So I was taking a nostalgic trip through my mp3 collection which includes music from mostly the 1970s,80s,90s and today. I can’t help noticing the distinct difference between pre 1991 and post '91 music. The 80s were largely characterized by big flamboyant arena rock hair-metal bands like Van Halen, Crue, Jovi and so on. '91 obviously being the year Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s 10 came out marking a shift towards the punk-influenced “grunge” style alt-rock that has remained popular to this day.
Listening to current music, I don’t see much a of a distinction from bands a decade ago, either musically or stylistically. It’s a little more commercialized, but I can still recognize the roots of bands like Nickleback, Evenescence and others in the music from a decade earlier.
Aren’t we due for some groundbreaking group to usher in a major shift to a completely different style of music?
You’re relying too much on the critical rock narrative. The late '80s were not that dissimilar to the eraly '90s; R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic Youth and all were laying the groundwork for Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Sure, heavy metal was popular in the '80s but not in the '90s, but '80s rock was typified just as much by U2 and new-wave and etc.
Fair enough. But it does seem like every decade or so a band comes along and “revolutionizes” the music scene. Like Elvis or The Beatles or Nirvana. Seems like we haven’t had one of those in awhile,
This is what I was going to say. Like it or not, hip-hop has gained an enormous amount of musical influence in relatively few years. I mean, even Justin Timberlake (of former N’Sync fame) is doing hip-hop now.
My guess is that what makes hip-hop so primal and attractive to many (the deep, rhythmic, repetitive beats) will become more prevalent among artists who fancy themselves more “singers” than “rappers” and we will get some interesting forms of rock/hip-hop fusion in the next few years.
Ain’t going to happen (and I should know I’ve been waiting for 25+ years now tho only the
first 5 in any sort of optimistic state). Today’s scene is so fragmented that there’s no way a
single band could grab the kind of mainstream attention required even if they (and their
management/label) do everything right. It’s been a very long-term trend that the best bands
don’t necessarily get the most airplay and press (since c. 1975 or so), and it gets worse with
every single year.
In alternative (New Wave) circles in the early 80’s there was this feeling that that ONE
band would break big and usher in a new era of creative renaissance. Closest thing we
got was U2 and they hardly represented a trend-by the time they did break c. 1985 the
rest of the scene had already imploded for the most part so there was nobody to lead.
Nirvana wasn’t the continuation of a series of musical revolutions but the final expiring
gasp of an underground trend bubbling to the surface. We’ll likely never see anything like
that again much less anything like the Beatles.
The thing about major shifts in popular music is that if you wait for or expect it to arrive, it’ll never come. The two shifts that come immediately to my mind are the British Invasion in 1964 and the breakout of “grunge” in 1991 and in both instances nobody–especially radio and the record industry–saw them coming.
I pretty much agree. However, one could argue that the most recent “major shift” is going on right now and doesn’t involve the type of music but rather the means by which it is disseminated (i.e., by way of downloading, mp3 players, and internet radio). A wider variety of music is more accessible to people thereby resulting in the audience being more fragmented and having more eclectic tastes.
Well the years was rollin’ by
Heavy Metal ‘n Glitter Rock
Had caught the public eye
Snotty boys with lipstick on
Was really flyin’ high
‘N’ then they got that Disco thing
‘N’ New Wave came along
‘N’ all of a sudden I thought the time
Had come for that old song
We used to play in “Joe’s Garage”
And if I am not wrong
You will soon be dancin to…
we are mid shift right now… only the thing is, because of previously mentioned ecclecticism, it will not be immediately clear to those specifically looking for the shift – for now only genre surfers will notice, and w(th)ey aren’t gonna be talking about it, at least in large numbers.
the next shift, whenever it comes about, will be back to a few quite defined genres, and only then will the wider world realize that the past couple & possibly next couple years are as revolutionary as they really are.
I’m hoping for NPR to take stage…
But I noticed a few years ago we were getting alot of bands that all sounded the same, were everywhere, and we’re all up on the top. Bands like The White Stripes, The Shins, The Strokes, The Vines, The Hives, etc. I’m not exactly sure what they were called but I always refered them as the bands of “The”. I was hoping that was going to take a stronger hold but it just never did.
Maybe Ska will pull a good old zombie maneuver and come on back. Us college kids sure love our Ska.
Hey, hey, what would I say?
That’d rap like this back in that day!
That’s rap it here and rap it there
They were rapping like this everywhere!
No bitch slappin’, no whitey killin’
Just a lot of fresh illin’ and chillin’!
