I had a quick pint with a mate a few weeks ago, one of the few occasions I bother to be social. And we were moaning, as moaning prematurely old and grumpy men tend to do. One of the things we moaned about was music. When I was, I dunno, 15-16, the music I listened to was pretty noisy stuff. If I wasn't listening to hip-hop (stuff like Public and NWA) or acid house and what not, I had a predilection for thrash and death metal. That was what constituted "alternative" as far as I was concerned. These days, and obviously I am far too old to know what constitutes the cutting edge, sounds really wet and wimpy. It was bad enough with Linkin Park (whinging bastards) and Slipknot (death metal lite) but these days, everything I hear wouldn't offend anyone's ears. Surely music is supposed to be noisy for anyone my age? (30+) Surely I should be saying "turn that down"? I think (for instance) My Chemical Romance are shite but that's because they're so inoffensive! They make the Smiths sound like Extreme Noise terror!
This is a sad turn of affairs. Almost every other subculture I can think of (with the exception of the mods) - Pyschobilly, B-Boys, Punk, Skinhead, Goth, Rivetheads, Cybergoth, etc. has tried to set itself apart from the "norm" by looking and sounding outloundish. Is the current subculture wave a rebellion against being different? Is it making a statement by going to a common or garden shop on the high street, buying a pair of vans slip ons and messing up your hair a bit? I'm just glad I don't have children. I can see the disappointment on their faces when they come down stairs having died their hair black and have new tattoos. It's hard to rebel against a dad who had turquoise liberty spikes, brothel creepers and multiple piercings when he was younger. Maybe the best way would be to start wearing sensible cardigans... oh wait, they're already doing that. 
