Mitch: that funny thumping sound reminds me of several classic jokes, one of which is: "What goes 'thump-thump'? Man running over a squirrel. What goes 'thump-thump, screech, thump-thump, screech, thump-thump'? Man running over a lawyer."
Jim: in re politicians turning into rock stars, haven't Clinton and Kerry both jammed in public? Come to think of it, Harry Truman would play piano pieces for visitors to his presidential library, but he gets a pass for yet another fine joke that he used to tell after the performance (just not in mixed company) - "People always told me that when I grew up I'd either be a politician or a piano player in a whorehouse. And to tell you the truth, there's really not much difference."
MDF: welcome back. You're right about the kids. In fact, with the annoying trend of recycling other people's riffs in hip-hop remakes, one gets ridiculous vignettes. I used to work the scoreboard at a roller hockey rink, and I was forever told that my choices of bumper music were sorely lacking. Direct quote: "If Santana is so great, why weren't they at Woodstock?" Instead of spitting, I told them to bring in their own stuff. It turns out that the opening fifteen seconds of Steely Dan's "Black Cow" is horrible until stolen and mumbled over by some rap 'artist' for five minutes. (This must also explain why Carlos Santana is suddenly cool again.)
Bottom line...there are enough fellow morons out there for Alice Cooper to be properly worried. If it's hip they're there, until it isn't hip any more, and then it's off to the next trend. A good majority of people ride the roller coaster for 10 or 15 years, and then realize that they like what they like, and a fig for other people's approval of it; the others cling to what's left of the herd and let the opinions of the bell-wearers shove them along. Some go into entertainment or politics if they're pretty enough - they get to wear the bells, so it's an appealing gig. (In the end, they need followers just as much as the followers need them.)