Is Rock n Roll almost dead?

[spanks]

tbh I didn't really know that indie referred to music the same way it did movies. I thought it was just another genre

and the hiphop/rap thing was a partially sarcastic remark, although people still constantly complain about it being degrading and rude and such...it does seem a bit odd to me to dance/party to lyrics that aren't really fun.

 

[Kilane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rock&Roll Ninja /img/forum/go_quote.gif 10 years ago your "music library" was limited to the shelf at FYE. This, along with reasonably affordable studio equipment, has led to the current super-saturation of every concievable subgenre of music.

At risk of a tangent... I'm willing to ponder whether that's actually going to lead us to musical salvation.

10 Years ago it was still the Cobain's and company that had people to claim as influences that were bizarre and off the beaten path. When the path leads, what's to say the same will be exceptional any longer.

Nobody can really dispute Nirvana's influence (if not their excellence), but what if someone had put out some of the same pieces, but not all of them at the same time. I think it leads us down the same sort of splintering we're seeing rather than rather clear and abrupt stylistic changes.

So, rock's evolving... just way slower than we're used to seeing it.

EDIT: Also, a note on indie... the word has been thrown around these days like "alternative" was thrown around in the 90's.

Indie - Independent
Indie Rock- Same deal, only genre inclusive.

The unnerving thing about this is that people, bands, whatever seem to be usurping the indie label to seem credible to people that hate mainstream music, despite being promoted just as hard within seperate circles. It's not quite as bad, but it will be. I used to number among them, but I think (now out of my teens and college) I can finally own up to enjoying popular music, I'm not that insecure.

 

[eric5469]

Both my teenage sons play guitar, like I. All they listen to is rock from the 60s to the early 90s. In the future there will be less guitar heroes than in the past. Alot of kids don't want to play guitar, they want to play video games or Guitar Hero on playstation. When I was in highschool back in mid eighties you could find 30 or 40 kids really serious about playing. My sons now have a hard time finding 3 or 4 and they go to the same school I did. Kids dont want Strats for xmas they want PS3s. LOL

 

[Thelonious Monk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by asmox /img/forum/go_quote.gif The unfortunate people who believe that rock is dead (or even worse, that it somehow died with Nirvana) should at least listen to The Locust Years from Hammers of Misfortune. One of the many great modern recordings that's ignored or otherwise unknown by the "modern music sucks" crowd... gogogo.

great album.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric5469 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Both my teenage sons play guitar, like I. All they listen to is rock from the 60s to the early 90s. In the future there will be less guitar heroes than in the past. Alot of kids don't want to play guitar, they want to play video games or Guitar Hero on playstation. When I was in highschool back in mid eighties you could find 30 or 40 kids really serious about playing. My sons now have a hard time finding 3 or 4 and they go to the same school I did. Kids dont want Strats for xmas they want PS3s. LOL

that's pretty much the only good argument someone has posted in this thread; however, it is unrelated to the "rock is dead" argument. that falls into the "kids just don't care about music anymore" issue. which is sad. maybe i should switch from tuba to guitar and save rock'n'roll myself. rock on

 

[fikete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's pretty much the only good argument someone has posted in this thread; however, it is unrelated to the "rock is dead" argument. that falls into the "kids just don't care about music anymore" issue. which is sad. maybe i should switch from tuba to guitar and save rock'n'roll myself. rock on

I disagree Thelonius, I see that as a hasty generalization of kids in high school today. He's saying that there will be less guitar heros than in the past and that kids are less serious about playing guitar today because of video games. The second argument I took as something lighthearted and in a joking manner. The first one I don't really agree with though. Not only have there been guitar heros from today's music but kids today also have access to music from the past. From today's music you have guitar hero's such as Dave Matthews, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Isaac Brock who's a badass guitar player (just can't shake the negative Modest Mouse comment). Plus any guitar "hero" from the past. I would think the potential to find great guitar players is almost higher than before.

If there is any reason at all as to there being less people interested in playing guitar it would be because the "guitar hero" has been done before and people want something different. I don't feel that supports either the "there will be less guitar heros today" argument, or the "kids don't care about music today" argument. If anything it just means that people are more interested in the composition of a song as opposed to which instrument is being played to evoke the emotion. Which suggest that you don't necessarily need a "guitar hero" to make a rock song, without negating that a "guitar hero" can exist in rock as well. I would assume that also means that people today do care about the music they listen to as they are willing to dig deeper into what they enjoy about the music.

 

[amphead]

Rock can not die. The popularity of rock ebbs and flows like a tide. Will there be another rock tidal wave? Who knows. Surfs up!

 

[cjkel]

Thanks for the listening suggestions, especially Coltrane.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kilane /img/forum/go_quote.gif The unnerving thing about this is that people, bands, whatever seem to be usurping the indie label to seem credible to people that hate mainstream music, despite being promoted just as hard within seperate circles.

I think it was Herbert Hoover who said "The business of America is business." Well, in the new millenium, that has been further refined; the business of America is now marketing. The quality, usefulness, or relevance of a product is of no consequence; products exist simply as raw material for marketing campaigns.

Anything that attracts interest -- including indie music -- is standardized, smoothed-out, and refashioned into a brand. Wearing a Mowhawk haircut was once a very nervy thing to do. Now it is simply one pre-fabricated fashion choice among many.

When Iggy Pop and Led Zepellin routinely turn up in slick automobile ads, you can be sure that anything once threatening can be domesticated. rock n roll is now about as threatening as a glass of warm milk.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wearing a Mowhawk haircut was once a very nervy thing to do. Now it is simply one pre-fabricated fashion choice among many. When Iggy Pop and Led Zepellin routinely turn up in slick automobile ads, you can be sure that anything once threatening can be domesticated. rock n roll is now about as threatening as a glass of warm milk.

Well, whatever pushed the envelope at its inception, as the envelope expands, naturally gets closer and closer to its center. Though Iggy Pop, Led Zeppelin, et al still sound great today, their innovations are now completely absorbed into culture and instead of being its edge now form its foundation. It's a natural evolution, and one not to be bemoaned. Just look for the edge elsewhere.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Guidry /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a natural evolution, and one not to be bemoaned. Just look for the edge elsewhere.

Yes! I just have a problem with the commercial exploitation of things that were once so valuable to me...

I remember the first time I heard Led Zep's "Heartbreaker"...my eyes widened as Page tore through that guitar line...it was as fierce as Hendrix to me, as fierce as Poe's darkest short stories...as fierce as Coltrane's most out there improvs, in a certain way. Seeing Zep reduced to a souce of Cadillac jingles just makes me weep.

P.S. As a pre-emptive strike: it's different when an aspirational bluesman or rocker writes lyrics about a Caddy or a Merc. That's honest appreciation of a fine automobile. When the auto company hires or licenses said bluesman or rocker, well...that's commerce. Big difference.

 

[Thelonious Monk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fikete /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree Thelonius, I see that as a hasty generalization of kids in high school today. He's saying that there will be less guitar heros than in the past and that kids are less serious about playing guitar today because of video games. The second argument I took as something lighthearted and in a joking manner. The first one I don't really agree with though. Not only have there been guitar heros from today's music but kids today also have access to music from the past. From today's music you have guitar hero's such as Dave Matthews, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Isaac Brock who's a badass guitar player (just can't shake the negative Modest Mouse comment). Plus any guitar "hero" from the past. I would think the potential to find great guitar players is almost higher than before. If there is any reason at all as to there being less people interested in playing guitar it would be because the "guitar hero" has been done before and people want something different. I don't feel that supports either the "there will be less guitar heros today" argument, or the "kids don't care about music today" argument. If anything it just means that people are more interested in the composition of a song as opposed to which instrument is being played to evoke the emotion. Which suggest that you don't necessarily need a "guitar hero" to make a rock song, without negating that a "guitar hero" can exist in rock as well. I would assume that also means that people today do care about the music they listen to as they are willing to dig deeper into what they enjoy about the music.

i'm a young kid in high school, and i stand by the "most kids don't care about music" argument. not necessarily in comparison to generations of the past, and i don't really care that music isn't as important to other kids my age as it is to me; i'm just making an observation.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'm a young kid in high school, and i stand by the "most kids don't care about music" argument. not necessarily in comparison to generations of the past, and i don't really care that music isn't as important to other kids my age as it is to me; i'm just making an observation.

So how does "a young kid in high school" choose Thelonius Monk, who lived and died before you were born, as an identifier? Who exposed you to his music? It gives me hope that someone did! Never mind the electric guitar! Before the guitar, the defining instrument (even in early rock) was the tenor sax...or the piano.

 

[Coltrane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Albini Quote: I think that the past 10 years give or take have seen really [censored] music. Mostly just brainwashed junk where nobody seems to stand out. Nothing ever stands out. You have to look for anything you might like. Clearly you have given up looking. Quote: Tell me what you think of this argument since you are one that has been in the buisiness for the past while. I think you're a defeatist and you are destined not to enjoy music. If you wait for other people to thrust music under your nose, you'll be listening to nothing but crap for a long while, because that's what gets thrust at us. Music is not a spectator sport.

From a thread over on a poker message board http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&fpart=24&vc=1

Steve Albini has worked on countless classic records including bands like Nirvana and the Pixies.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Rock is dead, Jazz is dead, Techno is dead, Hip Hop is dead, classical is dead...





...and I'm a walking Zombie. Seek for yourself and you shall find.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rock is dead, Jazz is dead, Techno is dead, Hip Hop is dead, classical is dead... ...and I'm a walking Zombie. Seek for yourself and you shall find.

You forgot rap - it has declined big time... it's dead.

Long live pop