KenB123
 
something like Micheal Jackson's "Beat It" was able to cross all the boundaries and appeal to a super-wide sector of audience. So it can be done.

Exactly. Say what you like about MJ, but in his prime the music was innovative whilst still being mainstream and his live shows were spectacular.

don't old folks always complain about pop music?..  :D
 

Ever notice how pop music is almost always annoying to musicians?
 
(BTW - Beat It featured Eddie Van Halen too, I'm sure that helped.)

As another grumpy old goat I remember recently watching a DVD concert of Harry Chapin.
 
I forgot how good that guy was.

craigb
I wonder if anyone has compared the average IQ of teenagers today against what it was 20-30 years ago...  Of course, at least the ones that weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer back then were still able to perform manual labor.  Now it seems no one is willing to do much of anything!

Forget IQ, just go on maturity.
 
I have two friends in the psychotherapy field that told me modern studies have shown a 26 year old today (generally speaking) has the maturity of 16 year old of 20-30 years ago.
 
Nuff said.
 

Pop Music Became More Moody in Past 50 Years 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-discover-trends-in-pop-music

I wonder if anyone has compared the average IQ of teenagers today against what it was 20-30 years ago... Of course, at least the ones that weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer back then were still able to perform manual labor. Now it seems no one is willing to do much of anything!

 
Tell me about it.  
 
My son, a couple of years ago when he was 19, one day told me that he was thinking about going into the military.  I thought to myself...well that's a noble cause.  I decided to ask how he came about this idea.  He replies....because I will be a General in a matter of weeks.  How do you figure that, I ask?  Because he has been playing Call of Duty for many years and he knows everything there is to know about the military.  Roit!

MakeShift

I wonder if anyone has compared the average IQ of teenagers today against what it was 20-30 years ago... Of course, at least the ones that weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer back then were still able to perform manual labor. Now it seems no one is willing to do much of anything!

 
Tell me about it.  
 
My son, a couple of years ago when he was 19, one day told me that he was thinking about going into the military.  I thought to myself...well that's a noble cause.  I decided to ask how he came about this idea.  He replies....because I will be a General in a matter of weeks.  How do you figure that, I ask?  Because he has been playing Call of Duty for many years and he knows everything there is to know about the military.  Roit!

See post #15.

About 15 years ago I worked on a job which involved supervising a 16 year old trainee. I got the feeling he was a bit "lacking" in general knowledge so I quizzed him about it. Turns out he thought WWII was in the 60's and he had never heard of Hitler or JFK.