Just now catching up on this thread (which started off shit, and then took an interesting turn, and now is back to meh).
I continue to be confused by the suggestion that music of the early aughts itself is reflective of a shift to passivity in society. 650 is a great poster and I'm sure knows more about music than I do (and is older, so lived through the supposed shift), so I'm not dismissing it out of hand.
It just seems an odd connection to make when the 80s and 90s are littered with very, very popular and important bands who were sad, woe is me saps either lyrically, in tone or in overall vibes. Obviously the Smiths, the Cure, Joy Division, etc. Sonic Youth to some degree. Pearl Jam and Nirvana have some of the biggest sad sap, feel sorry for yourself lyrics around, albeit presented with a veneer of aggression? My avatar released Creep in 92. Elliott Smith. The list goes on and on and on. REM wrote a don't fucking kill yourself song in 1992 as one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
I guess my point is that even if you were to concede that (a) there was some societal shift towards passivity, and (b) the music and/or bands of the early aughts were themselves "passive" (whatever that actually means), it seems to be more coincidental that correlated.