# Is The "Rock Era" Over? If so, when did it end? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324 "2017-10-19T22:16:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/41 "2017-10-21T21:06:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Uh, Coldplay is still rocking. Oasis broke up but Liam Gallagher is touring. Maroon 5 still tours. > > Tom Petty was still touring until he died. > > Rock music has evolved but it’s still rock. They still have Dixieland jazz quartets in shopping malls, too, but that doesn’t mean it’s 1924. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/42 "2017-10-21T21:34:42Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > For good or bad, the last (attempted) musical revolution, as such (i.e., if you judged it next to actual successful revolutions it would probably pale a fair amount in comparison) was the “indie” one starting in the late 90’s. These guys were basically the anti-rockers, eschewing just about every musical element that had heterofore defined rock. But, having totally deconstructed the core genre, the music basically had nowhere else to go at that point but to contract into a creative black hole. Thus it wasn’t so much a revolution as rock’s last gasp. > > I still have my usual dose of Pollyannish optimism that the genre could be revived somehow, somewhere, by someone, but maybe it indeed has all been played out. I want to say that if you managed to combine prog’s virtuosity and power with punk’s energy and immediacy that might be something, but WTF do I know. If this truly is the end, be fortunate that you were able to both live through it and/or be able to still partake of it (albeit in past tense). How do you date “indie” to the late 90s? Or “anti-rockers” for that matter? ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/43 "2017-10-21T22:10:38Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Most people seem to blame Nickelback. Interesting to see someone mention Nickelback–when I saw this thread title I recalled an article I read a few years ago, which I can’t find now, about the decline of rock. One of the examples it used was how when “How You Remind Me” (say what you will about Nickelback, but that was a rock song) reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it had been quite a while since a rock song had done so. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Uh, Coldplay is still rocking. Oasis broke up but Liam Gallagher is touring. Maroon 5 still tours. Maroon 5 stopped being a rock band about 10 years ago. Seriously, do they even use guitar, drums, and bass anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/44 "2017-10-21T22:58:19Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Pearl Jam still records and tours and are still a viable force in rock music. > > Soundgarden was playing shows up until Cornell killed himself. And somebody better assign body guards to Eddie and Dave. Because if something happens to either of them, I’m out. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Who? :smack: Jesus Christ. (Pose) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/45 "2017-10-21T23:03:48Z")
They still rock out. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/46 "2017-10-21T23:04:52Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4jZBwyG7HPs/maxresdefault.jpg "Pearl Jam - Sirens") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jZBwyG7HPs) Whoops! ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/47 "2017-10-21T23:46:58Z")
A few months ago I was listening to top 40 radio stations for a couple of days. Not by choice but I was hoping to find a few current gems among the typical pop garbage. Turns out I’ve been wasting time ignoring modern music when I could have been loathing it. I went online to look at the charts and it confirmed how bad things are. About the most rocking thing I heard was a Katy Perry song. Even Coldplay seems to be out dated now. I don’t know when that happened but it’s bleak out there. Bruno Mars found his way in there once in a while but it was mostly the songs of his I don’t like as much. I did hear “Up Town Funk” twice, which was the highlight of the experience. I know enough people that are into Metal, but how modern metal got to be so brutal and stupid is best saved for another discussion. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/48 "2017-10-22T00:46:14Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > How do you date “indie” to the late 90s? Or “anti-rockers” for that matter? I didn’t. Those musicians and fans who co-opted the term (which formerly meant merely that you weren’t on a major label, which meant indie music at one time was highly diverse) to mean “guy sings off key over a lo-fi and minimalist acoustic arrangement” did. They generally didn’t rock out in the usual sense of the term, either. Neutral Milk Hotel (late 90’s) was the standard bearer. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/49 "2017-10-22T01:16:16Z")
The end of the rock era took place over a period of time and for different reasons. As others have noted, the process is more of a social phenomenon than development (exhaustion) of the art form. I think the advent of digital technology is a prominent characteristic (not necessarily the cause) of the end of rock. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/50 "2017-10-22T07:37:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Pearl Jam still records and tours and are still a viable force in rock music. > > Soundgarden was playing shows up until Cornell killed himself. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Who? > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Yeah right. Are you serious? I admit I’ve heard _of_ Pearl Jam but don’t think I’ve ever listened to them. Never heard of Soundgarden at all, and that’s no joke. > [@cochrane](#): > > They’re still playing, too. 😃 At least someone got it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/51 "2017-10-22T08:16:05Z")
Oh sweet Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/52 "2017-10-22T10:19:47Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Maroon 5 stopped being a rock band about 10 years ago. Seriously, do they even use guitar, drums, and bass anymore? I barely know a M5 song unless my daughter points it out to slag it. Pointless trivia: the guitar player for M5, James Valentine, just came out with a signature guitar. My first thought, of course was: who the fuck is James Valentine?! I didn’t know the other M5 guys besides the pretty frontman even had names. You know what? It’s a great guitar, apprently, earning its 15 minutes of guitar messageboard hype. It’s a Tele variant, and made by a great company: [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JamesValNatS?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpc-n2\_-D1wIVQUGGCh1TgQZMEAQYASABEgK2k\_D\_BwE](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JamesValNatS?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpc-n2_-D1wIVQUGGCh1TgQZMEAQYASABEgK2k_D_BwE) Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/53 "2017-10-22T16:28:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I barely know a M5 song unless my daughter points it out to slag it. > > Pointless trivia: the guitar player for M5, James Valentine, just came out with a signature guitar. My first thought, of course was: who the fuck is James Valentine?! I didn’t know the other M5 guys besides the pretty frontman even had names. You know what? It’s a great guitar, apprently, earning its 15 minutes of guitar messageboard hype. It’s a Tele variant, and made by a great company: [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JamesValNatS?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpc-n2\_-D1wIVQUGGCh1TgQZMEAQYASABEgK2k\_D\_BwE](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JamesValNatS?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpc-n2_-D1wIVQUGGCh1TgQZMEAQYASABEgK2k_D_BwE) > > Carry on. I didn’t need to see that. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/54 "2017-10-22T16:29:58Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I didn’t need to see that. I realized I had immediately checked their dealer listings. It’s a sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/55 "2017-10-22T20:16:13Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I realized I had immediately checked their dealer listings. It’s a sickness. Yes it is. Fortunately I have a guitar that already covers that territory. I was able to close that link and move on. After a few minutes, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/56 "2017-10-22T20:35:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Uh, Coldplay is still rocking. Oasis broke up but Liam Gallagher is touring. Maroon 5 still tours. > > Tom Petty was still touring until he died. > > Rock music has evolved but it’s still rock. “Rock’s not dead! Look at all these bands that have been around for upwards of twenty years!” That’s not life, that’s life support. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/57 "2017-10-23T00:01:07Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Rock’s not dead! Look at all these bands that have been around for upwards of twenty years!” > > That’s not life, that’s life support. The real test for determining if rock has any relevance today is whether there are still kids in their teens and twenties forming bands and people in the same age range willing to listen to them. If this number is no longer significant and most youth react to rock music the same way people in our generation reacted to Lawrence Welk, the condition of rock is terminal. You can look at the shape jazz is in now because that’s where rock’s going to be in another 20-30 years. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/58 "2017-10-23T11:07:28Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > For good or bad, the last (attempted) musical revolution, as such (i.e., if you judged it next to actual successful revolutions it would probably pale a fair amount in comparison) was the “indie” one starting in the late 90’s. These guys were basically the anti-rockers, eschewing just about every musical element that had heterofore defined rock. But, having totally deconstructed the core genre, the music basically had nowhere else to go at that point but to contract into a creative black hole. Thus it wasn’t so much a revolution as rock’s last gasp. > > I still have my usual dose of Pollyannish optimism that the genre could be revived somehow, somewhere, by someone, but maybe it indeed has all been played out. I want to say that if you managed to combine prog’s virtuosity and power with punk’s energy and immediacy that might be something, but WTF do I know. If this truly is the end, be fortunate that you were able to both live through it and/or be able to still partake of it (albeit in past tense). Great summing-up. I have a 7-year-old son who (through me) likes the Beatles, some Kinks, and has been exposed to the Stones, Zeppelin, etc. — but he’s also starting to learn about current music from peers. I’ll report back to this thread in a few years — he might serve as a “canary in the coal mine” for the death of rock, or else its persistence. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2017, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/59 "2017-10-23T11:15:32Z")
I should add that I’ve made a point of making my 7-year-old aware that not ALL rock musicians are old fogies or dead – we listened to some Tame Impala the other day, for example. But he’s vary aware that most of the rock we listen to together is from decades past – 60s, 70s, 90s, and 80s, in descending order of frequency. ---
**Author:** ![Lorne\_Armstrong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@Lorne\_Armstrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorne_Armstrong)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2017, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324/60 "2017-10-24T09:49:49Z")
Walk into a department store or any business that plays music over loudspeakers. It’s always R&B/dance pop crap. Young people today like rap and R&B. It’s very sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-rock-era-over-if-so-when-did-it-end/799324.md?page=4)