I am fine with the basics (e.g. classical vs rock/punk vs pop based on instruments) but there’s loads of other terms that aren’t very intuitive.
What is the difference between “alternate” rock and I guess “regular” rock? What is the difference between rock and punk? What is post-(insert subgenre here, like punk)? What is pop rock (the music subgenre, not the fizzy candy rocks), and how is it different from rock pop? What makes music “progressive”? What on earth are the “blues”? What is the difference between rock, metal, hard metal, heavy metal, etc. aside from an increasing level of angriness and decreasing level of clarity? etc etc


Trust me, I’m not talking about tracks that could reasonably be called “pop rock”. They were already playing pop rock all the time anyway, there’s a local group in that style that is (or was) so popular nationally that rappers from other cities were making fun of them.
I don’t think we have those kinds of oldie stations yet, oldies are for the 70+ generations here and they don’t want to listen to any rock music that’s fresher than Elvis Ü
You’re still doing a lot of glossing.
My parents listened to Roy Orbison, Chubby Checker, Buddy Holly, and some of the very early Elvis. Would they consider Elvis “oldies?” Probably not — he was pop music to them. Roy Orbison? Yeah; he’d be oldies.
To me, Madonna and Prince are oldies.
Your parents have much better taste in music than my grandparents or the oldie stations in my area.