another quote from "tommy"

Sometimes I randomly play little riffs on my guitar that I make up in the hallways, chapel, my classroom, during tests, well...whenever I'm holding onto my guitar that is...
Well, one day while the second graders were getting in a circle for a music game, I just pulled off a little riff and Tommy says in a sincere, matter-of-fact voice... "Huh, that's cool Mr.G, sounds kinda like Master of Puppets." He was right...which was interesting to say the least... but why was an 8-year-old making connections between my riffs and 80s hardrock?