How dare you!!...I fought in the Punk Wars y'know!!...if it wasnt for me you'd all be listening to Middle of the Road , AOR rock now!...er!...
Actually your right I often muse on my disappointment with the lack of social commentry and 'movements' for change in modern popular music is basically me wanting to be 16 again....though I would openly welcome such a thing even if it excluded me by age ( or taste) ...as it should do!...but I cant help myself , when you hear the passion and read the lyrics of Going Underground, surely everyone should be asking where is that likes of that now!!?...having said that I also think the age of 'rock'n'roll as a challanging social and cultural popular art form maybe be over.
Filler , step into my office , we need to establish your understanding of the word 'Dull'
I'm rather blithely hoping that this anti-establishment social commentary role in music is being filled by something beyond my ken, like grime or hiphop, and as you say us older ones are excluded by age or taste...I think you're right that rock'n'roll as a genre to challenge the establishment is probably long done. Once something becomes extremely popular it gets co-opted by the mainstream, like all those American 'punk' bands that make a mockery of the whole shebang...
there's also the problem of penetration...ooer...but the way the likes of The Jam or the Specials could get on a prime time TV show and people would be watching it - those spaces simply don't exist anymore as everyone has their custom podcast playlists or infinite-choice streaming services...even if those bands did exist, we'd probably just lack an avenue of finding out about them - until they give up and sell out and the marketing budget comes into play...
I wish I was younger again just so I wouldn't want to go home after standing for 45 minutes at a gig...'Alright lads, no need for an encore, my hands have gone numb due to bad circulation, just play the hit and fuck off so I can go to bed'
