# The truth about "Classic Rock" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905 "2011-08-08T02:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/101 "2011-08-08T11:03:56Z")
Oh wow - a Troll a Troll a genuine Troll on the interwebthingy quick look before he burns in eternity Dang Punchdrunk, take a chill pill. Tune your wireless to another station fer Pete’s sake! Still, I’m now listening to “God” and chums play Badge so you’ve brought a smile to a middle-aged Kiwi’s face. Aaahhhh…now for Anarchy In The UK - YES!!! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/102 "2011-08-08T11:04:02Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I had a massive Ride moment yesterday, going through ‘Nowhere’ and the early EPs Heh, I did the same thing last weekend. That stuff really needs remastering, sounds a bit thin to my ears nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/103 "2011-08-08T11:59:45Z")
Isn’t ‘classic rock’ by definition older songs that a large enough number of people still like to hear, enough people that the songs have held their own over the years? A pretty broad sweep, it seems. So, op, you don’t like older music that a lot of other people like. So what? What makes your artistic opinion so important to be throwing it around like this? One thing I can’t stand, when someone likes a certain form of art, and some overbearing snob comes along - not to say they don’t prefer that form of art - but declares indignantly “you shouldn’t like that! because I said so!” So I conclude: Do Not Feed The Troll ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/104 "2011-08-08T12:31:31Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > One of the things that I hate about many “classic rock” stations is their limited playlist. Classic rock covers a huge range of songs, yet I only hear the same 40 or 50 played every day, it seems. This is the main problem with every oldies station I’ve ever heard, churning out the same few songs which have had the last bit of interest and nostalgia milked out of them many years before. Why is it I can’t hear some of the truly great, underplayed blasts from the past like “The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati” or “Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)”\*? _It’s raining inside a big brown moon How’s that mess your baby up leg Eating a Reuben sandwich with sauerkraut Don’t stop now, Let it all hang out_ \*the Los Hombres version. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/105 "2011-08-08T13:09:10Z")
Maybe I was just in the right kind of mood when I read it, but I liked the OP. I give it a 7. Sure, it would have been fairer and more accurate to say, “Some classic rock is good, some is bad, some is overrated, some is overplayed, I prefer other genres, and this is all just my opinion…” but, fuck it, this is the Pit. I enjoy a good over-the-top rant. “Classic Rock” can take it; it’s a big boy. And “No one ever needs to hear “Born to Be Wild,” ever again, for the rest of human existence” is perfectly accurate. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2011, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/106 "2011-08-08T13:43:49Z")
So I take it the OP is a huge fan of Yngwie Malmsteen, then? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/107 "2011-08-08T14:44:07Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > “Classic rock” sucks. It just sucks. It’s a romance invented by baby boomers who want their kids to believe that their generation was the last one that cared and that was able to accomplish anything (boy, do those videos of Woodstock make me believe in a nation of youth united for change! Fuck Woodstock.) To paraphrase Stephen Crane, which I kinda did in your punk thread: It is clear you have a strong POV about music. However, that doesn’t fill me with a sense of obligation. - The stuff you want to hold out as “better than” classic rock is, in the overall scheme of music, part of the same basic music category. In other words, you’re passionately splitting hairs. - Fine - you don’t like Baby Boomers and their Canon of Taste™. Great; be happy. But using that as a rationale to state, apparently, that there is no value in understanding music history sounds silly. Not sure what else to say - you’re full of sound and fury, but you haven’t said anything interesting about music yet. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/108 "2011-08-08T14:50:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > So I take it the OP is a huge fan of Yngwie Malmsteen, then? > > 😃 Yngwie who? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/109 "2011-08-08T14:56:35Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > **truth** Now that was a good album. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/110 "2011-08-08T14:56:53Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > - Fine - you don’t like Baby Boomers and their Canon of Taste™. That’s a much more defensible position than the OP, I think. Baby boomers are so fucking self-satisfied, and think that because they have a plurality of the population it gives objective credence to their taste. It doesn’t. But most classic rock songs are good. Classic rock \*stations \*suck, and classic rock station \*audiences \*suck, but classic rock itself does not suck. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/111 "2011-08-08T15:00:08Z")
Free Bird! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/112 "2011-08-08T15:09:36Z")
The perception that classic rock sucks is because it is overplayed. I stopped listening to music on the radio about 10 years ago because I’d heard it all before: one hundred thousand times before. The thing is though, I don’t like any of the new stuff at all. There’s undoubtedly stuff out there that, given the chance, I would enjoy, but I just don’t care. I don’t care what some pimply-faced 22 year old has to say about love, sex, or the world in general. It would be like going on a date with a 22 year old, I wouldn’t know how to connect on the same level. So, from time to time, I’ll still crank up “My Woman from Tokyo,” or “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” or “Sympathy for the Devil,” etc. because it’s like comfort food for the ears. ---
**Author:** ![LeeshaJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LeeshaJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeeshaJoy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/113 "2011-08-08T15:16:15Z")
[It’s okay to not like things It’s okay, but don’t be a dick about it It’s okay to not like things Don’t be a dick about the things you don’t like](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0la5DBtOVNI) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/114 "2011-08-08T15:34:08Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Not sure what else to say - you’re full of sound and fury, but you haven’t said anything interesting about music yet. Listen to this man, OP. He knows his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/115 "2011-08-08T15:37:28Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Listen to this man, OP. He knows his stuff. Hey - when it comes to talking a lot without really saying anything, I’m your guy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/116 "2011-08-08T15:40:07Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Also, fuck wah-wah pedals. Well, I do agree with that. A little goes a long way. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/117 "2011-08-08T15:42:41Z")
I for one don’t buy that you’re merely here to express your opinion that you don’t like certain kinds of music. I base my conclusion on statements like this: > [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > But ex-hippies, get the fuck over yourselves. It sure doesn’t seem like you’re just saying “I don’t like _x_, but that’s just my opinion.” It sounds a whole lot more like “All y’all are idiots for liking _x_.” ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/118 "2011-08-08T15:46:07Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > All right, let’s get something straight here. You are entitled to your opinion, but when you get into the realm of _objective criticism_, then I _will_ bitchslap you. Case in point: Plant’s voice is alternative, but it led a whole movement of people trying to emulate that wailing, crazy sound. Just listen to Whitesnake or Wolfmother and you’ll see _exactly_ what I mean. You’re objectively wrong; and you may go fuck yourself. You’ve overstepped the bounds of “my subjective opinion” and I will nail you to the cross for doing so. Plant does ruin a lot of Zep for me, though. I don’t listen to them anymore, even though they may have had the best drummer ever along with a guitarist and bass player who are probably in the top 20 all-time on their instruments. Subjective? Sure, but damn. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/119 "2011-08-08T15:47:54Z")
Whether Classic Rock sucks or doesn’t suck isn’t really up for debate, because it’s entirely subjective. However, what is not up for debate is that none one single person sought punch line loser’s endorsement of their music choice prior to this thread. That not only makes him a wanker, but one who overestimates his importance to boot. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/120 "2011-08-08T15:53:00Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > “Classic rock” is a commercial genre of radio that has proven to be a safe money-earner for the corporations that own the stations that play it. It’s not that regurgitating all this stuff from the 1970s is being done because its some sort of artistic high-water mark, it’s because people with high levels of disposable income apparently willingly listen to adverts in between the songs they’ve heard 10,000 times. This isn’t quite right, though. ‘Classic rock’ stations have moved away from the canonical stuff they used to play (Stones, Springsteen, early Zep) into the lesser lights (Boston, REO Speedwagon, Steve Miller, later Zep). This is probably an effort to “keep things fresh” (which is very, very odd if you think about it), but it’s had the effect of turning me off to the format. The radio is a very barren place for me these days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=7)