The age gap between ver kids and their heroes

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Are most of the voices that rebellious kids identify with, who 'speak to a generation' a fair bit older than their equivalents in the past were? Eminem, Marilyn Manson, Jarvis Cocker, Fred Durst?, even Kurt Cobain - they'd all been around the block a few times. The age gap between the leaders and the flock seems to be wider than it used to be in the heydays of Lennon, Johnny Rotten, Paul Weller, Morrissey et al.

Am I just being selective in my choices? If not, why do you think it might be? Is it that people have an extended adolescence these days and can start being rock stars when they are older? Or is it that the kids of today are useless at articulating anything?

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Kurt Cobain was born in 1967

― Whiskeytown Littlecock (ex machina), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Avril Lavinge is like 19

― Whiskeytown Littlecock (ex machina), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

also Beyonce

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:59 (twenty-one years ago)

well, Jarvis was in Pulp for years before they got anywhere, so he was attempting to speak to a generation when he was young, but he didn't have the platform (a major record deal) to let him be heard.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 26 July 2004 18:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but Beyonce is clearly from Ork.

― Huck, Monday, 26 July 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

(not 19, I think she's 22 by now, but still)

Britney & X-Tina both rather young...

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Just discovered Eminem and I have the same birthday - 17th Oct. (tho he's 2 years younger than me).

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but Beyonce is clearly from Ork.

Lots of teen idols are!

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm not exactly sure if it's the "kids of today" who are useless at articulating anything in this case

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

well, Jarvis was in Pulp for years before they got anywhere, so he was attempting to speak to a generation when he was young

Oh yes, quite. Most of them were. By 'start being rock stars' I don't mean start their musical careers. The fans made them stars later, that's what I meant.

Kurt Cobain was 24 when he made it, making him younger than the others, granted.

Avril Lavigne - fair enough. I suppose she just about counts as a figurehead for rebellious youth. Beyoncé certainly isn't.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

when I was 14 my fav band was GbV, and I think R.Pollard is older than my father.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm probably just talking shit. It just surprised me when I found out about how old Eminem was a while ago. And then I started thinking about all the others.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Alba, Beyonce speaks to and is a hero of plenty of teens; you didn't specify that they had to be rebellious

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Eminem was still living with his mommy when he was the age Cobain was when he died, IIRC.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:27 (twenty-one years ago)

My questions started "Are most of the voices that rebellious kids identify with.."

I should have put it in the thread title, though.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh, ok.

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

dizzeeeee

― m. (mitchlnw), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Sugarbabes! Busted!

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I am obviously too much of an indiekid at heart to accept Charlie from Busted as a figurehead of rebellious youth.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

There have been lots of very young big hip hop stars - we seem to be focussing on white people a bit here.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 26 July 2004 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I didn't really mean to argue a 'young people are nowhere' case. It was more about the about the average gap and maybe a positive thing about the generation gap passing (ie. a 30 year old isn't deemed an old fogey by teenagers).

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I found it rather sweet that all the kids on the franz ferdinand message board seem to like Bob cos he's only 23.

― leigh (leigh), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:25 (twenty-one years ago)

When I was 16, most of the people who like Johnny Marr and Roddy Frame did so because they were young, or younger than their group, and if girls, the girls thought them more accessible.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Sammy Hagar was 38 in 1985, the year he joined Van Halen!!!

― Whiskeytown Littlecock (ex machina), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Michael Jackson to thread!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Alba -- why rebellious?

― ENRQ (Enrique), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

My teen bandmember crushes are far too embarrassing to post *blushes at the memory*.

― leigh (leigh), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Why rebellious? Because that was my question. That was who I noticed the whole thing about - the kind of figures who challenge mainstream society, are angry about the world, stand apart from it in some way. So it's about the kids that are fans of that.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:06 (twenty-one years ago)

There have been lots of very young big hip hop stars

I'm afraid I immediately thought of Kriss Kross on reading this.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Aaron, that's totally untrue about Eminem and Kurt Cobain. Kurt Cobain was 27 when he died, and I think Eminem turns 30 or 31 this year. So he was 27 the year the Marshall Mathers LP came out.

― antexit (antexit), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 16:14 (twenty-one years ago)

sammy hagar had a long and uneventful career as a cock rocker before he joined van halen!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Tuesday, 27 July 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

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