Is Rock dead?

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Ft. Worth Frog

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This question has been on my mind for the last couple of years, especially after ATYCLB came out. "Kite" ends, of course with words like "the last of the rock stars/when hip-hop drove the big cars". I wondered if it was some sort of prophecy or if that was how Bono really felt. I think that those words are very true. The top ten Billboard singles are r&b, hip- hop, and rap. Now, this is the music of everyone, not just a select few kids who wanna live the "thug life". The only people capable of still putting out rock that is consumed by the masses are U2, Bruce Springsteen, and ...who else? I know there are still popular po/rock groups and singers, bu the last few years have shown how hip-hop has slowly become the popular music of choice. My statement is not meant to say that there will be no more rock, but that there is not yet someone who might carry the baton to a new generation. Coldplay maybe, but willthey ever be able to sell out stadiums like the Rolling Stone, U2, DMB, the Boss, etc.? WHo will capture the imagination of future music listeners? I'd love to here any comments, criticism etc. about this.:wave::no:
 
I think you're right. I live in a small town in the Midwest, and even here the teens/20-somethings seem to be way more into rap than rock - at least judging from what I hear blaring out of open car windows. And I honestly don't see very many rock bands out there that masses of young people can identify with in the intense way that past generations identified with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, U2 or Nirvana. Sure, there's Radiohead, but it's hard to imagine them ever having more than cult following (OK, a pretty big cult following, but they simply are not household names out here in flyover land).

However, I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't say if this is just a temporary thing and the next Biggest Band in the World is bound to arrive sooner or later or if rock has simply gone as far as it can go.
 
coldplay could do it... you could tell by the reaction they got in the middle of pop world... the mtv vma's. but they'd have to broaden their music a bit... i love it, but i can see how many would find it sleepy and depressing

radiohead could be the biggest band in the world, but they don't want to be.

i'm hoping pearl jam comes back strong now that they're completely on their own... without a record label. they finally get to do whatever they want to do without pressure to put out a huge pop hit. i think the fact that the record label pressured them into making 10 part 2 every time hurt their performance, and hurt it on purpose. their albums were filled with songs that played great live, but nothing really radio friendly (can you say pop). now that they don't have that on their backs now, i look for them to just make the best music they can possiably make.

audioslave's first album rocked... but they're not exactly a new band, just the pieces of two old bands... so who knows if they'll stay together, and if they do, for how long...

rock music is still alive, but it's hanging on by a thread. there are a few bands out there with the potential of stepping up to the plate with the likes of u2, springsteen, the stones, the who, paul mccartney/beatles... but right now those acts still dominate the tour scene. so long story short... i have no friggin clue
 
I personally think it's far from dead.

Look at hiphop, there are really only about 2 big mainstream artists out there right now doing anything remotely innovative (Outkast, Missy Elliot). Other than that, it's all the exact same formula that's been used for the last 10 years. Sooner or later this is going to catch up on the hip hop world and people will loose major interest.

Why is rock far from being dead?
1. Rock acts are the only acts to have successful tours
2. Rock is still the highest selling genre world wide
3. MTV's influence is going down the toilet fast.
 
it's just a matter of people paying too much attention to what everyone else listens to. no matter what, there will always be bands out there playing something you like, even if that is rock and mainstream rock is dead to you. it's just that you've got to find it.
 
Headache in a Suitcase said:

rock music is still alive, but it's hanging on by a thread. there are a few bands out there with the potential of stepping up to the plate with the likes of u2, springsteen, the stones, the who, paul mccartney/beatles... but right now those acts still dominate the tour scene. so long story short... i have no friggin clue

Besides U2 (I think) the rest of these artists well, are a little old to captivate younger people and get them into 'rock"
I think U2 has something special in the ability to pick up younger fans. The rest of the artists make money off the baby boom generation and are able to maintain therpopularity IMO
I'm sure Springsteen, Stones, and the Who pick up some young fans but I don't think they are the saviours of rock.
I think current "mainstream" rock is pretty dead I don't see any cool bands outthere :huh:
 
IWasBored said:
it's just a matter of people paying too much attention to what everyone else listens to. no matter what, there will always be bands out there playing something you like, even if that is rock and mainstream rock is dead to you. it's just that you've got to find it.
And one way to find it is watching the website of a favorite music club,...look what is on the agenda and try to find some music of the palying artist,..

Next month in vera ( the best rockclub in the Netherlands ) :

- Kinski
- Enon
- Kashmir

Yes, rock is still allive ( but it is to small these day`s )
 
:huh: i contradicted myself in there didn't i, when i said that people pay too much attention to what others are listening to. i meant 'everyone'in a mainstream general public kind of sense...
 
Rock isn't completely dead. There are some rock zombies strolling around.

Pick up the new album from Ryan Adams on November 4th. It will rock your brains out. There's only one slow song on it. It's fucking incredible.
 
Kat, I cannot wait for a rockin Ryan Adams record! :hyper:
count me in on getting that album :up:

quoting Headache (omg those lips :heart:) :

"i'm hoping pearl jam comes back strong now that they're completely on their own... without a record label. they finally get to do whatever they want to do without pressure to put out a huge pop hit. i think the fact that the record label pressured them into making 10 part 2 every time hurt their performance, and hurt it on purpose. their albums were filled with songs that played great live, but nothing really radio friendly (can you say pop). now that they don't have that on their backs now, i look for them to just make the best music they can possiably make. "


good point...i didn't realize that Sony may have put pressure on them to put out Ten Part 2....but knowing how PJ are....they would never give in....i'm dying to see exactly what they're gonna do with this record label situation.
it's funny...but pearl jam hasn't been hurting at all with regards to popularity regardless of the lack of radio friendly hits, etc, etc,....sure, records sales are down...but my god, their concert attendance on a whole this tour was NUTS.
People are still crazy for PJ...if you ask me...they ARE the next best band in the world....their popularity seems to be on the rise, actually.
Check out the prices on ebay for the Benaroya show they're doing on Oct 22nd. It's insane.
in any case, PJ would be a worthy recipient of the torch :up:
 
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Strato Edge said:
I think R.E.M. has the potential to pull in younger fans.
yep!
but unfortunately they've been playing to much less than full capacity audiences.
and i have NO fookin clue as to why....it is truly baffling.
as for PJ...what struck me the most is how many VERY young people were at the shows this summer....they've gained alot of younger fans....the fanclub lineups were CRAZY...most of them filled with 16 to 24 year olds camping over night...kinda like the scene with U2 and the Heart line ups. :coocoo:
why this doesn't happen for REM I'll never know.
 
Go and download off Kazaa or wherever 'Are you gonna be my girl' by Jet. They are an Aussie band, this song is huge here at the moment, and it probably will be when it gets released overseas.

If you wanna hear some rock'n'f*ckn'roll.

:up: :up:
 
This is something I've been thinking about for awhile...

I think music in general has hit a rut. Labels no longer want to really harvest new bands, they want some hits right away and then they're left to the wind.

Even the music that dominates the charts right now is just watered down versions of the good music. We're not being exposed to the best Hip Hop, Pop, or Rock.

I would love the day when we were truly exposed to the best of the best. Can you imagine turning on the radio and listening to Public Enemy or KRS-1 instead of P Diddy, or Sarah Mclachlan or Heather Nova instead of Britney, or a true punk band instead of Good Charlette. Maybe my comparison's aren't the best(lack of sleep) but you get my drift.

I think a big part of it comes down to the artist versus the labels. The labels have too much power these days. No matter what genre you look at when it comes to big exposure you're looking at a label puppet. Now that maybe a little extreme and there's always a few exceptions. But for the most part you won't see a band like Radiohead get huge big time exposure from MTV or radio becuase they don't fit and they are not WILLING to fit into what the labels think people want. But the Britney's, the Nickelbacks, Good Charlettes, and P Diddy's will bend and fold anyway the label tells them and that's why they are being played and why we are being overexposed.

Bands like Radiohead and Pearl Jam consciously decided to back away from the spotlight. That's cool I respect their wishes, but can you imagine how things may have changed a couple of years ago when you had U2, Radiohead, Pearl Jam all releasing really great albums, if they had all decided to really promote the music how rock radio would have changed. At least for awhile. Bands like those can decide to play the promotion game and do it on their own terms, they wouldn't have had to be the puppet, well at least to the extent of others. Well I guess it's just wishful thinking.

The future is bleak. With Clear Channel and others running the radiowaves and labels getting greedier and greedier, I'm not sure what will happen. I imagine a world someday that's actually ran by the opinions of listeners and not some greedy fatcats behind desks.

I mean when you have a world where Jeff Buckley, Doves, Grant Lee Buffalo, or Tricky have hardly seen the radiowaves or Johnny Cash loses to Justin you have problems. Big ones.

End of rant...back to the original program.
 
I was basically asking the same thing in my recent post "where is the rock?"

because
I just don't see it.

I agree with the pearl jam/radiohead/coldplay ideas....but that's it?

WE NEED MORE.
 
Bunbury said:


What are you looking for??

I'll tell you man....(or woman):


melodies man....good melodies to sing
guitar that takes you places....not crappy riffs or the same old chord changes
bass lines you can actually feel and hear
drums that do more than 2 and 4
some good recording and production would be nice
the ability to back it up live
in general: great songwriting by musicians who know what they're doing and don't sound like korn.
 
JOFO said:


I'll tell you man....(or woman):


melodies man....good melodies to sing
guitar that takes you places....not crappy riffs or the same old chord changes
bass lines you can actually feel and hear
drums that do more than 2 and 4
some good recording and production would be nice
the ability to back it up live
in general: great songwriting by musicians who know what they're doing and don't sound like korn.

Didn't I recommend some bands on some other thread you created??
Check those bands out and tell me if they fit your criteria :sexywink:
 
been away a couple days.....


will do and thank you.:wave:
 
Rock will always live as long as there are Zeppelin and Floyd fans around. Personally I can't stand either of them (well maybe not can't stand, but they're not really my scene at all), but those two are/were the biggest bands in the world, and people will always be passing their records down to their kids.
 
Back in the fold...

Long Live Rock, I live it every night,
Long Live Rock, Come on and join the fight,
Long Live Rock, Be It Dead Or Alive...

Listen To Mr. Townshend, for it is pure and easy.

We Don't Get Fooled Again...

~the whiz.

Rock is Dead they say... Long Live Rock!
 
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JOFO said:


I'll tell you man....(or woman):


melodies man....good melodies to sing
guitar that takes you places....not crappy riffs or the same old chord changes
bass lines you can actually feel and hear
drums that do more than 2 and 4
some good recording and production would be nice
the ability to back it up live
in general: great songwriting by musicians who know what they're doing and don't sound like korn.

ATHLETE
 
Bono's shades said:
I live in a small town in the Midwest, and even here the teens/20-somethings seem to be way more into rap than rock - at least judging from what I hear blaring out of open car windows. And I honestly don't see very many rock bands out there that masses of young people can identify with in the intense way that past generations identified with The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, U2 or Nirvana. Sure, there's Radiohead, but it's hard to imagine them ever having more than cult following (OK, a pretty big cult following, but they simply are not household names out here in flyover land).

*Nods*

That's the case for the most part over here. A lot of kids at my old school who did listen to rock music listened to Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix and AC/DC and them, or they listened to DMB and Radiohead.

And if you didn't listen to that stuff, you were either listening to rap or country instead.

That being said, I don't think rock is dead. I think basically what BonoVoxSupastar said is true-there are some good rock artists out there now (I hear them on the Progressive DMX channel and things along that line), but they just aren't being played on MTV and places like that because they don't fit a certain label, they don't have the look.

BonoVox's post also looked very bleak-yeah, Clear Channel's definitely screwed things up big time with radio. And it's sad, but true, labels do hold the power nowadays.

However, considering how many people have started to stop listening to radio over time because of things like that satelite radio and stuff along that line, that introduces a whole new way of listening to music will come about, where labels won't be a problem, and things like Clear Channel will fall apart, and maybe then we'll be able to enjoy the truly good rock music without having to worry about formats or labels or things along that line. And then rock won't seem so dead anymore to people, because they will finally get to hear some of the really good rock music being made nowadays.

Angela
 
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