Real Talk: "Old School vs New School"

If there is one statement I loathe more than any from the "older crowd", it's "Boy, music sure is terrible these days", or whatever variation(s) they might have on this phrase. Now, I understand their concern/frustration: a lot of people grew up on Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, and all of the other legends that are brought up when someone harps on what "good music" is. Which is all well and good: these, among countless others, are originals, to some extent, and are creative geniuses in their field. They deserve all of the accolades that they receive. My problem is with the ignorance that these "old heads" exhibit when they start these arguments.

Perfect example: my wife is having this very debate with a co-worker of hers. He is on the "old head" side of the argument, speaking on how he feels musicians aren't as serious as they used to be, where they just talk about partying, having sex, and have no real "substance" to their music. My wife asks him if he can honestly say an artist like John Mayer, who's music she has enjoyed and is VERY familiar with, since "Your Body Is A Wonderland" came out, cannot be considered a more "serious" artist. He asked her who he is. Now, let's step out of this argument for a second: if you are going to debate with anyone, one thing you need to know is BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE. If we are going to debate how to build a motorcycle, and you say your way is better than mine, you better know my way in and out before you start to debunk it. How can you possibly say that new music is horrible, but you know nothing about the artists who perform it, especially an artist who has won Grammies, and has sold out concerts, as well as sold loads of albums? I get this all the time. It's like, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", which is cool. If you are in love with The Whispers, and that era, and don't want to listen to anything else, by all means, do what you must. In saying this, do NOT challenge my music when you obviously don't have the slightest idea what someone is saying.