I saw this today on Youtube and it gave me a glimmer of hope.
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I saw this today on Youtube and it gave me a glimmer of hope.
Feels pretty close to dead. I mean that song is ancient. When was the last Rock song to chart high? Rock can still sell some concerts but it doesn't get any play on stations for younger people.
The most promising thing I've seen in the last few years was how big the Beatles Rock Band sale was. It showed Rock still had an appeal to younger people but it needs some new blood to do well.
I haven't heard much in the last decade that sounds like what I once considered rock. That said, I haven't been seeking it out, either.
It rocks, but it's a 50 year old woman singing a 20 year old song. Can't really draw much hope for the future from that. :(Quote:
Originally posted by Sarahfeena
Yeah, and the Foos aren't exactly spring chickens, either. But...maybe the kids will realize what good music is, if these old folks can keep going for a while.Quote:
Originally posted by OneCentStampIt rocks, but it's a 50 year old woman singing a 20 year old song. Can't really draw much hope for the future from that. :(Quote:
Originally posted by Sarahfeena
Thanks, Zuul...now that's what I had in mind.
Foo Fighters actually have two popular singles out right now. "These Days" and "Walk."
Of course, I would consider the music I posted to be rock, but "Bad Reputation" came out before I was born. ;)
"Bad Reputation" was awesome and still is.
Zuul of the ones you posted, only the first sounds good to me. But it sounds pretty good. Goofy video though.
Yeah, the Foos are what's got me thinking of this right now...I was realizing that how long it's been that they've been having hit singles, and it has to be at least 15 years. (Which has gone by in the blink of an eye, by the way.) And they haven't changed much...they're still playing real rock, which seems to be in short supply these days. I hope the kids watching them on the Grammys tonight will appreciate them. :)Quote:
Originally posted by Zuul
Sarah, do you ever think about how much media has changed since we were kids. Pre-MTV there were general music stations, pop-40s, Rock stations, Oldies (50s & a little 60s) and my Mom listened to one of the General Music stations that would play throughout the day everything from Frank Sinatra to the Doors. Then everything got more and more narrow and MTV to quote the Buggles "Killed the Radio Stars". But now MTV hasn't really been about music for at least a decade and radio is only a smallish player now in music.
What leads the trends? Is it word of mouth only or Video stations or is radio still a factor in this the day of MP3s?
"To me, rock'n'roll is analog. Rock'n'roll is imperfection," he says. "Rock'n'roll is musicians onstage who aren't pretty and don't sing perfectly. They get a little drunk and don't sound like the record. And they don't have computers behind them fucking playing things for them. To me, rock'n'roll is fucking real. It's alive and well." ~Dave Grohl
I can't quite go along with that as I love a lot of Prog Rock too, but a good belting Rock song is awesome, especially all the rock with Blues mixed into it. Think Zeppelin or early Stones, Cream & Traffic, Beatles of course. Later Stevie Ray Vaughn.
I think about this all the time. When I was a kid, I listened to WLS top 40 radio, which played everything from early 60s music to whatever was current at the time (this wasthe 70s and early 80s). Playlists now are so weird...on the regular radio, I think they play to demographics as much as possible because genres are so specific that they can't cater to them. And you can't have general top-40 stations because the catalog of "rock" or "pop" is so huge now...it's existed for 50-60 years. How do you come up with playlists with all the options? Satellite radio does it by having a million stations that each play a really specific genre. I like 90s grunge & alternative, and there's a station for that! Several of them, actually...it's kind of crazy. But regular commercial radio isn't able to cater to all the different fans of all the different kinds of music.Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
But as far as the trends go, I don't know what drives them exactly, but I think there's a lot of recording-industry control, which is weird...you'd think in this day and age where you can record yourself singing and put it on Youtube, that it would be more democratic, but people like Simon Cowell and his moneymaking machine really have a lot of influence in what the music sounds like and the package it's in. I mean think of the biggest recording stars you can name...a lot of them have gotten their start on American Idol. Hilariously to me, one of the greatest actual talents that have come out of that show is Jennifer Hudson, and she didn't win. I think it's too bad that people go on that show to hit it big, because I think the show looks for such a specific sound and image that it really stifles personal expression and creativity, which is such a shame.
God, this rambled...did I make any sense at all?
Well, I'm weird...I like rock & roll, I like techno/disco stuff, I like musicals (especially very operatic ones like Les Mis), all kinds of stuff. But my heart is really with what you're talking about here. I like what it is and what it represents, you know? I mean, really, that Joan Jett song is so great because it says it right in the song...its about rock & roll rebellion. It's awesome.Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
It did and maybe the Simon Cowells of the world is why I listen to NPR & Sports Talk mainly. Newer music sounds so "corporate" now. I mean the Monkees sound edgy compared to the stuff I here now.
I love some of the Internet radio tools where you more or less design your own stations. I love hearing anything from ancient standards by Louis Armstrong or Sinatra to Classic Rock to odd ball folky stuff and other odds and ends sneaking in.
I grew up with older siblings and so my music taste skewed older. But when I started buying a lot of tapes and then CDs it was fun discovering groups my sisters & brother didn't have much of. Traffic who were never on the radio was like a revelation when I first heard him and like most guys my age or up to 15 years older and probably 15 years younger when I first bought a Jimi Hendrix tape is was a religious experience.Quote:
Originally posted by SarahfeenaWell, I'm weird...I like rock & roll, I like techno/disco stuff, I like musicals (especially very operatic ones like Les Mis), all kinds of stuff. But my heart is really with what you're talking about here. I like what it is and what it represents, you know? I mean, really, that Joan Jett song is so great because it says it right in the song...its about rock & roll rebellion. It's awesome.Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?
And you know, rock & roll is supposed to be ANTI-corporate which, of course, is just a lot of talk because everyone has to cater to their label to some extent in order to get a record made. But the idea is that you're at least supposed to fight it, you're supposed to resent it, you're supposed to try to be as authentic as you can...you're not supposed to embrace it and say yes, American Idol people, I will sing any way you want me to so you'll pass me through and I can maybe be given a recording contract and become rich and famous. It's so not what rock music is supposed to be about.
Is Idol even rock? I thought it was just a mix of pop and R&B and country. Though they do have Steven Tyler now.Quote:
Originally posted by Sarahfeena
I'm pretty sure Zeppelin, the Doors, the Dead, Hendrix and a few others made very few compromises.
Quote:
Originally posted by What Exit?Is Idol even rock? I thought it was just a mix of pop and R&B and country. Though they do have Steven Tyler now.Quote:
Originally posted by Sarahfeena
I'm pretty sure Zeppelin, the Doors, the Dead, Hendrix and a few others made very few compromises.
No, Idol isn't rock, but that's my point. Rock is dying because if you want to be rich and famous, you have to do whatever that is that they do on AI. There's no edge to it.
Makes sense. I'm thinking you use to have a chance in the old radio days (pre-MTV) as a lot of the Jocks were rock fans and went to rock clubs or through record store racks and actually discovered some new groups without a corporate push.
Rock and roll has gone the way of jazz.
Australia, 2010.
Oh grief - Rock and Roll and Metal has been dead and alive plenty of times. It's cyclical and if you look in the right places more will be along. There are still plenty of bands out there with loud guitars and given a little time, they will be back again.
Currently, the charts are filled with bubblegum pop because its what sells. At some point there will be backlash and they will be looking for the next wave of music.
"The next wave of music" is the key there. Whatever comes next is never going to be exactly like what came before. My Chemical Romance did some '70s rock inspired songs, but it was still different than what would have been made back then. PATD did a whole album of Beatles ripoffs homages, but it still wasn't like the Beatles. The Killers' first album was nothing but a big wank in honor of the '80s, but it was still different from anything made during that decade.
True. Just look at MCR and Muse to see how different two bands can sound while still falling under the umbrella of "bands who obviously like Queen a whole lot." :DQuote:
Originally posted by Zuul