I think this song, although catchy, is a little arrogant, shortsighted and hypocritical. First off, she sets up a straw man argument that amounts to a vague caricature of her opponents. She seems to imply that the people represented in lines such as this;
"And you say,
My children weren't the same,
My children's children they're the ones to blame,"
are her prime political opponents, which is arguable and seems really to beat the rotting horse carcass that is youthful rebellion even when there are no more realistic oppressors to rebel against (save maybe gay rights opponents, but I don't think that's what Macdonald is alluding to).
She also speaks as though she is dealing with someone whose views are essentially untrue or wrong, without addressing the same potential problems in her point of view;
"And maybe if you had a true point of view I would listen to you,
But its just your one sided opinions getting in my way,"
What makes her point of view any more valid or "true" other than by virtue of it being hers? Why should the opposition, who is, obviously, opposed to her views, regard her opinions?
She is giving as little thought and attention to the opposition's point of view as they allegedly are to hers, so why should she expect any more from them? If she is upset over the stubbornness and intolerance of these alleged "older people" then why is she responding by being stubborn, arrogant and dismissive? This kind of mistake makes the song seem as if its intents are more masturbatory than argumentative or thought provoking. If Bill O'Reilly were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. If Karl Rove were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. Macdonald frames the situation egocentrically, which makes it hard to take seriously. She assumes that her opinions are the ONLY "right" or "correct" ones and in the end represents a potentially realistic conflict through the one-way mirror lenses of an arrogant, ignorant teenager.
Having said that, I like this song.
I sort of agree with you Duncan, but on the other hand, the song wouldn't sound as good if she sounded ambivalent or contradictory to herself. "OOooooh Old people drive me nuts. OOooooh but on the one hand, maybe we drive them nuts." I think it' just her thoughts on the whole concept of old people saying "well in my day." because I think usually young people do not get a chance to argue back to this because they do not actualy know whether the older generation were really any better in their day. But I think she is making...
I sort of agree with you Duncan, but on the other hand, the song wouldn't sound as good if she sounded ambivalent or contradictory to herself. "OOooooh Old people drive me nuts. OOooooh but on the one hand, maybe we drive them nuts." I think it' just her thoughts on the whole concept of old people saying "well in my day." because I think usually young people do not get a chance to argue back to this because they do not actualy know whether the older generation were really any better in their day. But I think she is making the point that our generation definetly has more freedome and even though there will always be a few bad apples, it's better for the rest of us and we shouldn't have to suffer because of them.
I think you misunderstand her intentions; she admits all the faults of her generation pretty quickly,
"don't care what you have to say at all" and
"we'll say what we wanna say".
I think you misunderstand her intentions; she admits all the faults of her generation pretty quickly,
"don't care what you have to say at all" and
"we'll say what we wanna say".
Not even she could miss the obvious arrogance of those statements. The problem here is that you're assuming she's trying to make an argument proving others are wrong, but that's not what she's doing. She's actually encouraging freedom of thought and individuality of opinion; that's what Youth of Today stand for.
Not even she could miss the obvious arrogance of those statements. The problem here is that you're assuming she's trying to make an argument proving others are wrong, but that's not what she's doing. She's actually encouraging freedom of thought and individuality of opinion; that's what Youth of Today stand for.
She is trying to argue against failing to talk to youth, engage with...
She is trying to argue against failing to talk to youth, engage with them, or even to try to understand them at all, WHILE IMPOSING THEIR OPINIONS UPON THEM. That is what she's criticising. This is obvious in
"And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today
Stating your opinion, making it ring in my head"
This song specifically deals with an imposition of opinion from the elder generation upon the younger. Anyone will agree it's not right to impose your opinion on others regardless of circumstance, and this is exactly what is happening. Her issue is that others opinion's are being forced down her throat without any understanding or consideration for reality or change of times. Her reaction to this is, I don't have to listen to you if you won't listen to me:
"And maybe if you had a true point of view
I would listen to you
But it's just your one sided feelings
They keep getting in my way"
which is perfectly true, and not arrogant or short-sighted at all. She can't have an argument if the other side won't listen to her, so she's saying she won't argue at all.
I think this song, although catchy, is a little arrogant, shortsighted and hypocritical. First off, she sets up a straw man argument that amounts to a vague caricature of her opponents. She seems to imply that the people represented in lines such as this; "And you say, My children weren't the same, My children's children they're the ones to blame," are her prime political opponents, which is arguable and seems really to beat the rotting horse carcass that is youthful rebellion even when there are no more realistic oppressors to rebel against (save maybe gay rights opponents, but I don't think that's what Macdonald is alluding to). She also speaks as though she is dealing with someone whose views are essentially untrue or wrong, without addressing the same potential problems in her point of view; "And maybe if you had a true point of view I would listen to you, But its just your one sided opinions getting in my way," What makes her point of view any more valid or "true" other than by virtue of it being hers? Why should the opposition, who is, obviously, opposed to her views, regard her opinions? She is giving as little thought and attention to the opposition's point of view as they allegedly are to hers, so why should she expect any more from them? If she is upset over the stubbornness and intolerance of these alleged "older people" then why is she responding by being stubborn, arrogant and dismissive? This kind of mistake makes the song seem as if its intents are more masturbatory than argumentative or thought provoking. If Bill O'Reilly were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. If Karl Rove were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. Macdonald frames the situation egocentrically, which makes it hard to take seriously. She assumes that her opinions are the ONLY "right" or "correct" ones and in the end represents a potentially realistic conflict through the one-way mirror lenses of an arrogant, ignorant teenager. Having said that, I like this song.
I sort of agree with you Duncan, but on the other hand, the song wouldn't sound as good if she sounded ambivalent or contradictory to herself. "OOooooh Old people drive me nuts. OOooooh but on the one hand, maybe we drive them nuts." I think it' just her thoughts on the whole concept of old people saying "well in my day." because I think usually young people do not get a chance to argue back to this because they do not actualy know whether the older generation were really any better in their day. But I think she is making...
I sort of agree with you Duncan, but on the other hand, the song wouldn't sound as good if she sounded ambivalent or contradictory to herself. "OOooooh Old people drive me nuts. OOooooh but on the one hand, maybe we drive them nuts." I think it' just her thoughts on the whole concept of old people saying "well in my day." because I think usually young people do not get a chance to argue back to this because they do not actualy know whether the older generation were really any better in their day. But I think she is making the point that our generation definetly has more freedome and even though there will always be a few bad apples, it's better for the rest of us and we shouldn't have to suffer because of them.
I think you misunderstand her intentions; she admits all the faults of her generation pretty quickly, "don't care what you have to say at all" and "we'll say what we wanna say".
I think you misunderstand her intentions; she admits all the faults of her generation pretty quickly, "don't care what you have to say at all" and "we'll say what we wanna say".
Not even she could miss the obvious arrogance of those statements. The problem here is that you're assuming she's trying to make an argument proving others are wrong, but that's not what she's doing. She's actually encouraging freedom of thought and individuality of opinion; that's what Youth of Today stand for.
Not even she could miss the obvious arrogance of those statements. The problem here is that you're assuming she's trying to make an argument proving others are wrong, but that's not what she's doing. She's actually encouraging freedom of thought and individuality of opinion; that's what Youth of Today stand for.
She is trying to argue against failing to talk to youth, engage with...
She is trying to argue against failing to talk to youth, engage with them, or even to try to understand them at all, WHILE IMPOSING THEIR OPINIONS UPON THEM. That is what she's criticising. This is obvious in "And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today Stating your opinion, making it ring in my head"
This song specifically deals with an imposition of opinion from the elder generation upon the younger. Anyone will agree it's not right to impose your opinion on others regardless of circumstance, and this is exactly what is happening. Her issue is that others opinion's are being forced down her throat without any understanding or consideration for reality or change of times. Her reaction to this is, I don't have to listen to you if you won't listen to me: "And maybe if you had a true point of view I would listen to you But it's just your one sided feelings They keep getting in my way"
which is perfectly true, and not arrogant or short-sighted at all. She can't have an argument if the other side won't listen to her, so she's saying she won't argue at all.