Resampled Youth – Because Payback is a Playlist

There’s a universal truth no one tells you about parenting: one day, your child will blast music from their room, hijack your car audio, or slowly destroy their eardrums listening at deaf-con loud through their Beats—and you’ll just stand there, shaking your head.

For Gen X, we survived our parents calling our music “noise” and swearing that Nirvana, 2 Live Crew and Madonna were corrupting civilization. But now? Karma’s here, wearing skinny jeans and holding a Bluetooth speaker.

Because this generation’s offense isn’t just bad music—it’s butchering ours. I’m talking about the remixes, the covers, the sampling—where they take perfectly good songs from our youth and Frankenstein them into something unrecognizable. 

I walked past my teen’s room the other day and thought, “Wow, is that Tracy Chapman?” Nope. It was a remix featuring a DJ named something like Lil Saucy Nugget.

The fastest way to feel 100 years old? Hearing your kid call a cover of “Zombie” by The Cranberries “this cool new track.” After a good laugh, I gave my daughter a full lecture on the original. She agreed it was better—and added it to her playlist.

To be fair, not all covers are crimes against humanity. Some are brilliant. Disturbed’s “Sound of Silence”? Goosebumps. Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel”? Love it. And “Hallelujah” has been reborn more times than I can count. Great covers don’t just copy; they transform.

Every generation has its musical divide. Our parents didn’t get grunge or rap; their parents didn’t get rock n’ roll. But at least we had the decency to discover new sounds. This generation? They’re raiding our playlists, slapping on a trap beat, and acting like they’ve cracked the Da Vinci Code.

The kicker? When they roll their eyes at us for “not getting it.” Oh, I get it—I just already lived it, in a flannel shirt and Doc Martens.

So here’s the lesson: music evolves, tastes change, and apparently, my youth now comes with a dance remix. Instead of fighting it, I’ll crank up the original in the car and sing every word—because payback’s a playlist, and baby, I’ve got decades of it.

 

Janet Smith is a proud mom of one daughter and a marketing professional who is grateful for her rural roots in the London area. Follow Janet’s funny and honest journey at IG & TT | @re.marketable.janet or FB | @janetsiddallsmith