Why does the American rock scene...?

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Flying FuManchu

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Used to live in Chambana. For now the Mid-South.
... Why does it sound like the American rock sound these days sound like its primarily influenced by metal with no solos or the hard sound. I mean, I'm not an indie freak but even when I listen to the "alt rock" stations... the music all sound like hard thrash, with heavy power chords. I listen to a little Brit pop and it sounds like they emphasize melody and different sounds (i.e. no detuning there guitars to make it sound heavy...) Am I mistaken in my observations?

I'm not bashing a style just observing what I hear when I comb the radio (not just top 40 radio). Presupposing what I say is true? Is it cultural... do American kids hate sissy melody?
 
Well, I don't think your mistaken - I also think that alot of American radio stations are owned by Clear Channel, and so thus play the same cookie cutter Cold/Linkin Park/Staind/Good Charlotte "rock" music that we are all sick of.

Unfortunately, I think alot of the youth that propels the ratings at the stations also likes very aggressive music - just like alot of American culture is aggressive in some ways (examples being our television and movies).

I love melody and don't listen to American radio.
 
yes, rock consists of hard power chords. look at nickelback and all those assshit bands in their vein (default, theory of a deadman, etc.), theyre all popular. not because theyre good but because its whats in now. theyre the 2002-2003 version of the boyband.
 
The local, over-commercialized college radio station played a song a week or so ago, and they said the band was touted by Rolling Stone and MTV as the next big thing.....Unfortunately, it sounded JUST LIKE every other band coming out right now (fountains, Murder City, Ataris, etc. etc.). How could they be the next big thing, when there sound isn't even original?

Shiver and shake!
 
I mean music sounds like everyone's favorite band- Creedelicious... thats what I feel like I hear when I listen to alt rock radio, Clear Channel or no... Linkin Park, Staind, etc... They may dominate the mainstream but (again the I'm no indie freak) , there just seems to be similar styles from unknown American bands on American Alt Rock radio. And its this sound that is done by everyone.

I'm talking sonically... just the drop d tuning/ metal chords.... it seems to be the staple of American rock, no? I mean, I have no problem with the sound itself, but why is it so popular here and such an influence? Is it really just cuz Americans really are aggressive? I just bought This is Hardcore which was fairly popular in Britain (I could be wrong in my memory) and think to myself, this would never get airplay even on American alt rock radio.
 
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the problem is that one band becomes popular and about 9 or 10 bands immediately start up in that vein...then another band gets big...it's a vicious cycle indeed.

radio :down:
 
Flying FuManchu said:
I'm talking sonically... just the drop d tuning/ metal chords.... it seems to be the staple of American rock, no? I mean, I have no problem with the sound itself, but why is it so popular here and such an influence?

Well its prevalence is mostly due to the emergence of bands like Green Day in the early 90's, and other self-proclaimed punk bands of the era. The emphasis on musicianship has skipped another generation, and like you say the market is rich with cookie-cutter artists with less talent then the next batch of American Idols. The influence stems from the early eighties when MTV hit the air waves, introducing the artists as faces instead of voices. Radio had to then compensate for this by playing the Top 40 style that has been predominant ever since. It came down to aesthetics... but now its more focused on individual demographics, and for some reason the hard metal no-brain riffs catch the fancy of certain people. That's why stations are now more segmented with special formats, appealing to a particular cross-section of the 18-40 market. The Nickelbacks, Deadmen, and Simple Plansmen are all a product of that... my advice, don't listen to radio. Even most college stations are too pretentious to recognize good music... if it's got an indie label it's playable, but not bloody well listenable.

:down:

If you want to know why they play in off-tuning, just ask Damon from Blur. They just can't friggin' play an instrument. Bottom line.

:wink:
 
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what's worse than listening to a station that only plays different songs? why, listening to a radio that plays only 20 songs that all sound the same, of course. yes, this is why commercial radio sucks. and as it's been said before, the "in" thing to be playing is this wannabe-punk or wannabe-metal shit.

i second what cujo said about pretentious college stations. too many good albums come into the campus radio station and are chucked out (or given to people like me who are by comparrison not snobby) because they're on major labels. you know how sick of hearing "oh it's on Troubleman? oh, just add it to the stacks, i'm sure it's good." without even giving it a listen?

as for the comparision between countries, wouldn't it have more to do with the type of music being made by the bands there at the time, which basically translates to the kind of music that's being sold, in a sort of catch-22 situation...all i know is i'm going to go crazy if too many more kids get daddy or mommy to buy them a guitar, start a band, and write songs about being dicks and being addicted to their girlfriends who undoubtebly want to break up with them :down:

let's all take a lesson from the ware river club, shall we? from some song i can't remember the title to--"i'm going down to the radio station/ i'm gonna burn it down to the ground"
 
In the words of Morrissey: "Hang the DJ"

I'm going to have to agree with most of you, just dont listen to the radio. The radio and basic media has always played a lot of throw away music since the beginning. Your basic person isnt as into music as a lot of us in these forums are, and they tend to fall for a lot of the commercial ploys and such.

I dont know, music is 100% personal preference. I know that I probably like more than a few bands that most of the rest of you would mock me for and I'm sure most of you like some bands that I would mock you for too. I guess it all just comes down to us to figure out what we personally like. Screw the media/radio/MTV, I can figure out what's good for myself.
 
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I agree with a lot of things that have been said in this thread. But quite frankly, I don't think many people know how much good music is out there. My sister, for example, is a busy busy working mother. She hates most of the music on the radio but doesn't really have time to seek out the good stuff. Recently I introduced her to the Manics, Placebo, Supergrass, and a whole boatload of bands no one ever gets to hear in America unless they make a concerted effort.

My point is that what's on American radio is not necessarily what people want to hear, but we don't seem to have any way to change that. A few people and businesses (ClearChannel comes to mind) pull the strings and the rest of us must either listen to what they deem worthy and hip or spend our time on message boards and online radio stations searching out the good stuff. It's one thing for a music fanatic like me to do it, but the average music listener probably just can't justify the time and effort.

As to why certain music is "popular" right now...I don't think it's popular at all. Few people I know listen to C-reed, Linkin Park, Default, etc., but like I said, we've got no choice. Like all music styles, these bands are just the current fad. They'll be gone in no time. Unfortunately, though, they'll just be replaced with the next crappy fad, and those of us who love good music will still be forced to find it in places besides American radio.
 
Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains.... These were the "it" bands of the 90s and the "underground" from which they sprang from were of similar sound.... They were all "hard" sounding bands. I'm not just talking about the radio bands of today.... I'm talking about the American rock sound.... It seems so influenced by the Led Zeppelin/ metal sound (heavy) yet across the ocean I hear the pop of the Beatles dominate... That is what I'm asking about, actually.
 
If I hear you correctly, FuManchu, you are asking more about the cultural differences between Americans and Brits (in this instance) that reflect themselves musically. I do think that one could make a case that there is a thread of anger and aggression in American culture that shows itself musically and in other forms of culture (movies, etc.) A reliance on power and volume over subtlety. I'm not as familiar with British society, but my impression is that it is still somewhat more reserved and polite (although I'm aware that it's probably changing), so perhaps it also is reflected in greater care for melody and structure. It's an interesting thought.
 
Stories for Boys said:
the problem is that one band becomes popular and about 9 or 10 bands immediately start up in that vein...then another band gets big...it's a vicious cycle indeed.

radio :down:

:yes: Exactly


Originally posted by HelloAngel
I love melody and don't listen to American radio.

Same here, I listen to either my cds or Virgin radio which is based out of London. Virgin has a better mix of songs then any radio station in the States I have ever heard. :wink:
 
Stories for Boys said:
the problem is that one band becomes popular and about 9 or 10 bands immediately start up in that vein...then another band gets big...it's a vicious cycle indeed.

I would somewhat disagree with that... you can blame talent scouts and record company execs for that trend. At any given time there are dozens of bands that sound like each other, but if their sound becomes popular to mainstream radio... then they are propelled to the top of every agency's wish list. So it's more timing than imitation.

The American/Brit sounds go in cycles... in the next decade it could be a reversal of influence. They both feed off each other, but one side is usually left with the scraps. And unfortunately that is the current state of American radio. There's more too it, but I don't feel like being verbose today.

:up:
 
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