Hearing Bette Midler's (rather sub standard) version of Stay With Me Baby on the radio today, I remembered when Lorraine Ellison's original came out and how it touched all our teenage hearts.

And it set me thinking - I don't think today's young have the same depth of passion we did.

I don't think they have any real emotion.

No wonder most of the hits sound thin and empty.
Teenagers simply don't care much anymore.
They shrug their shoulders when our leaders murder thousands in Iraq.
Who cares?
They don't care about miscarriages of justice.

And they don't even care about love and desire - stay with me baby? If you want to, but don't worry if you don't.

No wonder LOVE features so little in hits these days.

The audience don't really understand what it means.

Unfortunately JK your right.

As a writer, its harder and harder to place songs with any emotional depth. I think its a bit patronising to say its the kids though, I believe its the a&r who are scared and novelty seems to sell and keep them in their jobs another week (!)

"...I don't think today's young have the same depth of repression we did.

There, fixed it for you.

The difference between now and then is... how do you rebel against something that doesn't care if you rebel?

I incidentally note that Lorraine Ellison never actually charted in Britain with her original.

Kept out of the lists by titans like Val Doonican, Whistling Jack Smith, Snoopy Vs The Red Baron and Harry Secombe.

Don't quite know what that tells us about changing tastes and attitudes, though.

Could it be that different generations express emotions in very different ways? For example, people used to date/marry in keeping with social status. Then came the generations (60s/70s etc) who formed relationships for love. I dare say the current younger generation seem to express "taste rushes", which change from one minute to the next.

It will be a brave writer that tries to predict what's coming next.