.
Not quite the same thing, but the following happened to me:
I was in my office in 2000 listening to the Stones’ Saint Of Me. A friend came in and said he didn’t know I listened to Christian music. I laughed and said it was the Rolling Stones. He paused, embarassed, and said that he wasn’t familiar with classic rock.
Seems very possible to me that lots of young people today wouldn’t hear many Beatles tunes. I’m not sure I would have heard any in the last ten years if I didn’t play 'em myself on occasion. I just don’t listen to classic rock/oldies stations, and likely lots of young folks don’t either.
There’s a Russell Hoban short story where the narrator goes into a record store looking for a Thelonius Monk record. He asks the clerk for assistance, then sees that the clerk is wearing a Tshirt that says “There’s no such thing as Thelonius Monk.”
Why would she ask some kid if he’d heard Strawberry Fields Forever?
Is this her standard chat-up line? I’d have thought he was a bit young for her but who am I to judge?
How is it gloating rather than an admission that she is getting old is no longer hip herself? Sounds to that it’s more likely she mourning her passing youth as she realizes what was new when she was young is now passe and out of date. It’s now nearly forgotten and irrelevant, as she fears she is becoming.
I am ashamed to admit this, but my boyfriend (who is almost 30) was a fan of Paul McCartney back in the late 80’s. It was only later that he realized McCartney had “been in this other band”.
Tottaly disagree. VCO3, is the most amusing thing to happen around here in far longer than I would care to think about. These are the sort of threads that I am paying money to see.
shit! that’s almost half your day’s calories right there. damn.
I’d believe that it happened. I was telling a friend that I was going to a concert of a Led Zeppelin cover band, and his reaction was to ask who Led Zeppelin was. Though I’ll admit that if this Mary Carpenter thinks this shows she’s clever, or that the younger generation is somehow “totally lost” she is poorly mistaken