# 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:** 8
**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, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/141 "2011-08-08T18:16:32Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Never heard of those bands. Although I’ve heard the name “Third Eye Blind.” Three of them are rather major. Sonic Youth pretty much ruled the 80s art-punk scene and paved the way for a lot of later alternative music (pretty much without them there’d be no Pixies and then no Nirvana). My Bloody Valentine pretty much invented shoegazing or, as they called it in the US, dreampop. As a genre it was roundly mocked by the late 90s but there’s definitely been a resurgence (listen to the first album by Sweden’s “The Radio Dept” for an example. There’s also a lot of electronica inspired by shoegazing, Ulrich Schnauss being a good example). Slint were the pioneers of what came to be known as post rock, of which the big names these days are Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros. The awesome Arab Strap are more-or-less Slint with a drunk Scottish guy talking over the top. Oh and I really disagree with the guy earlier that said that the Mary Chain were doing Kevin Shield’s thing before him. Sorry, but they are very different types of music, especially the later MBV seen on the likes of ‘Loveless’. ---
**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, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/142 "2011-08-08T18:17:14Z")
> [@Omegaman](#): > > 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. Okay, I definitely understand the “as someone who plays guitar, there’s more to it” line, but I can’t tell if you are pro-Jeff Beck or anti-Jeff Beck 😉 hey, it matters. ---
**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, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/143 "2011-08-08T18:23:19Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Okay, I definitely understand the “as someone who plays guitar, there’s more to it” line, but I can’t tell if you are pro-Jeff Beck or anti-Jeff Beck 😉 hey, it matters. Well just to let you know, Jeff Beck is the ruler supreme. Fuck me runnin’. That dudes done it all. Nobody, and I mean FUCKING nobody, has travelled as far as he has. Fucking cracks me up, Jimmy Page dissed him? Shiiiiiiit Done any movie soundtracks lately? Fuckin’ Loser! ---
**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, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/144 "2011-08-08T18:39:33Z")
> [@Omegaman](#): > > Well just to let you know, Jeff Beck is the ruler supreme. > > Fuck me runnin’. That dudes done it all. Nobody, and I mean FUCKING nobody, has travelled as far as he has. We’re good. He is indeed “the ruler supreme.” 😉 ---
**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, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/145 "2011-08-08T18:46:01Z")
Music cannot be “overplayed.” It can only be “overlistened,” because the control is in the hands of the listener. So the blame falls not on baby boomers or radio stations, but on Punch Line Loser for spending too much time listening to music he doesn’t like. ---
**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, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/146 "2011-08-08T18:49:28Z")
Buckethead rocks. I like the bucket. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/147 "2011-08-08T18:55:16Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > If you don’t want to confess your hard-on for Dave Matthews and Cheryl Crow, that’s fine. Ha!!! Nailed it!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/148 "2011-08-08T18:59:36Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > We’re good. He is indeed “the ruler supreme.” 😉 I believe he is most properly addressed at “Your Guv’norness” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/149 "2011-08-08T19:04:37Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Heh, I did the same thing last weekend. That stuff really needs remastering, sounds a bit thin to my ears nowadays. [Already done](http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/ride-nowhere-20th-anniversary-edition) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/150 "2011-08-08T19:05:48Z")
What about Bloc Party? What is you feeling on their music? ---
**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, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/151 "2011-08-08T19:06:51Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > [Already done](http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/ride-nowhere-20th-anniversary-edition) _cough_ 138 _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/152 "2011-08-08T19:07:16Z")
> [@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 (boy, do those videos of Woodstock make me believe in a nation of youth united for change! Fuck Woodstock.), and so they tell their kids that “the music meant something back then” and “they don’t make it like that anymore,” while they play the same six fucking songs on every “classic rock” station 24/7 around the stupid country. Here’s a tip, DJs: **No one ever needs to hear “Born to Be Wild,” ever again, for the rest of human existence. Not once. Ever.** > > Also, all the classic “guitar heroes?” Absolute wankers. Jimmy Paige? Eric Clapton? Ritchie Blackmore? Keith Richards? Stevie Ray Vaughn? Pete Townshend? Joe Perry? Total fucking wankers. Skilled? Sure. Interesting? Not even a little. > > Also, if it weren’t for “Yellow Submarine,” _Revolver_ would be the only Beatles album that’s good at the wall through. As it stands, none of them are. While I’m at it, Queen sucked, the Eagles sucked, Cream sucked, Led Zeppelin sucked, and by the 70s, the Who sucked too. Also, fuck wah-wah pedals. > > Yeah, all this music was very very important, and I’m not going to be so foolish as to deny that. But ex-hippies, get the fuck over yourselves. > > Okay everyone, rip me apart now. I just really needed to get that out. There’ll probably be more as I think of it, too. I smell hipster. ---
**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, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/153 "2011-08-08T19:13:29Z")
Hipster doofus, even. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/154 "2011-08-08T19:30:19Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > _cough_ 138 _cough_ Damn! I even scrolled through the thread to see if anybody mentioned it. I must be losing my shit. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/155 "2011-08-08T19:38:46Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Okay, I never saw the point of making statements like this. I’m clearly not going to change anybody’s mind, why pussyfoot around my opinion with wishy-washy language? I THINK all this shit sucks. Is that better? It’s necessary to explain how it’s your opinion or else how would we know? We might mistake it for the opinion of 4/5 medical doctors or the opinion of the CBO. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/156 "2011-08-08T19:48:05Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > You’re objectively wrong; and you may go fuck yourself. . > [@jz78817](#): > > fuck off and die. [Moderating] Please remember that saying “fuck you” or variants is [disallowed under the Pit language rules.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508858') Please avoid this in the future. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**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, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/157 "2011-08-08T20:10:33Z")
I personally love AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Journey, Queen, Styx, and KISS. That’s where it’s at! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/158 "2011-08-08T20:36:51Z")
Classic rock stations existed as far back as the 1970s, when the format was called “album-oriented rock”. Every city of some size had one or two, if not more AOR stations, playing whatever topped the Billboard rock charts along with the iconic and popular rock songs of the recent past. However, the playlists of classic rock stations began to ossify in the mid- to late-1980s, about the time “alternative rock” became fashionable. AOR stations in the US embraced Southern heartland rock, hair rock, hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal, but they drew the line at alternative rock. Why? ---
**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, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/159 "2011-08-08T20:49:23Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Damn! I even scrolled through the thread to see if anybody mentioned it. I must be losing my shit. Happens to the best of us. Was a rare moment of lucidity for me. ---
**Author:** ![BigShooter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigShooter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigShooter)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905/160 "2011-08-08T21:46:41Z")
> [@punch\_line\_loser](#): > > Fair point, but it definitely goes beyond the radio. I couldn’t tell you how many people, even musicians I respect, will say stupid shit like “If you don’t listen to Hendrix then you don’t really play guitar.” Dammit, I DO play guitar, and even if I didn’t it wouldn’t make this tired old bullshit more interesting. I’m not trying to say I’m a visionary or that there aren’t other people out there with the same ideas as mine, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get annoyed at it once in a while. I agree that the above quote about Hendrix is stupid. The way I would say it is this: “If you play rock guitar and you don’t realize that you’ve been influenced (either directly or indirectly) by what Hendrix did, then you’re an idiot.” You state that you play guitar. Then I guarantee, no matter how much you deny it, YOU were influenced by Hendrix in some way. The guy was a once in a lifetime musician that transformed the instrument. There’s no way any rock guitar player out there hasn’t been touched by his work somehow. I’m a guitar player as well, with many varied influences - lots of classic rock players, some blues, some jazz, some alternative 80’s and 90’s, and some from today. And yes, even Hendrix. I’ve never been much into country music - in fact I used to absolutely hate it - but I do know how to PLAY country music. Forcing myself to learn country music helped me to develop my own voice on the guitar and, as a result, garner a new respect for the genre. I still don’t like it that much, but I understand it. Studying different styles will help your playing immensely and you seem to be limiting yourself quite a bit by not studying some of the most influential musicians ever… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-truth-about-classic-rock/591905.md?page=9)