In 1986, the appeal of “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” was delightfully uncomplicated. The Beastie Boys had turned the simple art of rebelling against authority figures—teachers, parents, anyone who seemed like a teacher or a parent—into a rallying cry. One specific moment captured the group’s insouciant defiance better than any other: when, in the song, the Beasties start blasting their favorite music loud enough to upset their parents, a purposely abrasive form of protest that all kids could mimic themselves.

My own daughter is 9 years old, but something tells me that when she’s a teenager, I won’t be banging on her door demanding that she turn the music down. Chances are I’ll have to ask her what she’s listening to if I want to find out. In the nearly 40 years since the

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