7 hrs confidence:   peer agreement (net): +1 too bad / tough / (need I say more)
Explanation:
Catherine, I think that there are probably not exactly parallel 'yoofspeek' expressions that would fit in all cases; you can really only translate on a case-by-case basis, in the individual situations. The informal, highly dynamic language of young people is by jnature pretty unstructured, and I think we would be naïve if we thought any kind of real one-to-one equivalence existed in most cases, at least. What I think is funny is the way young people pick up on EN words from songs, films, etc., and then adapt them to suit their own needs — just as I do when short of a word in FR that has just the right tone for what I need to express on the spur of the moment. I have had great success with my invented verb 'pinguer', meaning 'to pop it in the microwave'!
In the case of 'laisse tomber', the way I hear it being used all the time by my young friends, in the negative sense at least, I think expressions along the lines of 'too bad', 'tought', etc. need to be carefully selected for the context.
I've not actually encountered it used very much in a positive sense, more neutral, really, but only in the sense of 'need I say more?' — although off course I'm not seriously suggesting that as being the equivalent 'djeunz' register!
Regarding 'looz', and the verb 'loozer', this is apparently derived from the EN noun 'loser', but converted to mean 'hanging around in a generally aimless fashion feeling bored' — usually, because incapable of doing anything else after a heavy night the night before. "Tu t'es couché à quelle heure samedi ?" – "à cinq heures du mat... et j'ai loozé toute la journée dimanche !"
Again, I don't know what the equivalent EN expression would be in this, or your own context; 'veg out' is certainly one possibility, though wouldn't fit in the sentence you've quoted, of course.
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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-07-12 08:23:44 GMT)
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Like Juan, my feeble attempts at joining in and using these words myself are usually greeted with puzzled or derisory smiles!
| Tony M
France
Local time: 06:02
Works in field
Native speaker of:  English
PRO pts in category: 36
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| | Notes to answerer
Asker: Super ! Tu es intarissable sur cette question. J'ai bien rigolé. Merci.
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