There's things I don't like about Gen Z, but most of it I understand the reason behind it. The not liking rock music thing is too bizarre though. Everyone liked rock music. If you were in grade school in the 2000s, you were liking music from the 70s, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin - through the 90s.
It seemed like every generation appreciated rock.
But I've heard that Gen Z does not like rock music. I don't get it. To me that's like "not liking apple pie"; it's such an American cornerstone that it's baffling.
I've got some theories.
Music genres in top popular spots generally have 1-2 gen lifespan. And then it's kept in stasis by the people who experienced it when they were 14-24, then their tastes freeze.
Funk died, Punk died, Disco died, grunge died, emo died, Rap is finally dying.
As they die, they can spawn subgenres and subtypes that if they become popular enough, replace the old and give it a few more years or even a whole 2nd run, but the genre as a whole is still doomed to eventual death. It's the way of the world. Rock had a few good waves maybe, or is it just such a broad term that we're looking at waves of essentially a different thing, like with pop. Either way, it's just that rock had it's time, that's all there is to it.
There's other patterns, the genres get gentrified by normies, corporatized, the old guard is chased out, the music itself gets sanitised for public consumption, then stops being cool (we're all familiar with that trend in media). At the same time, you get this pattern where there are niches doing the exact opposite, nasal gazing from up their own arses, just pushing weird technically complex stuff that is hard to listen-to without spending 3 years weaning yourself onto it and acquiring a taste for it, and it just keeps spiralling into further experimentation and complexity, they get artsy and pretensious about it. Which also gives it a bad name.
You're also seeing a massive streaming lead diversification in music. You can now easily go down whatever rabbit hole you want, while tv and radio are at an all time low. I want to go down some energetic dark-synth line or big-band stuff? I can, with almost no effort. And soon I'll be able to just generate it on demand. I don't like the sound of ai stuff atm, but it's what the young are hearing and being exposed to. Like with mp3s for us, the issues with that sound is what they end up actually liking, the general pop will probably like mushy lyrics and static in the high end that ai tends to make, while the more dedicated music fans will all each be off in their own little subgenres, far more than was possible before.
All the big old oak trees are dying, being replaced with a field of 1000 different shrubs, grasses and flowers.
Yeah I like pink floyd, because it's what my dad would always put on. And of the 2 tv channels and 4 (basically) radio channels, he'd have that stuff on. That's not a thing or a constraint anymore.
Also, the facebook phenomena. Grandma is on facebook, and it is associated with grandma and grandpa. Boomers are uncool, and so therefore is their music. How many are going to enjoy going to see AC/DC struggle around on stage today, next to more boomers as compared to some scene where it's all their same aged peers. Which is my final point, the live performances now, they aren't what they used to be.
You make a lot of good points, but on the whole I believe that garage bands in the new generation would still be creating killer rock if the gatekeepers (record label Jews) hadn't decided that the last ten years was the Decade of the Nigga on the male side and Electropop Homosexual on the female side. A lot of that stuff is just as unlistenable as the stuff you're talking about, but it's pushed by the gatekeepers.
Ever listened to the Arctic Monkeys? Those guys were lighting the world on fire in the 2010s. That's not that long ago. They've strayed from their style since then as bands usually do, but that's why people make new bands.
On AC/DC, you are probably right about the live shows. And like BandageBandolier said, there is a ceiling on popularity of retro stuff because kids want to own something fresh. Having said that, it seems like I've heard as much retro music being played as it's possible to hear.