I'm 52 and I was finished with Led Zepplin et alii in 1979. I still have their records, sure, but life's too short to get stuck in nostalgia, which is what you've confused with "cool." Off the top of my head, The Strokes' "Machu Picchu" and Chuck Prophet's "Doubter Out of Jesus" are just two songs out of hundreds since 2000 that affirm my faith in rock and/or popular music. In my opinion, both genres are alive and well. Cheers.
Why does most new music suck?
Ok I will have some exclusions to my statement. I'm not talking about classical or jazz. My comment is mostly pointed to rock and pop releases. Don't even get me started on rap.... I don't consider it music. I will admit that I'm an old foggy but come on, where are some talented new groups? I grew up with the Beatles, Who, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix etc. I sample a lot of new music and the recordings are terrible. The engineers should be fired for producing over compressed shrill garbage. The talent seems to be lost or doesn't exist. I have turned to some folk/country or blues music. It really is a sad state of affairs....Oh my god, I'm turning into my parents.