My friend argues that Axle Rose was the last true “rock star” back in the early 1990s and I’m hard pressed to disagree with him. Sure, there have been rock stars, but nobody that EVERYBODY knows about.
I welcome any contradiction here, of course.
I think from the rise of Grunge thru the present rock and roll moved away from the typical “in your face frontman” but became more about “the whole band”.
Fred Durst was pretty up-your-ass about being in Limp Bizkit.
What’s his ass from Creed was pretty “in your face” as a frontman I guess.
If anything I think rappers tend to act like rockstars of old. Everyone trys to out-front everyone else and it’s almost always about a singular person and never about a whole group. They spend lavishly on the most assinine shit and act out in the most assinine ways.
I would argue that Mick amd Keith are still rock stars. More today than Axle was in his prime, but I have a '60s take on rock.
For current, non-dinosaurs, Kanye West might be up there, even if not for his music. Madonna also refuses to go away, but I don’t think she is relevant to music anymore. Everybody knows her, however.
I depends what you call a “rock star”. If you go by a person who plays rock music and who has wide name recognition, there are a ton more, many since Axl. But if you define “rock star” as flash in the pan prima donnas, who have the mental stability of a brain dead butterfly, Axl just may be your guy. But, even in that category, he couldn’t even hold a candle to Kurt Cobain.
That’s interesting. The closest I can come to recent rock stars is Eminem and Marilyn Manson. Other names that occur to me–Kanye West, Nellie, Lil Kim, ODB, Missy, Pink–they all have some of the trappings of the rock star, but then they all seem to lack something of the outsizeness of the great rock stars of the past. Snoop Dogg? Dr. Dre? Maybe. Lord knows PeeDoody has tried hard enough to position himself as a rock star, but most of his fame is manufactured. Still, that doesn’t necessarily disqualify him. Other big music stars that seem to fill that niche for now–Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, et al.–are almost wholly manufactured, so I’m not sure if that counts. Plus, there’s the whole “rock” thing that kinda disqualifies them. Gwen Stefani? Jennifer Lopez? Again, obviously lacking in many ways, but is that the closest we have these days?
Bono? Maybe he’s too sensitive to be a true rock star…
Well in Britain, I suppose Pete Doherty (formerly of the Libertines) is a “rock star.” That is, everybody knows him, he dates Kate Moss, has a massive drug addiction, and destroys hotel rooms. Also his chosen style of music is (what I consider to be) rock.
America-wise, there are lots of names that pop up at me…
I guess we’re going to consider U2 as Pop - so Bono is out of the picture. However, Ozzy is still touring, so I’m not sure how we discredit him. Bon Jovi are still touring and JBJ is pretty close to a rock star. I dunno what we call Dave Matthews if he’s not a rock star. And then as brownie55 notes you still have Mick and Keith not only putting out records, but touring. Then there’s good ole Lenny Kravitz? Got to be a rock star right?
I just have to respectfully disagree with your friend. I don’t think there’s any justifiable way of defending Axl Rose as the “last rock star.” I think there are any number of rock stars out there, they are just currently overshadowed by pop idols, rap icons, and country titans.
- Peter Wiggen
JD Fortune 
Man these google adds are too much. In a thread about “ROCK STARS” the only link they could provide is for LEGAL ADVICE? :eek:
There are no words
Blech. However, I’ll admit that Rock Star: INXS the television show was brilliant marketing by INXS.
Ok, the more I thought about it, the more I thought: we need the straight dope on this question.
So can we back up the statement that Axl Rose was the last rock star?
First problem: Rock stars who may have started before him, but press on EVEN TODAY. Examples: Ozzy, Mick, Keith, Santana, Petty, Neil Young, Steven Tyler, hell even Dylan still plays.
We also have problems with poppy sounding artists / artists that are not exactly rock. Examples: Dave Matthews, Bon Jovi, Fred Durst (more metal), Michael Stipe, the guy from Coldplay married to Gwyneth Paltrow, Robbie Williams, and (for the Canadians) the lead guy from the Tragically Hip, and the lead guy from Green Day.
Then we get to the real crux of the matter - potential rock stars that developed AFTER AXL and still play today. Examples: Pete Doherty, Jack White, Lenny Kravitz, etc.
And finally, our huge problem - WTF do we do with Kid Rock? Sure he might rap a little, but he’s def a rock star right? Big time persona, everybody knows him, dated Pamela, some problems with the law.
So IMHO, you should tell your friend to lay off the herb and get Use Your Illusion I & II off such heavy rotation. 
- Peter Wiggen
The only name that came immediately to mind for me reading the OP was Bono.
Mick & Keith are still around, as is Paul McCartney, the boys from Aerosmith, and many others, but they are all mostly riding on their laurels from years ago.
Eminem and Marilyn Manson are mainly famous (as far as the general public is concerned) for being controversial, not for their music.
I think the Kurt Cobain, were he still with us, would still be a “rock star”. I was never much of a Nirvana fan at the time, but I appreciate them more and more as time goes by.
Admittedly, my knowledge of music is not great post 1980-something, but I don’t think that should be an issue. A “rock star” should, by definition, be well known even to casual music fans (and perhaps even non-music fans). I just can’t think of any names from the past few years that jump out at me.
Even if that’s true, and in Eminem’s case I’m not convinced it is (I don’t even know if he’s that controversial - he’s a brilliant self-promoter), Axl Rose could be pretty controversial when he wanted to.
I agree with the suggestion of Jack White. Julian Casablancas could be another.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned the Gallagher Brothers from Oasis. Everytime they destroy a hotel room/gouge out a cameraman’s eyeball they seem to make headlines, despite not having released a decent albums since the Eisenhower administration.
I don’t think that that many people who aren’t already fans of the White Stripes would know Jack White from Jack Black. I think to be a Rock Star[sup]TM[/sup] your celebrity has to extend beyond your fan base. And I’ve never heard of Julian Casablancas, so I disqualify him on the same grounds.
Ditto for the Oasis brothers. Oasis was never big enough (in the US at least) to qualify for Star status, let alone members of the band.
I think maybe each of us has a different definition of Rock Star[sup]TM[/sup]. To me, a Rock Star[sup]TM[/sup] in the classic mode has to be a household word; your grandmother has to have heard of him/her. His lifestyle has to have eclipsed his musical life. He’s gotta be about conspicuous excess, supermodels, private jets, in the newspaper above the fold and not just in the entertainment section. If controversy or self promotion adds to the allure, so be it. Elvis never shied away from that stuff; neither did the Beatles or Axl or Eminem or Manson. Tommy Lee’s status as Rock Star[sup]TM[/sup] went up a notch after the Pamela Anderson video thingy, not after his latest solo album.
It’s more about attitude and media than it is about the music.
OK, so I googled Julian Casablancas. I actually have two Strokes discs, but Julian Casablancas as a public persona–i.e., a star–hasn’t left a bright enough mark on the heavens yet to qualify as a rock star.
I’m inclined to disagree. The White Stripes have released a number of platinum albums, they play on the Grammy shows and the talk shows, yada yada yada. Now, he’s not an enormous celebrity outside the context of the band, which is basically him anyway :p, but I think he’s a good candidate.
I was thinking more that he could be one if The Strokes’ star climbs high enough.