This is an interesting observation. I’ve seen this as well with some people whose opinions I hold with high regard. I didn’t notice this as being creepy until you pointed it out. It caused me to take a look at my own influences.

My taste in music today is very directly influenced by my father’s taste in music. I grew up in a house that had music playing all the time. My dad didn’t have any big hobbies and he wasn’t into sports, so he was either working or at home with music on. At 72 years old, he is still listening to new music– maybe not at the volume (meaning mass, though he can rock out, too) that I do, but he knows who Nathaniel Rateliff is– admittedly he’s in the Americana wheelhouse that my dad spends most of his time, but still pretty impressive, I think. These days, he takes my input on music, too, so I’ve been able to give back over the years.

So, when my daughter came into my life, I really wanted her to have the experience I did– meaning having music playing all the time and a lively discourse of the topic. To that end I think I partially achieved my goal. She doesn’t listen to all the music I do, and she has her own taste in music that is pretty good and diverse (she took to Tom Waits way more than I ever did).

But, I didn’t force feed her my 90’s catalog– which might be what is going on with a lot of people. Nirvana definately opened my mind up to some stuff, but it’s time to close that casket folks, srsly. She has an appreciation for the Beatles that she developed on her own. But due to the nature of how she consumes music (very skattered and centered on YouTube) she doesn’t digest a catalog the way I did and still do. But, she doesn’t care to and I certainly wouldn’t push her that way.

My hope was always that she’d at least develop a deep interest in music and continue to find her path in that regard. I honestly don’t know to what extent that she did that, and I blame Dr. Who (#kidding #kindanot). She is a very talented musician and singer, so I’m proud of that.

In December she is having her first child (a boy, we found out), and I as I consider what my role as Grandpa is, I know for certain it will be to ingrain the love of music that I’ve always had. If he wants to know about R.E.M. or The Beatles, I see that it’s my job to make sure he understands them in the context of whatever music he’s listening to.

I’m also going to buy him his first Stratocaster.

I dunno, I think utter ignorance and total rejection of every thing your (step)parents like is perfectly normal for a teenager. He’ll come around and some day you’ll get the smug satisfaction of saying “I told you so” when he discovers the magic of Springsteen or Madonna.

I did once try to explain 50 years of pop music to him, broadly. Beatles/Elvis, Woodstock, disco, classic rock, new wave, grunge, etc. His response, “Whatever, it’s all dumb hippie music.” (His mom occasionally shops at the grocery co-op; somehow he picked up the politics involved and is now opposed to all things “hippie.” …For his own bizarre definition of the word, anyway.)

“It’s all hippie music, huh. Madonna?” “Hippie.”
“Springsteen?” “Hippie.”
“INXS?” “Hippie. Never heard of it.”
“This literally BRAND NEW They Might Be Giants album?” “Hippies.”
“U2? That album that went on your phone last year?” “Hippies. Deleted.”

Is utter ignorance worse than the trend you describe?!

I wonder if it’s a side-effect of helicopter parenting? To be fair, I don’t follow a lot of parenting stuff because it doesn’t really apply to me. This is just a weird trend I noticed on Facebook & Twitter.