Cnut Songs #28: The Youth Of Today

Continuing this week's theme of stealing content from the past (because it's Half Term and I'm lazy), here's something I posted on the book of faces in 2016, when I was teaching at The Bad Place. I guess I didn't post it here because back then , all I pretty much did on this blog was write about music... 

Squire - The Face Of Youth Today

A recent conversation with a student highlights the problem with the yoof of today...

Me: JK Rowling took a lot of her ideas for Harry Potter from Lord of the Rings...

Student: Yeah, but Harry Potter is much better than Lord of the Rings.

Me: Why's that?

Student: Harry Potter has his own theme park.

Me: Oh, so that's how we judge the worth of a story, the "greatness" of literature, is it? If they give them their own theme park?

Student: Yeah - I mean, who else can you name who has their own theme park?

Me: Mickey Mouse... Truly one of the greats of literature. After all, it was William Shakespeare himself who created Mickey Mouse.

Student: Did he???

Young Galaxy - Youth Is Wasted On The Young

Worse still, when relating this story to others in the staff room, a teaching assistant in her early 20s immediately responded: "Did he? I didn't know that."

Amy MacDonald - Youth Of Today

All of which brings me to my theory about what's wrong with the yoof of today. They have no cultural awareness beyond their own lifetime...even beyond the last couple of years in most cases. This is the fault of the internet and 57 channels of TV. When we were kids, we 3/4 channels, we watched whatever was on. Which often was old stuff made long before we were born. And we were happy with that. And it made us aware of cultural history. By the time I was 16 (the age of the above student) I was well-versed in Hitchcock, Bogart, 50s sci fi, Orson Welles, Universal horror films of the 40s, Hammer, Clint Eastwood et al. On top of all the stuff I grew up with (Star Wars, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller). Nowadays, you can comfortably watch E4 all day and never see anything older than Friends. And why would you ever watch something in black and white? 

River City People - When I Was Young

Which leads me to another conversation I had with another 16 year old recently...

Me: What's your favourite film?

Student: Magic Mike 2.

Me: Really. And why do you like that?

Student: Dunno.

Me: Well, why the sequel? What makes Magic Mike 2 better than the original Magic Mike?

Student: It's newer.

Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie

It's worth pointing out that when I originally posted this 8 years ago, a couple of people who've known me for a long time and who are similar ages to me suggested that I wasn't typical of the average 80s teen in the way I reached back to old black and white movies, that many of my contemporaries just watched new stuff back then and never looked back at all. I wonder if you'd agree?

Mid-Life Crisis Songs #95: Wasted Youth

Spring has been particularly glorious this year. Especially the hawthorn blossom, which has exploded. 

The hillside across from us is painted white, like it's been snowing.

Young Galaxy - Youth Is Wasted On The Young

So sang George Bernard Shaw with his 21st Century Canadian dream-pop band... or perhaps I'm mixing up my sources. The insane pop culture reference library that is my brain is getting a little clogged up with an abundance of trivia... no chance of remembering what I'm having for tea tonight then. 

When we’re young, we have all the time in the world… and yet we fritter it away. We don’t realise how valuable it is, because life seems endless. So we do whatever the hell we want and don’t worry about tomorrow. Many’s the pop song that has been written about this subject, but this is the one that best captures that sense of youthful headonism… or it’s the first that springs to mind today, anyway.

Fun. ft. Janelle Monáe – We Are Young

I don't recall many nights like the ones Nate Ruess sings about there. A few, I guess, but not as many as most. I spent a large part of my wasted youth chasing the twin fantasies of a radio career and best-selling authordom.

The Colourfield – Castles In The Air

Don McLean – Castles In The Air

Not to mention…

Bob Lind – Elusive Butterfly

Was it a waste? 

No.

Considering how down I’m feeling lately, do I regret my “wasted youth”?

No, that’s not it. After all, as Jim Steinman wrote…

A wasted youth is better by far 
Than a wise and productive old age

Meat Loaf - Everything Louder Than Everything Else

And it's important to remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Today is the oldest you've ever been, and the youngest you'll ever be again." 

The only problem with inspirational quotes (and Crazy Eleanor had a box full of them) is that they don't work on the terminally cynical. Still, they obviously made an impression on Jim...

We've gotta' fast, we were born out of time
Born out of time and alone
And we'll never be as young as we are right now
Runnin' away and runnin' for home