# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/121 "2011-08-08T16:24:14Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > You know that thing you like? It sucks. And you suck for liking it. Yeah, but I was saying it sucks like 6 months before you were. And before that, people in Japan were saying it sucked so it’s understandable if you hadn’t heard about it until now. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/122 "2011-08-08T16:25:55Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Ace job exposing yourself as a homophobe, champ. How so? I like Justin Beiber too. She’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/123 "2011-08-08T16:33:14Z")
Don’t look at me, man. I still think Classic Rock is Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. You know, you never hear Elvis on Classic Rock stations anymore. Beatles yes, Elvis no. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/124 "2011-08-08T16:34:09Z")
> [@sh1bu1](#): > > Weird, cheesy is the last word I would use for Cream. Ironic, that. I’d have assumed it to be a central ingredient. [sub]yes. That’s three stupid, pointless juvenile posts in a row for this thread. And I’m not done reading through it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/125 "2011-08-08T16:38:42Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Listen, guys. I know this is probably a generational thing, and I don’t expect anyone to agree with me. But I just can’t take it anymore. “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… You are complaining that people put classic rock on a pedestal, but then do the same thing with your beloved punk rock. Self awareness failure. Guess what, some people are prone to hyperbole. Personally, there is some classic rock I like, and some punk, but I’m indifferent to the majority of it. I don’t buy into the ideology of either movement. As with other areas of the arts, I’m grateful that different genres evolve, I like to have variety of things to listen to. If you dislike a particular genre, the sensible thing to do is vote with your feet and ignore it. By all means share the things you are passionate about, but don’t expect the world to conform to your tastes. > [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > By the end of the 60s, it was all about theatrics and pyrotechnics, whether literally or in terms of guitar technique. The performers were miles away from the audience, and they were put on pedestals to a point where kids were growing up thinking, “I could never do that.” I think that’s fucked up. I don’t know how well you can play guitar, I don’t need to hear you noodling for twenty minutes, not ever. Punk’s do it yourself attitude was laudable, but it’s absurd to sneer at musical technique. Technique is an enabler, it opens up musical possibilities. Yes, some musicians have been guilty of self-indulgence, no question. Add virtuosity to soul (for lack of a better term), and you get something like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvZHlgoYmJM&feature=relmfu). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/126 "2011-08-08T16:46:19Z")
I was hoping that this thead would unveil some kind of government conspiracy… Boooo!! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/127 "2011-08-08T16:52:10Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Don’t look at me, man. I still think Classic Rock is Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. > > You know, you never hear Elvis on Classic Rock stations anymore. Beatles yes, Elvis no. Weird. One of the classic rock stations used to play a LOT of rock from the 50s, and each time it prefaced an Elvis song with its station chorus saying “The KING!”. Yes, you could hear the capital letters. This was several years and several formats ago. Nowadays that station mostly plays 70s hits. The thing is, I like a lot of what Elvis did, even if he sang it before I was born. And I like some of the stuff that is new today. I have to admit, though, that when I want to listen to music at home, I usually turn on Liquid Metal or Hair Nation. Or I go on YouTube and search for a playlist. It might be Slade, it might be Bowie, it might even be the Black Mages. I listen to the radio in my car and in my bedroom, because I don’t have the other choices. Even then, I sometimes put on a cassette (in the car) or CD (in my room) when I get tired of listening to the same old songs…and the same old commercials. It seems that my playlist is much bigger than most broadcast radio stations’, even in the same category, and that’s pretty pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/128 "2011-08-08T17:01:29Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Television, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Slint, Fugazi, and hey guess what, I grew up in the 90s, so I like blink182 and Third Eye Blind also. Go nuts on that one, gang! Never heard of those bands. Although I’ve heard the name “Third Eye Blind.” ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/129 "2011-08-08T17:14:19Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Ace job exposing yourself as a homophobe, champ. And for the record, I don’t like Justin Bieber, but if I did it wouldn’t mean a thing to this thread. Also, **El\_Kabong** was right, it is “Jimmy Page.” My bad. > > Guess what? I like punk music. I like music with interesting guitar parts - note the use of the word “interesting” instead of “complicated” or “elaborate.” So I’m not interested in Eric Clapton climaxing all over his blues scale - I want my guitars to have some depth. Television, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Slint, Fugazi, and hey guess what, I grew up in the 90s, so I like blink182 and Third Eye Blind also. Go nuts on that one, gang! Meh, Fugazi kind of blows and everyone who wants to pretend they like music has a hard on for Slint, but while I like Spiderland a lot they don’t really have the catalogue to qualify in this sort of discussion. Third Eye Blind is actually a really under appreciated pop band, and Blink 182 can suck my nuts. I don’t care how good a drummer Travis was, he should have stayed in the Aquabats and continued to make music that was listenable. Blink 182 is every bit as bad as KISS but in a 90s sort of way. And see, there is your problem really. You aren’t coming to this with an actual ear for quality, you are coming at it with an ear for what you are inclined to like. Before you can say anything about someone like Clapton you need to appreciate the music he is making on its own terms. Then you can either like it, or not, your call. But if you don’t start off taking the music on its own terms then you are going to be listening to it unfairly from the start. I can’t do it easily on a message board, but if you want I can talk you through appreciating stuff like, say The Beatles. Start by listening to music that was written before 1900 for about three weeks. Avoid listening to anything else and spend as many hours a day listening to it as you can. Pick the big guns, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, whatever. Make a Pandora playlist. Then after about three weeks of that put on Rubber Soul by the Beatles. Start there. Get back to me when you are done. ---
**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, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/130 "2011-08-08T17:25:17Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I can’t do it easily on a message board, but if you want I can talk you through appreciating stuff like, say The Beatles. Start by listening to music that was written before 1900 for about three weeks. Avoid listening to anything else and spend as many hours a day listening to it as you can. Pick the big guns, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, whatever. Make a Pandora playlist. Then after about three weeks of that put on Rubber Soul by the Beatles. Start there. Get back to me when you are done. It’s well known that after a few weeks of listening to classical music, you’ll be desperate to the point of developing uncontrollable cravings for Twisted Sister. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/131 "2011-08-08T17:33:51Z")
Think of the classical as a palate cleanser. It let’s you reset your ears because it is coming from such a very different place. Bebop jazz might work too, but I haven’t tried it and many peipke are always telling themselves they want to listen to more classical and this make for a good opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/132 "2011-08-08T17:46:19Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Yngwie who? Yngwie Fucking Malmsteen, that’s who! \*I assume you were going for his classic self-important line, yes? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/133 "2011-08-08T17:48:49Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > One of the classic rock stations used to play a LOT of rock from the 50s, and each time it prefaced an Elvis song with its station chorus saying “The KING!”. Yes, you could hear the capital letters. This was several years and several formats ago. Nowadays that station mostly plays 70s hits. Ever try some of The Baseballs, Lynn? You might like 'em. The thing is, Burning Love was like 72, and Suspicious Minds was about 69. He was still releasing hits, and even good hits, till he died. But places that play 60s and 70s music don’t play Elvis. 50s, yes, but not 60s or 70s. Shame, really. ---
**Author:** ![OneMissedPost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@OneMissedPost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneMissedPost)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/134 "2011-08-08T17:51:38Z")
I’m starting to believe OP has never listened to classic rock. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/135 "2011-08-08T17:57:41Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > . I don’t care how good a drummer Travis was, he should have stayed in the Aquabats and continued to make music that was listenable. Blink 182 is every bit as bad as KISS but in a 90s sort of way. Yeah, he totally should have avoided a lucrative career in music to stay in the fucking Aquabats. As to the OP, I like classic rock, but the criticism of classic rock radio stations are correct. I don’t ever need to hear Radar Love again for the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/136 "2011-08-08T18:00:45Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Yeah, he totally should have avoided a lucrative career in music to stay in the fucking Aquabats. Glad you see it my way. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/137 "2011-08-08T18:04:08Z")
Anyway, specifically to the OP, he has a bit of a point, but it’s so far exaggerated that it’s completely lost in the hyperbole. I’m primarily a metal, rock, and folk fan. Not only do I like a lot of classic rock straight up, but I can influences to classic rock bands, either directly or with maybe one or two steps. The problem is, like in any other artistic genre, a lot of it gets venerated simply for being “classic” and not for being good. Hell, some of it may have even been great at the time, but just doesn’t hold up anymore. As an example, consider any major sport and in every single one there’s a ton of players who are regarded as all time greats, but it’s always relative to their eras and a huge number of those players would be average or even mediocre in today’s game, likely even if they had access to modern training and nutrition. Music is the same way, perhaps even moreso. You can take a classic band and talk about how revolutionary they were, but to a younger generation, that revolution is all but lost if not completely clichéd at this point. Those revolutionary bands deserve credit for what they did for their respective genres or even music as a whole, but even if you took that music and could record and mix it with modern technology, without that context, it loses a lot. And this is where a lot of the problem comes in. Older generations that grew up with them always hold onto that context and have trouble giving music that is directly influenced by it a fair chance. Younger generations completely lack that context and see the older stuff as relatively plain. And in another generation, all of the modern stuff that seems so fresh and revolutionary will be boring and trite to them and all the new stuff will just sound like talentless rip-offs. So, to the point of the OP, I can completely agree that there’s a ton of classic rock this is WAY over played and there’s plenty more that deserves our respect for its place in music history but simply doesn’t hold up over time as the genre has gotten wider exposure and has, thus, been more greatly explored by more talented musicians. That all said, there’s still plenty of classic rock that holds up just fine even with the lower production quality. To fundamentally reject it all is as ignorant and unfortunate as to fundamentally reject any other genre. As Steven Wilson once said, in any genre 99% is forgettable, but 1% is essential. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/138 "2011-08-08T18:09:18Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Heh, I did the same thing last weekend. That stuff really needs remastering, sounds a bit thin to my ears nowadays. ‘Nowhere’ got a fresh remaster for its 20th anniversary (yes, I know) last year. They even did the ‘Today Forever’ EP and ‘Fall’ has been on there pretty much since the jump to CDs, so just the first two EPs unremastered right now, of the early stuff. It really does sound good, but it is a bit expensive. HOWEVER, they threw in another CD with a fairly groovy live set and the packaging really is quite sweet. [http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/ride-nowhere-20th-anniversary-edition](http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/ride-nowhere-20th-anniversary-edition) You know you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/139 "2011-08-08T18:09:39Z")
PLL?!!! Kiss my hairy white ass! Fuckin’ snapperhead. The fucker’s you mentioned in the op? Made the genre what it is. Dense Fuck. You probably think Buckethead is the bomb? Yeah, he burns it down, but MoFo please, Speaking as a shitter who’s had an axe in his hand that ain’t all there is too it. Fuckin’ skeezy troll. Not too bad though. You wound my spring, shitbag. Jeff Beck? Negroid please. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/140 "2011-08-08T18:09:50Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Guess what? I like punk music. > … > Television, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Slint, Fugazi, You do know only two of those bands could be realistically classified as punk, right? At least they’re good bands. > [@](#): > > and hey guess what, I grew up in the 90s, so I like blink182 and Third Eye Blind also. Go nuts on that one, gang! Okay. You suck goat balls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=8)