# What explains the persistent popularity of Ckassic Rock? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228 "2016-03-07T18:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/21 "2016-03-07T21:33:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nowadays, unconventional distribution channels are so widespread that today’s youth can be listening to almost anything, including the likes of Sinatra and Glen Miller. The distribution of the music that is now referred to as Classic Rock was limited to AM, later FM, and vinyl. That was about it. So people were all exposed to the same popular music. FM allowed a slow spread of less main stream music, appealing to college students in the '70s, that was different and allowed exposure of less main stream artist to a wider audience. Now there is a great deal of good music out there, but where is it? Not on AM, that is all talk radio now, not on FM, that is has become the replacement for the former AM radio music. The exposure to new music is now spread across many venues. Classic Rock is what older people were exposed to at the time it was made, at the time they were interested in new things. Classic Radio targets its audience, who will listen to their product and stay through the commercials. Why?=Marketing. Why they like this shit=Marketing. Why don’t I like it?=you are not the target audience. ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/22 "2016-03-07T21:50:22Z")
A Baby Boomer hears a song from 1968 and thinks “Wooo! I’m still cool!” A Generation Xer hears a song from 1992 and thinks “Must you remind me that I used to be young?” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/23 "2016-03-07T22:08:05Z")
My 15 year old music-invested daughter is focused on the new Panic! at the Disco album, which is really a solo effort from remaining member Brendan Urie. She loves talking about how Urie is a big Sinatra fan and croons in some of the songs. Gaga and Bennett. What goes around… ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/24 "2016-03-07T22:11:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If the “best #1 song of the year” poll series I ran proved anything, I think it’s that most of the music back then sucked as well. These days, we remember the Beatles and the Who and Led Zeppelin and such, but we tend not to think about (or we _try_ not to think about) Gilbert O’Sullivan, Captain and Tenille, the Archies, and such. 🙂 SSS. I’ve done the same thing. Asked people to give me a random month and year from say 1966-1974. Then looked at the top 20 for that month. NOW…at this point it becomes subjective but looking at lists like that I go “Classic. Classic. Movie named after it. Classic. Ok not so hot. Famous movie scene featured. Classic…” You get my point. Is a movie EVER going to be named after Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself”? I doubt it…hell Justin himself is ALREADY a parody of himself. And there’s the study done that shows top 100 music today is more homogenous than any time since the 50’s. Anyone here could probably hear a current top ten hit and figure out the whole structure of the song with no surprises from the first 20 seconds. “Blah Blah” By Stupid One Name Artist featuring Another Stupid One Name Artist. Sing song sing song sing song sing dance dub dance club gimme my bling. (Insert mid song rap) repeat chorus. Actual sung bridge repeat chorus. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/25 "2016-03-07T23:03:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Nowadays, unconventional distribution channels are so widespread that today’s youth can be listening to almost anything, including the likes of Sinatra and Glen Miller. But Napster debuted in 1991 and iTunes in 2001, and “Classic Rock” stations already existed all over playing 25 year old music. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/26 "2016-03-07T23:07:09Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Anyway, there’s lots of good new music out there that someone who grew up in that era would like. If I could get paid to start a “Good New Stuff for Classic Rock Fans” channel on Sirius, I’d do it. Because I think your average classic rock fan would really get off on “[Ship to Wreck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9v8jLBrvug)” by Florence + the Machine, or “[Sedona](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8wifV5RYr8)” by Houndmouth," or “[S.O.B.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY)” by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, just to pick a few. You and I seem to have a somewhat different take on things; you seem to lean very heavily towards the Eagles-Melissa Manchester-Kenny Loggins kind of rock (soft country rock kinda stuff). I like your idea for a radio station, but I’d play stuff like [Audrey Horne - There Goes A Lady](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AXdrOnX14U) and [Graveyard - Blue Soul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBY-lTlrcNE) and [Priestess - The Shakes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_9qnBrqb0) and, of course, [Orchid - Black Funeral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1xjyWoU9ug). Perhaps would could each do a show on your channel; you focus on the soft country rock and I’ll focus on the balls-to-the-wall arena/prog/proto-metal rock. How do we write up a proposal for Sirius? I volunteer for the Friday afternoon & night, Saturday afternoon & night and Sunday afternoon slots. I’ll even propose a name for the channel: Backwards To The Future! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/27 "2016-03-07T23:14:48Z")
Quality wins out every time. The not so good classic rock is rarely played. The material played on classic rock stations is often the best of that genre. Good music attracts people regardless of their age. Many of todays musicians know and enjoy this genre. Adam Levine (Maroon 5) has mentioned his love of this genre many times on the Voice. Pharrell loves classic R&B. So much so that he did a tribute song for Marvin Gaye that got him sued. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/28 "2016-03-07T23:19:38Z")
Quality never goes out of style. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/29 "2016-03-07T23:22:50Z")
I’ve noticed a forward creep in what is considered classic rock. On classic rock radio today, you will sometimes hear Talking Heads and U2; in the 1990s such artists were not considered “classic” and thus never played. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/30 "2016-03-07T23:23:36Z")
I’m not the first person to say this, and it was summed up nicely in a NYTimes op ed last week that I can’t find in a quick search (maybe somebody can link it), but it’s weird how little the world has changed since the 1960s. 1916 was impossibly old and different when I grew up. 1966 is virtually just like today except with clunkier technology. Even my parents had no connection to 1916 and they were both alive then. We can experience all the media of 1966 without making any mental transitions. Movies are the same, television is the same, magazines are the same, radio is the same, music is the same. Virtually every media had a New Wave in the 1960s that deliberately broke with the past. (Music’s New Wave waited until 1980, a mere 36 years ago now.) Nothing ever breaks with the past today: it scoops it up and samples it. Wait until the Singularity. None of our robot masters will listen to today’s music! It just won’t connect to them. Except _Metal Machine Music_. And they’re only going to play that to annoy their AI parents. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/31 "2016-03-07T23:39:43Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’m not the first person to say this, and it was summed up nicely in a NYTimes op ed last week that I can’t find in a quick search (maybe somebody can link it), but it’s weird how little the world has changed since the 1960s. 1916 was impossibly old and different when I grew up. 1966 is virtually just like today except with clunkier technology. Even my parents had no connection to 1916 and they were both alive then. We can experience all the media of 1966 without making any mental transitions. Movies are the same, television is the same, magazines are the same, radio is the same, music is the same. Virtually every media had a New Wave in the 1960s that deliberately broke with the past. (Music’s New Wave waited until 1980, a mere 36 years ago now.) Nothing ever breaks with the past today: it scoops it up and samples it. > > . Well…replace cigarettes with cell-phones. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/32 "2016-03-07T23:52:16Z")
I don’t know where you’re at but it’s not popular on radio in London. You’ll hear something from the 60s or 70s occasionally but only as part of a wider selection and on a few shows. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/33 "2016-03-07T23:56:07Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > Funny you said that- I’ve gotten tired of most music so about two years ago I started listening to the 40s station on Sirius a lot. I love it! Well, most of it- I like Glen Miller and Charlie Barnet and Kay Kyser, but the Pied Pipers are awful- **not a big fan of Sinatra either, which makes me a 40s music hipster**. [**Boldness** added for emphasis.] I think the term is “jazzbo” and back in the 1940s there actually were a number people who were deadly serious about what “real” jazz should sound like. For example, Glenn Miller was generally disliked because his style was too “sweet” but Bennie Goodman and Duke Ellington were held in higher regard. These people also supported the bebop revolution of the 1940s with as almost as much passion as the war against fascism. Regarding 40s era Sinatra, I can understand where you’re coming from. His best work didn’t come until the 50s when he joined Capitol Records and recorded a series of great albums with arrangers like Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/34 "2016-03-07T23:58:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Pharrell loves classic R&B. So much so that he did a tribute song for Marvin Gaye that got him sued. :rolleyes: I plan on submitting this for the “Most Misleading Mischaracterization of an Intellectual Property Crime” Award later this year. Pharrell didn’t lose in court because he wrote a tribute; he lost because he illegally copied Marvin Gaye’s work and tried to claim it as his own. Would you like a cite for that? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/35 "2016-03-08T00:01:02Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > [**Boldness** added for emphasis.] > > I think the term is “jazzbo” and back in the 1940s there actually were a number people who were deadly serious about what “real” jazz should sound like. For example, Glenn Miller was generally disliked because his style was too “sweet” but Bennie Goodman and Duke Ellington were held in higher regard. These people also supported the bebop revolution of the 1940s with as almost as much passion as the war against fascism. > > Regarding 40s era Sinatra, I can understand where you’re coming from. His best work didn’t come until the 50s when he joined Capitol Records and recorded a series of great albums with arrangers like Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. Some veteran jazz musicians of the day such as Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong could not stand bebop. > **[50 great moments in jazz: The emergence of bebop](https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jul/06/50-moments-jazz-bebop)** > > No 15: Dismissed at the time as unlistenable and undanceable, bebop represented an outlet for imaginative, open-minded jazz musicians hoping to usher in a new age ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/36 "2016-03-08T00:03:17Z")
They’re still playing Mozart and Beethoven too. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/37 "2016-03-08T00:40:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > 1916 was impossibly old and different when I grew up. 1966 is virtually just like today except with clunkier technology. 1966 is impossibly old and different from when I grew up in the 80s. Vietnam, Woodstock, the race to space, a real terror of being nuked by Russia? Totally alien to those of us born just 11 years after 1966. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/38 "2016-03-08T00:43:06Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Some veteran jazz musicians of the day such as Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong could not stand bebop. > > [50 great moments in jazz: The emergence of bebop | Jazz | The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/jul/06/50-moments-jazz-bebop) I wasn’t talking about jazz or swing musicians so much as hipster music listeners from the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/39 "2016-03-08T00:54:51Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > :rolleyes: > > I plan on submitting this for the “Most Misleading Mischaracterization of an Intellectual Property Crime” Award later this year. > > Pharrell didn’t lose in court because he wrote a tribute; he lost because he illegally copied Marvin Gaye’s work and tried to claim it as his own. Would you like a cite for that? :dubious: I was stating Pharrell’s position. He’s said in interviews that he loved Marvin Gaye’s music and wanted to write something similar that evoked Gaye’s style and sound. Unfortunately a jury felt he went too far. Used a few Riffs that Gaye used. \ So be it. That case has been decided. Never the less Pharrell is a classic R&B fan. People will always appreciate great music regardless of when it was recorded. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-explains-the-persistent-popularity-of-ckassic-rock/748228/40 "2016-03-08T01:40:42Z")
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