Generational Differences in Musical Context Can Truly Astound

Well, it was time to feel old and disoriented this week as a child of the '80s, though it's certainly not the first time external conditions have thrown me for such a loop. A co-worker born during the mid-'80s caused a bit of a stir among some colleagues when she casually but without full confidence identified the artist behind "Pour Some Sugar on Me" as none other than... Led Zeppelin. This didn't particularly bother me, as my respect and admiration for those '70s juggernauts and the song's actual artist, Def Leppard, is relatively limited. Still, such a disconnect in generational musical knowledge can be difficult to imagine for those of us who lived and breathed '70s and '80s hard rock as a matter of course.

Of course, if I consider this incident to be of generally low consequence for me personally, then I must note a similar circumstance from about a year ago that I'd be shocked if I ever forgot. A different co-worker, also around 12 years my junior, actually asked me, when she saw the display on my satellite radio, just who this band was called the Cars. As a particular admirer of that band's fusion of new wave, classic rock and hook-laden pop, I'm sure I displayed a similarly appalled expression as did some of my stricken peers yesterday. It's all in what you value, dear readers, and I'm sure I don't have to ask in what camp you reside if you're spending time on this site... Or do I?