Decius wrote:
] Its almost 2005. It seems like time stopped on September 11th
] and hasn't really moved forward since. Everything since has
] been a dream... It doesn't feel like the decade is half over.

Get out of the house more often. Stop reading the news so damn much.

]
] This decade doesn't have a style yet.

No, it just doesn't happen to be YOUR style. You are old. You determine nothing.

It doesn't have a
] message.

Who needs messages when you can go online and convince yourself that your ramblings are a powerful message to the world. I could easily say that the 80s and 90s had no message either.

It doesn't have music.

Yes it does. You simply don't like the music. Anyway, you downloaders have destroyed the ability of decent underground artists to rise. Think about it, people will download their favorite music (usually music of substance). People who want Britney, Jessica and Ashlee will get their moms to buy it for them. It is easier. The fluff will survive downloading. The artists whose work needed the financial support most did not get it. If you download, then thank yourself!

And its half over. The only
] thing about 200x is blogs and terrorists and camera phones.

Terrorism as a concept for america to deal with was big in the late 70's and stayed that way until Sept. 11th caused most of the nation to feel that we should do something about it. Blogs are part of the reason why messages are lost (Why infiltrate and change the media when you can become it, on a budget with limited exposure!)

] What the fuck? By 1995 we had seen the rise and fall of grunge
] rock.

(It was no big deal. People who were 15-25 at the time cared. You are feeling the sting of knowing that a younger group determines the musical taste. Let's say you feel like a Poison fan at Lollapalooza '93!)
By 1985 we'd had Atari and Devo and MTV and Madonna and
] RunDMC.

(We've come a long way since then. Times have changed. Sorry you got left behind, old man.)

In 1975 we had disco and Ozzy.

(Gee, that was almost as swell as MTV and Madonna.)
In 2005 we ain't got
] shit.

(You have Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age, Farenheit 911, the Michael Jackson trial, etc. Sorry if you don't dig it, but it seems like you are simply going through a midlife crisis.)
]
] What are the cultural themes of this decade??

(Uh, think for yourself or conform. They haven't changed much in the past...well ever!)
]
] 1. Strife - Terror. Fear. Security. War. Partisanship.

(you think this is unique to this time? Remember the Cold War? Partisanship is a good thing. It keeps us from feeling North Korean. The day when the political parties become one all-encompassing monopolizing entity is a scary thou...oh wait! It IS like that, already. Silly me!)

] 2. Marketing killed the human spirit - The new music sucks
] because its too marketed.
(and Nirvana wasn't, Pearljam wasn't? Gimme a break.)

Too much a product and not a
] statement.

(and Nirvana had what message? Eh? Buy our shit?)

The spirit of the Olympic Games is hard to hold
] onto when people are getting fired for wearing the wrong brand
] of tennis shoes. The internet is a cesspool of pop up-ads and
] spam.
(and pseudo-intellectual dimestore pundits. Sorry, dude, George Will even has you beat on the social commentary here.)

You can't believe in anything anymore because the minute
] someone makes something worth believing in they try to use it
] to sell soda pop.

(Uh, so what? You either like a band or you don't. What they do after making the music you like has nothing to do with the songs themselves. and I think you should validate the point you are making with an example or two. I have no trouble believing that Dave Grohl likes writing music and entertaining people. I have no trouble believing that Michael Moore hates the president. They may endorse products for extra cash, but so what? )

] 3. Bloggers.

(Only you cybergeeks give a shit about that.)
]
] Is that it? Am I being too cynical here?

(No, cynicism implies a degree of wit. You have none. Simply getting old, with little grace. Turn it around and get out more.)

What am I missing?

(A simple old saying may enlighten you: "Nostalgia is the symptom of a dying culture." Most folks aged 14-25 are not nostalgic because they exist as a part of their exciting time. You are simply out of the loop, my friend. Your culture is changing and you are crying out for society to help you to adapt. To quote suicidal tendencies "90 percent of life is what you make of it, so if life sucks, then you suck.)

RE: What is this decade all about?