It’s time we take the pulse of our respective generational experiences. If you don’t know the Dugout Chatter drill already, you are about to be asked some hard-hitting questions that require your gut answers. Then we all take it from there. This rare thematic edition should elicit some thought-provoking chatter. But enough of my yapping…

The Who’s “My Generation” or Generation X’s “Your Generation”?

What two rock ‘n roll artists represent the range from best to worst among the music of your generation, that is, your formative rock ‘n roll years?

Musically, did/do you feel attuned to what might typically be thought of as your generation, both in its time and since that time?

What was the most significant contribution your parents’/family’s generation made on your musical upbringing?

What positive aspect of your generation’s music do you feel has been lost in the critical profile that’s since developed around that era?

At what point in rock’s development would it have needed to die to avoid getting old?

If there was one musical value from your generation that you would hope will be passed down through future generations, what would it be?

I look forward to your responses.

Here’s a topic that got a little play last spring. I thought it was worth revisiting, in part to see if anyone’s had luck turning on a friend to one of the bands mentioned and in part to see if there are any other failed turn-on attempts that Townspeople would like to share. Who knows, someone might finally “score!”

This post initially appeared 5/13/08.

Is there a band you’ve had no success turning friends onto, a band or artist you understand has some stumbling blocks to overcome yet cannot convince a single friend of some relative merits? Don’t be shy.

I’ve had absolutely no success turning friends onto Be Bop Deluxe, a band an old work friend tried to turn me onto around 1987 with a 60-minute cassette mix that made an impression for a couple of weeks, got filed away for a good 15 years, and finally resurfaced in a box of cassettes I was clearing out, this time impressing me enough to quickly track down used vinyl of almost all their releases. I’ve written about this quest and what it meant to me elsewhere. Nearly 2 years since I wrote that heartfelt piece, I’m still waiting to collect my first Be Bop Deluxe Turn-on Points. How about you? There’s got to be some artist you love that not even your closest musical comrades will give the time of day.