I nominate The Strokes and The Hives
best music I’ve heard in years. AWESOME live show as well
The meaning of the phrase “rock n’ roll” has been so thoroughly dilluted over the last 50 years, I doubt it will ever really require saving-- but a little clarification might be in order. Can’t say I’ve heard much from The Strokes other than their single Last Nite– not a bad song I guess, but not really what I consider to be rock. Not familiar with The Hives, but I’ve heard good things. Glad you have found some music you enjoy.
Funny, I was just about to nominate them as Bands That Will Set Rock And Roll Back 40 Years.
Well, I agree rsvp9146, just add Weezer and Cake, and we have the four best bands in new music.
Those four bands together redefine “pleasant, but average” in my mind. No offence to their fans, but there’s nothing new and exciting there, just another rehash in the same way as Oasis (once the great white hope of rock music) rehashed the Beatles. Actually, that’s a little harsh on Weezer, who I quite like, and on Cake, who I have heard very little by, but to me the Hives and the Strokes just look like late '70s/early '80s NY imitators.
The Strokes, The Hives, and The White Stripes are being hailed by critics as “those who will save rock ‘n’ roll,” but it’s nonsense. What they mean is “those who will make rock ‘n’ roll mainstream again,” after 'NSync and Britney and those yahoos. It’s the same thing that happened ten years ago, when Joy Division (whom I liked OK) and New Kids on the Block (whom no one liked) were popular, and jaded critics were saying, “Guitar-rock is dead–What? Who’s this ‘Nirvana’ band I’m hearing about?” It’s all a repeating cycle. It’s disco vs. punk all over again.
Rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t need saving; go down to your local club when there’s a rock band playing, and you’ll see what rock ‘n’ roll is; it’s a bunch of guys/gals in dirty t-shirts who haven’t slept in two days tearing their fingers and vocal chords to shreds because it feels so freaking good.
(All this should be taken with a grain of salt, as it comes from a 30-year-old punk rocker. Though without a mohawk.)
jackelope, I know it’s late, and I’m listening to The Doors live, which I think I’m getting a contact high from, but I’m totally confused as to the connection between Joy Division and New Kids On The Block, either in style, era, clothing, … really, in any way at all.
I think the Strokes and the Hives are fun, but I’m with the camp that thinks that Rock and Roll (obviously using the term loosely), will never go away, but depending on what week it is, it will be either ‘cool’ or ‘uncool’. Round my house, The Electric Eels and Black Flag are saving rock and roll 
Perhaps you meant New Order and not Joy Division?
The Hives’ “Hate to say I told you so” is decent, but the sheer lack of note-hitting is simply disappointing, whereas “Last Night” is incredibly irritating and does not approach any sort of reasonable standard of “rock” with which I am familiar… I haven’t heard any other songs of theirs, though, so they might actually have decent songs that just don’t get played on the radio (play Estranged on the radio, dammit!). It’s all very boring and not terribly exciting… songs need to have powerful riffs and be at least seven minutes long! We need more epics! We need to be able to go and get some milk and come home and have the same song playing as when we left!
Are The Strokes and The Hives redefining rock? Hell no. Is rock dead? Hell no. However, it has been driven much farther away from the mainstream than I think it’s ever been. I could be wrong about that, but that’s my impression.
I really don’t understand what the big backlash against The Strokes is. People seem to either love them or hate them with a passion. For me, The Strokes represent a turn back to back-to-basics rock. Get some guys with guitars, a bass and drums, write some good songs and rock. I find them a pleasant change to the over-processed, over-the-top, overdubs on-top-of-overdubs rock that one hears nowadays. (OK, I am a hypocrite. I’m a big Pumpkins fan, not exactly known for their sparse arrangements.)
Anyhow, for me these bands represent the mainstreaming of every teenager’s dream --> the garage band hitting it big.
For me, their simple sound, their catchy hooks, their lack of pretentious guitar solos is refreshing as all hell.
“Last Night” reminds me a bit of the Clash’s “Hateful.” It’s rock in every sense of the word. You see, I believe a good pop song should be less than three minutes. I think most songs these days go on for far longer than they should. This is where The Strokes and The Hives work for me. I despise rock epics, but I don’t mind the occassional concept album.
Then again, maybe my pop sensibilities are stuck in the 80s with The Buzzcocks, XTC, The Shoes, and The Damned.
First off, and this is not a knock against you, ** rsvp9146**, but I cannot STAND the phrase “…will save rock and roll” when used with the soup de jour of popular music. 3 years ago it was radiohead. 10 years ago it was nirvana. Now its the white stripes and the strokes. I’m sure that I am forgetting someone in the 93-96 range, too. Rock-n-Roll must sure be doing something very wrong if it is on the verge of extinction every 3 years.
Anywho…all these new bands.
The Strokes – have heard bits and pieces of their album. Wasn’t impressed, nor was I irritated.
The White Stripes – not the greatest album by any means … but a lot of fun IMO. Energy and stripped down style reminds me of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
The Hives – “Hate to say I told you so” is damn catchy, so I took a leap of faith and bought the album. Bleh. It’s pretty crappy.
My current choices for bands that are “Making rock and roll a two egg omelet on a Thursday morning” (that’s my new phrase – please spread the word, and get people to say it instead of “saving rock”): The Dismemberment Plan and Burning Airlines
Good points mouthbreather.
If I had to nominate ‘rock’ bands that I thought were a little different I would stick with the Super Furry Animals, who have been around for a while, and still suggest Radiohead. I’ve never been a huge fan of Radiohead, but their style of music remains a little different to what most ‘rock’ bands that get exposure appear to be playing.
The whole concept behind “… bands that will save rock n’ roll” is about bands that subvert the current trends in popular music, which by that time have become overblown, overproduced and overexploited by business that had figured out that “the kids” liked that particular strain of music and hyped it too much.
Whenever that happens (about every 10 years or so), some musical genre appears from under the radar that:
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Tends to be simpler, if only because the musicians are working with less money and access to equipment - so the have to figure out new ways to get the sounds they are after
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Tends to want to ape some aspects of popular music, but the sound is very different, due to limitations in production or specific vision. You may not believe it, but Chuck Berry was trying to produce a sound like Louis Jordan’s 20-piece jump blues sound, but with a smaller band, so he used his trademark guitar sound to imitate Jordan’s horn section. Compare Jordan’s “Saturday Nite Fish Fry” to Berry’s “Maybelline” to see what I mean. Also, Nirvana and Green Day set out to be punk bands that were more melodic than their predecessors.
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Tend to incorporate aspects of the music that was popular when they were kids - as we all know, styles seem to be regurgitated and re-interpreted every 15 - 20 years. So we are currently revisiting some aspects of the late 70’s/early 80’s…
Bottom line? The Strokes, the White Stripes, Weezer, the Hives - they are all simpler bands trying to bring a mix of simpler, more melodic guitar-based rock that echoes punk/hard rock sounds from the late 70’s (e.g., the Hives = more Stooges/Pistols; Weezer = more Van Halen). Are they good at it? Not to the point of breaking out and redefining the landscape. But it is fun to see them try, and some of the songs are pretty good. “Hate to Say I Told You So” by the Hives is damn catchy.
It will be interesting to see if a band breaks through to lead a new wave of re-invention of the genre…
If The Strokes and the White Stripes are going to save rock n roll, I’m going to kill myself. They are simply ripping off what has already been done. It never ceases to amaze me how the same old tired music, is accepted as new and exciting, but I guess thats what marketing departments are for. Being realistic there is no good or bad music, its all a matter of opinion, so what can one do?
When people say ‘rock is back’, what they mean is ‘rock is back on MTV.’
Ok, so if the Hives, The Strokes (blech!) and the White Stripes are all retro/ripping off old bands sounds, who are The Vines ripping off? I like “get free” but there’s something very familar about their sound…
So let me see if I’ve got this straight:
No one liked New Kids On The Block, yet they were popular.
Uh-huh.
You do know, jackelope that there is a preview button, right?
Sure you did.
And if no one liked New Kids On The Block, how did they manage to rank #1 on Forbes list of Top earning entertainers 2 years in a row, to the tune of some $120,000,000.
Oh wait, now I get it, you being a “punk,” were obligated to hate them, therefore you assumed that everyone else hated them as well.
Uh-huh.
Sure.
Now, you must :smack: yourself about the head and shoulders 36 times with a wet haddock for your contradictory post.
How about instead of saving rock, they are reassigning its priorities? The fact that the Hives aren’t plastered all over MTV on TRL is a sign that they aren’t the same accesible band that Limp Bizkit or Linkin Park is. The aforementioned bands live up to the nickname of “cock rock” in that they are guy’s music, made especially for disaffected pseudorebel teenage boys. Looking at rock in 98 and 99, it was about ego and machismo. These bands seem to be just about playing music and not making it onto Rolling Stone every other issue.
And the White Stripes ate my children.
C’mon. You and I both know that’ll change the instant the media realise more people are getting interested in them. FWIW, they are increasingly all over some of the music channels in the UK and certainly in the music press.
I’m old enough to remember when Bruce Springsteen was gonna save rock’n’roll.
'Nuff said.