By Dani Frank and Rebecca Astheimer

Salutations, readers! We hope your week was enchanting and magical, as they always are here at scenic, sunny Hofstra University.

As you all know, this year’s Super Bowl indulged us in another annual 24 hours of binge drinking and chicken wing-induced comas. Although we were generally too busy writhing on the floor in awe of the preciousness of the Puppy Bowl, every now and then we flipped channels to check the scores and taste the sweet tears of Arizona fans.

In addition, we couldn’t help taking in a few of the notorious Super Bowl ads everyone whines or raves about for about two weeks afterwards. Although there were a few noteworthy ones (including Alec Baldwin as an alien-always a winning combination), the one that stuck in our minds was a Pepsi commercial that featured Bob Dylan and Wil.I.Am serenading us to stock footage from the ’70s and present day. The theme, “Every generation refreshes the world,” intended to make a nostalgic, whimsical reflection on the past 50 years and remind the viewer just how awesome Pepsi is. It’s a nice idea and the commercial is undoubtedly catchy. But wait a minute. We see Dylan, in his iconic Ray-Bans as a front-runner of the flower child generation. But what are we doing with Wil.I.Am? Are we to accept him as the defining face of the millenium? What is happening, America? (Or should we say Pepsi? Or Pepsi America?)

Let’s just do some comparisons here. Some classic Dylan songs include “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times Are A-Changin’,” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” These are songs that fueled the blossoming love revolution and counter-culture attitudes of the 1960s. And what about some of Wil.I.Am’s masterpieces? “Let’s Get Retarded in Here,” “My Humps” (lyrics include: “What you gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside that trunk?/I’ma get, get, get, get you drunk, get you love drunk off my hump”) and “Don’t ‘Phunk’ With My Heart.” Granted, he does practically produce every musician in Hollywood, and there are a few politically-conscious songs he has either written or rapped in (“Where is the Love,” “Yes We Can”). But can you imagine musical history if Bob Dylan or The Beatles had written a song about “lovely lady lumps”? Maybe we’re sounding like the senile, hairy stoner who runs the record shop down the street from you, but seriously…why? Just why? Granted, not every song written way back when wreaked of political and social unrest (Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” was No. 2 on the Billboard Charts for a few weeks in 1966…a song rumored to be written about smoking banana peels). But in 1970, the No. 1 song was “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel, whereas in 2004 it was “Yeah!” by Usher and Lil John (an aptly-named song, because the majority of the lyrics really are just the word “yeah” repeated over and over). And our idea of entertainment television has gotten to the point where we now are watching Tila Tequila give lap dances to someone’s grandma for a “shot at love.”

Every minute there is a new piece of technology designed to distract us and kids don’t seem to have the time to sit down and teach themselves guitar or read a book anymore. Who’s reading the paper when there is an iPod upstairs and Facebook access on your Blackberry? Since when has our youth been all about partying and making love in “dis” club? Why is Katy Perry making millions off a song entitled “I Kissed a Girl (and I Liked it)” that she didn’t even sing for (she only shouts and hacks out words like a middle-aged woman with only half of a lung)?

So I guess we’re expressing disappointment with our generation in comparison to that of our parents. Don’t get us wrong, there are some great things going on right now that definitely wouldn’t have been happening 40 years ago (a black president, the acceptance of homosexuality in everyday culture, etc.). But sometimes it feels like we have to throwback 30 years in order to find something we actually like or relate to. Perhaps instead of worshipping the Ying Yang Twins for whistling while they twerk, you can occasionally appreciate some more substantial musicians and aspects of our culture. Just because the media glorifies what it’s like to be Lindsay Lohan doesn’t necessarily mean that her path is the right one to follow.

The 2000s are such an exciting time to be alive; let’s leave a mark that’s a little bit more impressionable than Brett Michaels’ hair extensions (but you’re still sexy, Brett!).

Sincerely, Regis, Kelly and/or Kathie Lee.

Dani Frank is a sophomore print journalism student. You may e-mail her at [email protected].

Rebecca Astheimer is a sophomore film student. You may e-mail her at

[email protected].