John Niven Quotes

Your modern teenager is not about to listen to advice from an old person, defined as a person who remembers when there was no Velcro.

Today's younger generation is no worse than my own. We were just as ignorant and repulsive as they are, but nobody listened to us.

The 1990's sure aren't like the 1980's.

I'm sure all the people who have been born 20 years ago don't know anything about me at all except 'LOVE', and that's a nasty word.

All these people that want to make me out as part of Generation X had better watch out, or they're going to get X'd out themselves.

I don't feel that old, but when I talk to these kids, I do feel old. Because I'm talking about taxes and all this other stuff that is very, very boring. And these guys are talking about music, and I'm like, 'Oh, I remember those days.'

Windows 95 had its 20th anniversary last year, so we got our hands on an old system and showed it to teenagers who were not even alive in 1995. The results were pretty great and also makes you feel quite old.

Bill Clinton, Mr. Bob Dole, You too old to understand tha way tha game is told.

I'm not very nostalgic, you see. I just don't think anybody has that kind of thing anymore. By culture, by breeding, by whatever, it's not there. The kids today-what the hell are they going to be? I like young people - yes, I do. But when I talk to people at the schools, and they say, "I saw you on the Twit," I don't even know what they are talking about.

The old say, "I remember when." The young say, "What's the news?"

I'm not of this generation.

Comedians who are 22 years old can certainly be funny and clever, and be capable of telling jokes - but are they talking about their favorite TV shows, or a particular brand of shampoo?

Whatever adults don't understand, because they didn't grow up with it, is the thing they're going to be afraid of and try to legislate out of existence. It happened with videogames, it happened with television, it happened with pinball parlours and rock and roll.

Younger people are discovering my work, even though my reggae is not like theirs.

Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young in. I suppose we all realize the degree to which fear and resentment of what is new is really a lament for the memories of our childhood.

It's hard to get away from being old. I still talk about the TV set.

Buy one pair of knickers or underpants from Marks & Spencer. Then you'll truly be like a Brit!

Old is when people compliment your alligator shoes, and you're not wearing any.

I had to ask my grandchildren, 'What does it mean? I threw shade?'

I just have a problem with youth culture.

Boy George was only 7 years old when I was hot in '68.

I will definitely drop bars, but that's, like, a few minutes of my show. I do a part of my set where I do that, and then I'll get back to the jokes. All the older people will look like, 'What the hell is happening?' The younger people are cheering, and the older people are like, 'I'm scared. I don't know what's going on.'

The youth doesn't know what they want while the older generation remains stuck in the past. But the basic concept of entertainment remains the same - demand and supply - and that won't change.

I remember when I was younger I used to sing that Beatles song, 'When I'm 64', and think that's light years away for me - I was 18 when it came out. Now here I am.

We were the first generation of rock & roll, but life goes on.