Insipid boy/girl bands have been around since creation; their existance shouldn’t be an indicator of rock’s viability.
That said, I’ll make two brief points befoe tossing this to the masses:
What are the kids listening to? When I was 15 I listened to the Who, Zep, and REM. Kids sure as $*%# aren’t listening to that now. It’s hip-hop, no question.
What was the last “great” rock album? I’d say “Nevermind,” and that was 10 #$%& years ago!
My fears are that r’n’r is dead and hip hop (or some new genre which has yet to make itself known) is dethrowning it.
I have a thought that this thread will be moved promptly…
However, I’ll give my opinion on this.
Just because a great rock 'n roll album hasn’t been #1 in the last 10 years, doesn’t mean there haven’t been any made.
And it doesn’t mean that “insipid boy/girl bands” are bad just because you don’t appreciate them. To people who grew up before 1964, The Beatles were pretty insipid themselves.
Disclaimer: Just because I stuck up for N’Britney doesn’t mean I like them!
Rock works in cycles. Rock explodes, gets tamed into pop-rock, dillutes into pure ear candy, almost completely dies out, and reignites all over again…every 11 or 12 years.
So I would wait 3 or 4 more years - and if rock doesn’t ressucitate - it can be pronounced dead.
I bet that’s what jazz artists said about their genre in 1965, and look what happened. Christ, jazz was GIGANTIC in 1958 and it was eclipsed in the blink of an eye.
Don’t dismiss thuis topic because you think it belongs in IMHO. My point isn’t only that nothing worthwhile has come in the last 10 years (save Wilco, etc) but that kids jst dont’ listen to it anymore.
So many definitions- some people believe that Rock and Roll would be something like Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and the Comets, stuff like that.
Led Zeppelin wouldn’t qualify. 'Zep is pretty mellow, actually, even from the “heavy metal” standpoint of naming music rock and roll…
One of the few things that people agree on, maybe, is what Rock and Roll isn’t, such as the “Disco Sucks” phenomenon, sort of a “your enemy is my enemy too” philosophy brought to fruition.
By my actual count, rock has been dead many times–in the early 70s, in the mid-70s, in the early 80s, in the mid-80s, in the late 80s, in the mid 90s, and now.
I’m going to agree with Qwertyasdfg. While I’m a huge fan of Rage Against The Machine, and Sublime, and i can’t seem to get enough of Hip Hop, I also find myself COMPLETELY devoted to “oldies”. Anything that’s behind my time is my kind of music, and I find that all of my favorite CDs are actually records. Some (Don Mclean) say the music died, but me? I “Still like that old time of Rock ‘n’ Roll” (Well that was a failed attempt at humour)
Rock and Roll died a horrible death in the mid-1980’s unbeknownst to its most die hard adherents. It died a prolonged, painful yet unnecessary death mainly due to the poisoning of the well by most “mainstream” bands of that era. Metallica almost pumped some life back into it, maybe even revived it for a short period, but after the abrupt and massive failure of the “flying by the seat of your pants” grunge period, rock 'n roll was buried quietly in the backyard of most it’s enthusiasts.
“Rock and roll achieved perfection in 1974. It’s a scientific fact!” - Homer J Simpson.
The kids, as always, listen to all sorts of things. It was like that Back in the Day, too. Don’t forget that the heyday of the Who and Led Zeppelin was also the heyday of Al Green and Barry White and Elton John and Cat Stevens and America and Neal Diamond. Rock has receded in the musical mix in the last 10 years, but it was never the only game in town.
As for the last great rock album…Radiohead’s THE BENDS was recently voted the best rock album of the 1990s. (I forget the source, it was during the end-of-the-millenium deluge of lists.) I personally would vote for it over NEVERMIND.
Rock and roll will never die. However, like swing and the blues and “old-timey” music and show tunes and every other form of popular music before it, it will eventually become a cult music beloved by an aging audience and a handful of new fans and record collectors. It’s not a bad way to go, really. Just accept it as part of the Circle of Life, Kimba.
(Nitpick: I would disagree that jazz was “gigantic” in '58. It was fairly successful, but it’s not like it was the major, or even a major component of record company sales at the time–Miles Davis didn’t make the Billboard charts till 1962. What jazz did have was a cetain cachet, due to things like Newport and Hugh Hefner. Its popularity with the masses actually peaked in the early 60s, with “My Favorite Things,” Stan Getz and soul jazz. Then the college crowds that had supported jazz decided to listen to Dylan and the Beatles instead. The resulting collapse was catastrophic to jazz, but it was a small genre getting smaller, not the collapse of the predominent genre of its day.)
It really depends on how you define rock. I think a case can be made for the statement that hip hop is just another form of rock anyway.
In any case, RHCP’s Californication kicked butt all over Nirvana’s Nevermind album, and this was made about three years ago. RHCP make music that’s a mix of many genres, but rock’s definitely in there. And in Canada, people still go nuts for the Tragically Hip. They’re a rock band in most senses of the term.
Because the OP is asking about contemporary (top 40) music, I looked here; http://www.rockonthenet.com/charts/arc.htm
Problem is, I’m not sure what’s rock and what’s not.
Al least it’s not all hip hop.
I can listen to some hip hop.
Peace,
mangeorge
I’d say rock’n’roll as we know it is dead. Honest to god, you listen to “modern rock”, and the smell of that bludgeoned dead horse almost makes you gag. However, the idea behind rock seems to be living on. Bands are still shaking things up; it’s just that guitars aren’t necessarily used anymore. Good thing, too, in my opinion, because anymore guitars seem to be little more than a crutch for many bands to lean on. I’d go so far as to say that Kid A was a true rock album in terms of the underlying idea behind it. But if you’re going for the usual definition of rock, Radiohead’s The Bends was a great rock album. That came out in ninety five, didn’t it? Also, take a look at the Dandy Warhols. Their new album, Ten Tales of Suburban Bohemia, is very rock, and simply incredible. They’re definitely a band to keep your collective eyes on.
How 'bout the Black Crowes? They are still chuggin. I do think the quality of their material has gone down hill since “Amorica”, but they are still a rock and roll band. The tour with Jimmy Page was fucking sweet!
In general though I think r’n’r will live on. In fact, some might argue that it is still going with bands like Limp Bizquit, and Train and those other pop rock bands, but I would not consider them rock and roll.
Hey, like everything else, musical styles are cyclical. Every hot new style is a reaction (and usually a radical departure) from the last hot style. For example, the current boy-band bubblegum phase is a reaction to the angry alternative music of the nineties, which was a reaction to the happy new-age music and hair-band rock of the eighties. So all we have to do is wait a couple of years and rock’ll be back. In the meantime, I’ll console myself with my SRV, ZZ Top, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Black Crowes (go horhay!) and Los Lobos albums till the pendulum swings back the other way. (I tell ya, though, I’ll be so happy when bands start using guitars to actually create MUSIC instead of just a chunga-chung chord every now and again to punctuate a rap beat.)
Why does everyone think Nevermind was so good? I thought it sucked.
Moby’s “Play” comes to mind. It’s not traditional “rock” but it’s good stuff - cutting edge music, different from what came before, which is what rock music is REALLY about. Pearl Jam’s made some great stuff, as has U2. The Tragically Hip made “Day for Night” in 1994 and “Phantom Power” in 1998, both classic rock albums. PJ Harvey has made some outstanding stuff. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are as good a rock band as there is - I think someone’s already mentioned “Californication.” Cracker has done some great work, and “Low” remains one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time. Radiohead is great.
As long as there is some kid who’s pissed at the parents, ticked off by society, or just plain anxious to impress members of the opposite sex there will be rock and roll. Its not about music - its about attitude.
