Do you have any shocking gaps in your knowledge (aka ignorance) ? :-)

1. 91

   Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years ago

   It occured to me the other day that I have a shocking gap in my knowledge. What is it? Apart from a few film themes, I couldn't name a single piece of music composed in the 21st century !!! Not even one! Although I could name a few celebrity pop stars like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Beyonce, I can't name one single modern song they're responsible for. Is this shocking or what?
   
   I'm not proud of this ignorance, but am I ashamed? Nope. Not a bit of it! It's not that I dislike all music - in fact I've even written three hubs about music I love - it's just that I dislike the great majority of modern songs, so I don't listen to the radio and I don't watch music shows. Rather than face the utter tedium of sitting through ten pieces of garbage to hear one nice song, I'd sooner just listen to CDs of old music I know I'll like.
   
   Does anyone else have similar astonishing gaps in their knowledge, either about modern culture such as pop songs (in my view a commendable ignorance) or about serious and important subjects such as dinosaurs (in my view an atrocious ignorance - because I like dinosaurs! ). Are you ashamed or proud of your ignorance on subjects which everyone else seems to know everything about?

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      Melissa A Smithposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Ignorance to Beiber and Beyonce is commendable. I do everything in my power to avoid music by them but somehow it keeps ending up in my face so I'm wondering how you were able to achieve this? But there are other genres of music out there besides pop that you should try out. I generally have ignorance to anything politics.

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It takes great skill and meticulous planning to avoid modern popular culture Melissa. Maybe I could give lessons on how to achieve it?
         
         As far as politics is concerned, certain aspects of the subject interest me greatly, but talk of party politics and especially economics, tends to leave me stone cold in a coma. Rather like pop songs - I could name most of the leading politicians from the past, but current members of my own British government ? - I haven't got a clue.

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Greensleeves,
      Do not. Repeat. Do not beat yourself up over this minor burden. I myself intentionally, and with forethought, avoid 21st century music if you can call it that.
      Beebs, Gaga, and most so-called Country singers turn my stomach because their songs, much like poppers, sound exactly the same.
      And Luke Bryan and that Shelton guy irritate me with their amateur brand of humor on the one hundred award shows they host for Country music.
      I simply don't care.
      I hope this reply helps you, but if it don't, email me and ill teach you for free, how to ignore these selections of fad music.
      Peace.
      K.

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Kenneth - if I knew who Luke Bryan and Shelton were, I'd probably be able to agree with everything you've said, but I can't comment on them, because I've never heard of them before today, and I probably never will again after today.

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            kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Greensleeves,
            You haven't missed anything. Take my word for it.
            K.
            Peace

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      B. Leekleyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I like songs by singer-songwriter Peter Mayer, such as "Blue Boat Home"; "Holy Now"; "My Soul", etc

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Brian; the 3 music hubs I have written include one about the history of Christmas carols, one about an American folk singer Connie Dover, and one about the folksong 'Greensleeves' which gave me my username. So you can imagine I agree with you about Peter Mayer - MUCH more in keeping with the kind of music I most like! (Never heard of him before, but I just watched 3 videos, and there's probably more talent there than you'd see in 100 multimillion dollar pop celebs).

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      mariexotoniposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I felt like this today. I was thinking about the difference in what I say when I just am talking and going with the flow versus me talking when I have thoroughly thought about what I say and what exactly it means what it could imply.
      
      I don't know why, but it just came up and slapped me in the face today that words- just one word- can have so much meaning. I don't know if I've ever appreciated the richness, complexities, mysteries and wonders about languages and words and how we construct meaning. It's so crazy and so automatic and natural. And I'm writing here on HubPages!
      
      Has influenced me to re-examine my hubs and spend time fixing them up. It's just amazing what the potential power words can have.

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      tsmogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have not ever owned a cell phone of any type. I know you push the talk button to talk and you push the end button (or red usually) button to stop talking - hang up. I am a cell phone illiterate.

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yep I can definitely go with that area of ignorance too. I do own a cell phone, but only for - guess what - phoning people. I know that's a novel idea, but I use my phone for phoning people. Occasionally I reply to a text message with a text, but I don't like doing so because it takes me 20 times longer to say anything. I do nothing else with my phone. I don't have 'apps' and I don't use it to connect to the Internet. Just what is the appeal of reading a web page on a screen small enough to fit in your pocket?? I don't understand!
         
         But you know something - I work with people of all ages including some in their early 20s, and even some of these don't seem able to get to grips with all the functions on a modern cell phone. As for the older ones - technology develops so fast these days that peoples' ability to keep pace gets left behind.

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      Shyron E Shenkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No! Being uninformed is not ignorance. I do know some modern songs that I like but not a lot. I watch American Idol and the Voice. But mostly I stay in my own comfort zone where music is concerned. Having said that, I do enjoy most musical pieces at a given time.

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      Christy Kirwanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I probably have gaps in my ignorance, rather than gaps in my knowledge.

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      Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you don't listen to any modern music, how do you know you don't like it?

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Ah Sherry - that's easy. It's because it's everywhere!! You can't really avoid it can you? It's blaring out of shops and bars, it's on every light entertainment show where they have a guest singer, it's on talent shows, and you hear it coming out of other peoples' radios. But if I don't like the sound, I don't make a point of finding out who the singer is or what the song's called. It just doen't register with me. That's why I made the point of saying I can't name a modern song. I've heard enough of them, but never bothered with writing down or remembering the names.

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            Sherry Hewinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I used to think the same thing. You have to dig a little to find the good stuff, but it's there.

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      Shinkickerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I'm opening up huge gaps in my knowledge of popular culture, especially TV. The internet offers so much more interesting and inspiring material.

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       mochirajacksonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Don't worry, my twelve year old daughters enjoy listening to 80s and 90s rock because they hate the 'rubbish' songs that are out today. Don't even mention Justin Bieber to them, LOL.
       
       With regard to ignorance, I guess I'm a little ignorant about politics. I have a general idea of what's going on in my own country but I couldn't name many prime ministers or presidents of most other countries. I suppose I should make a effort and it is embarrassing sometimes, but it just doesn't interest me that much. They say never to talk about religion or politics though, so at least I can hide my ignorance most of the time!

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       amiebutchkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I, too, yes do have shocking gaps in my knowledge of so many things!  I know what I learned in school - I was a good, fast learning and could memorize facts.  But if I didn't specifically learn it in school - I am void of that knowledge - especially sometimes current events, which I am embarrassed to admit.  I am a mom, and have been holed up for ten years.  I feel quite out of touch!  I would probably be more embarrassed but I don't interact much with others who are different than me - intellectual conversations at the soccer field are pretty slim pickins.....

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   FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

   I stopped paying attention to "current" music sometime in the mid 90s. Nowadays I tend to stay in my own little pop cultural bubble of stuff I enjoyed in my teens and early 20s (roughly the years 1984-1992)...I'm fine with being clueless about what's "in" at the moment.
   
   Late last year, just for the hell of it, I listened to the top 10 singles of 2013 (as chosen by Entertainment Weekly magazine in their end-of-the-year issue) and I wrote a Hub about my impressions of each track. Let's just say that halfway through the experiment I wished I'd never started.

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      Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Ah! I wholeheartedly agree! I'm sure I may occasionally catch some new music on talent shows like 'The X Factor' (but even then the music is often from a previous era) but I just don't listen to the charts and I don't listen to stations playing contemporary music. I couldn't recognise one song or one album by name, and if one of these mega stars of recent years walked past me in the street I wouldn't recognise them either (unless it was Lady Gaga in one of her most bizarre costumes :-)

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3. 91

   Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years ago

   Just read the hub by FatFreddy'sCat which he referred to in his comment - it's funny and in my opinion, true, so I'm sharing a link to it:
   
   http://fatfreddyscat.hubpages.com/hub/M … es-of-2013
   
   10 good reasons why I don't listen to new music (well 9 actually - I quite liked the Rihanna song)

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4. 82

   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   The more you learn, the more you realise just how truly ignorant you are.
   I know a little about a lot of things, and some people know a lot about a few things.
   By the time you know a lot about a lot, you are very old and frail, and all that knowledge just dies with you when you go.
   How utterly depressing!

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Right on, IzzyM,
      But oh what a journey.✌️

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      Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks a lot IZZYM. Before I read your comment I felt ignorant. Now I feel ignorant and depressed.

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   Beth37posted 10 years ago

   Im pretty sure I know virtually nothing about SERP or SERPS if it can be pluralized.
   
   Wait I just remembered it means... search engine.... something something.... so it's official... I know a little bit about everything.

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Beth37
      Guess what? I read in the Book of Ecclestiaes that too much wisdom is a wearisome burden, so I take that to heart. I want to know just enough to make my hubs sound sensible.

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         Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It is wearisome being *this* knowledgeable, but if it makes you feel better, sometimes I still have to depend on spell check.

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      Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Beth; Yup, Internet jargon and abbreviations is another area of ignorance for me too. Being a HubPage writer who wants to make the most I can from writing here, I sometimes look at pages like 'Google Analytics' and try to understand them. But what do I find?
      
      Bounce rates, intelligence events, dashboards, behaviour flows, first interactions, second interactions and drop-offs, engagements, affinity categories, in-market segments, goal conversions, goal completions, goal values etc etc etc.
      
      Yes, you can easily find all of these jargon phrases within a few minutes on Google Analytics. I give up and go to bed with a headache.

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         Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I had no idea it was that bad. I don't want to disarm a bomb, I just want to write a short story about a puppy and a butterfly.

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            Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

              What will it be? An emotional journey home across America by a lonely puppy with only a butterfly for company? I can't wait for the Disney screen adaptation.

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               Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Don't be silly! It's a romance.

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6. 95

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   You'd be surprised how much I don't know. I have plenty of knowledge gaps about several subjects, including today's pop culture, particularly music and actresses. It's no fun watching music award shows anymore because I don't know anybody and I don't know the songs that are nominated. I listen to news radio in the car, don't own an iPod or MP3 player, so I'm totally out out the loop. To sum up this post, I leave you with a little ditty:
   
   Ask me 'bout pop culture fare?
   I'm as dumb as a bucket of hair,
   Bieber or Gaga, I don't even care,
   My right hand raised to you, I swear!

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Janshares,
      I love your ditty. And I disagree with the text with a passion. YOU are not dumb at all. I tell you. Without God's grace I would have failed high school and couldn't afford college, so I keep that in mind that Our Creator has a plan for you and I who only think we do not know much.
      Love.
      K.

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         jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, kenneth avery, God's love right back to you. Very sweet of you to say.

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      mariexotoniposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      So relatable- I am completely clueless when it comes to our pop culture. My friends think I'm weird. I just tell them they're right.
      
      I can't understand the fascination behind it all, really. Guess it just really does not interest me!

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         kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         marie,
         Ditto.

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I guess it doesn't matter too much does it! In 20 years time most of the public will be clueless about the pop culture of 2014. A new batch of 'sensational, brilliant megastars' will have come along and most of today's stars will be largely forgotten - how many teenagers today would even recognise the names of the acts at the top of the charts a decade ago? The term  'pop culture' I guess says it all - it's about those who are popular in today's culture - not those with the staying power to be remembered by generations to come.

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7. 95

   Rochelle Frankposted 10 years ago

   "Does anyone else have similar astonishing gaps in their knowledge, either about modern culture such as pop songs (in my view a commendable ignorance)."
   
   When you have lived several decades, been in school for several years, traveled to a number of places, read hundreds of books, and faithfully watched Jeopardy since Alex Trebek was a boy, you learn a lot of things.
   I am also ignorant about a great many things.
   It is not worth clogging up the already overpacked memory banks with totally useless information.---especially about pop music and culture.

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      Beth37posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      lol

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Rochelle,
      For me to do research on subjects I hate makes no sense unless I get paid.

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8. 90

   wildernessposted 10 years ago

   I have never found the proper response to "Does this make my butt look big?" even though half the population understands it quite well. 
   
   Or for that matter most of what the female species (I'm positive by now they are a different species) says.

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      kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      wilderness,
      Me either so I try not to stress.

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         wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It does no good to stress; those of us with such shocking gaps in knowledge are doomed to be plodders, forever trying to understand, forever failing.

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   JessBrazposted 10 years ago

   This post makes me feel less old. lol.
   
   I was at work the other day (yesterday in fact).. they play satellite radio where I work, and each day they chose a different station.. Yesterday it was mid-90's alternative... which I love love love.
   
   I was happily working away, singing along at the top of my lungs (a fringe benefit I suppose, to not working with the public.. lol. I don't really care what my co-workers think of my singing voice. I don't have to put on a show for customers..anymore... man I hated working in customer service. lol.)  .. They played two of my favourite songs back to back "Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam and "Interstate Love Song" by The Stone Temple Pilots..
   
   Both bands I have seen in concert.
   
   Anyhoo, as I was singing along, some of the *ahem* younger kids I work with smiled and asked me what song this was.... I happily explained, "why, it's STP, of course" .... "huh! Never heard of them"
   
   NEVER HEARD OF THEM?!?!?! Whhhhaaaaaattt?!?! 
   I'm not that old... approaching 30 (but not there yet!) ... These "kids" are only maybe 20? 21? .. And I feel like I'm light years older than they are..
   
   I shudder to think how they would react if I told them I'm taking the day off next week to make sure I'm able to get tickets to the Fleetwood Mac concert coming to my area in the fall.. They'd probably blink at me and think I was speaking Chinese.
   
   So, I guess I second everyone else's "gap" in current music knowledge.. I search around on the internet for a lot of "new" music... but never poppy bands.. Pop music today is "techno" music... I remember when pop music was kitchy love songs you could sing along with, not stuff you would listen to at a rave.
   
   I think I mentally stopped aging somewhere in 1997...

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    cfinposted 10 years ago

    I work with scientists and my biggest weakness is science. Our conversations are horrible.

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    Gordon Hamiltonposted 10 years ago

    I could hardly name a pop or movie star beyond the 1980's (and I was only at High School then!) The last movie I saw at the cinema was the original Police Academy back in 1981. (I did go once with my ex to see "something" but fell asleep almost immediately and apparently embarrassed her so much with my snoring in the cinema, she would never let me go with her again). I only watch sport and factual documentary programmes/shows on TV, so no influence there.
    
    On the plus side, I will be raising a glass to the legendary (and stunningly gorgeous) Doris Day tomorrow on the occasion of her 90th birthday...

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       Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not quite as bad as that, but I've only been to the cinema maybe half a dozen times this century and wouldn't recognise most current film stars, and the CD with the most modern music that I've bought comes from the early 90s.
       
       Combining film and music - Doris Day at 90! Thanks for that. As a child I loved her films and I think as a singer she's greatly under-rated. In her particular genre, she's the best ever.

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          Gordon Hamiltonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Just realised you're on the same side of the pond as me. If you're interested, BBC Radio 2 is broadcasting a birthday tribute to Doris Day from 8pm to 10pm (BST = GMT +1) this coming Friday (4th April), which is actually of course available worldwide online. I'm technically working but will certainly have the wireless on...
          
          (Amended to include international time )

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             Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks Gordon

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    lorlie6posted 10 years ago

    Oh Gawd, yes!  I truly find the older I get, the more I realize I do not know...I think it's that simple, at least for me.

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       kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       lorlie6,
       You know what old really is? I asked a young man about twelve, did he like The Foo Fighters, and he said, "he'll--o! That's like ancient history, dude." Then I continued feeling depressed and out of step with time.

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          JessBrazposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Oh. My. The Foo Fighters are ancient history?! I feel so sad for the next generation. They don't know what good music is. The Foo Fighters are awesome.

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             Gordon Hamiltonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I had to Google them - they're the teeny bop generation for me. I'd never heard of them before either, from the other extreme!

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                JessBrazposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                lol. I guess I'm right in the middle.. That's usually how it seems to be for me.. Never the oldest, never the youngest.. I usually fall somewhere in the middle in most situations. Always the middle child forever. lol.

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                kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                They were in the outer fringe of "Generation X," the more-cleaned-up version of "their" music.

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                   kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   I knew when Janis, Jim (Morrison and Croche), Jimi, Otis, Brian, and Skynnard left us, old age had definitely moved into the backyard of my life and stalking me as fast as I was growing old.

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             kenneth averyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Jess,
             I could write a hub on ways to tell that old age has bitten you.

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                JessBrazposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                That could probably be a really funny and creative hub! You know you're old when (or in my case, you know you're an '80s child when..) ... You remember using floppy disks... or, you still remember the Scruff McGruff theme song (Scruff Mgruff, chicago, illinois 60652!) .. lol. Okay, I'm getting carried away here. lol.

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                Shyron E Shenkoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Please do write that book, I want to know how far back in time I must go to find when I was bitten.

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             mochirajacksonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             The Foos rule! x

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          lorlie6posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Don't know Foo Fighters are, but that's cuz I'm so damned old-pushing the ole six oh.  Freaks me out big time, fifty was a major thing, but forty was the best decade of my life.

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    tirelesstravelerposted 10 years ago

    You had me worried.  I was afraid you were grieving about this knowledge gap. I had that start in the 80's.  I had small kids.  By the 90's I was back as the kids got into music.  We went to trivia night at a local pub awhile ago. Our 21 year old got nearly half our points.  Thanks for the idea . Tonight is trivia night at the golf course and I don't have dinner plans.

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