The following is only relevant if you think of it in terms of cultural dissemination and its consequences

So for some reason completely unknown to me, I got the masochistic urge to listen to some old Good Charlotte songs today. And I sit here, literally baffled, both aforementioned urge and by the music itself.
I've never been a Good Charlotte fan, so I may be a bit biased. By the time they became popular, pop-punk rock was SO passé for me. Not only was I morally opposed to the hypocrisy of a chart-topping bad ripping on the rich and famous, but I generally couldn't understand emo bands due to my happy childhood.

But although I watched their youtube videos today with a light scowl plastered on my face, it was scowl of confusion and perplexity, much like the one I often imagine anthropologists to wear when analyzing more troubling aspects of human societies.

I mean, granted, I'm four to six years removed from their general fan base, but I never remember ever seeing such angst in my peer group, so many skater-kids tattooed and garbed in black and bandannas, such frivolous use of eyeliner and blatant disregard for the "recommended use" instructions on the back of the hair gel bottle.

Actually, I'd like to retract that last statement. I know there are TONS of kids in high schools and middle schools across the nation that express their natural teenage rebellion by challenging the social norms of the previous generation in such a manner. What I never remember seeing among my peer group was a group of 30 year-olds who dressed and acted like they were still angsty teenagers.

I mean, come on! What motivates a 25-year old man to wake up in the morning and write a song about how much he hates being in high school and how much he loves pissing off adults. Actually, I'm sure if I were still in high school at 25, I'd also hate it and the adults who thrive where I have not.

I suppose I just can't understand why they want to remember and re-live that particular blend of bitter rebellion and self-deprecating humor that boarders on self-loathing that is essential to teenage misfits, especially when it was half a lifetime in their past.


But the only thing that really bothers me is how the ---- I know all of the lyrics.