I never saw how 'A wop bop a loo bop, a lop bam boo!' was exactly leading THAT generation forward musically OR linguistically 

 Or 'Inna gada da vida', or 'Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy'!
Personally, I don't see THAT much 'dumbing down'...
I reckon we were pretty much all dumb to start with! The kids merely have a different way of expressing that 'dumbness' 

'Hope I die before I get old'....  
