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Gene Simmons [still] Thinks Rock Is Dead

#161
smogg said:
According to the Denny's restaurant chain, 55. According to the U.S.A. government 62. All the cool cats totally dig that early bird special man. ;)
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Then I'm in the zone, officially a senior citizen. I guess I'd better just give all my basses away and get an autoharp. Just kidding :) Actually I've wanted an autoharp ever since Björk had one sewn into her dress.
 
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#164
The bottom of that article is a link to a Keith Richards article where he states that Black Sabbath and Metallica are great jokes and rap is for people who are tone deaf. Between that and Gene, at a certain point you've just got to let grandpa mutter to himself in the recliner and stop printing every word he utters. Doesn't mean that they weren't great, doesn't mean that their songs weren't fantastic, but the game changes so much in every person's lifetime that everyone eventually becomes irrelevant in their industry.


I started making beer 20 years ago. The guys today just laugh when I start my "back in my day" rants.
 
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#168
I previously had read his comments. I agree with Gene. Dead is, of course, meaning no longer top of the popular idiom, and in fact not even much of a part of it at all.

Nearly all music is not "rock" any more that gets mainstream success. It is mostly other styles.

Rock is extremely popular among rock fans, but rock fans make up a much smaller segment of the population than do fans of the more popular styles.

It reminds of when I was a kid and was a classical musician. A few people my age got it, but most didn't and thought what I did was dead, and those were the people who listed to rock.

Ironic... isn't it?
 
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#172
JoshS said:
Rock is alive and well in modern country music if your definition is band playing instruments and strumming hard and fast.
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No, that's not my definition of rock, and I doubt many others define it that way. Modern country, or at least mainstream modern country, shares more with electronic pop and hip hop than it does rock or, for that matter, country.
 
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#173
hardtop said:
No, that's not my definition of rock, and I doubt many others define it that way. Modern country, or at least mainstream modern country, shares more with electronic pop and hip hop than it does rock or, for that matter, country.
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Yep you know things have gone to hell when country sounds like Post Malone (probably dating myself there even) with a twang.
 
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#175
JoshS said:
I wasn't exactly thinking of the Florida Georgia Line or Lil' Nas (or whoever) crowd exactly.
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Who then? Colter Wall? It's modern only in the sense that he's not old, but it's not "modern country" nor fast & hard nor vaguely rock. Luke Bryant is pop/hip hop, and not at all country nor rock. I really dislike most things labeled country since before 1980something, but I'm curious to check out something considered modern, country, hard & fast, and/or rock like.
 
#176
hardtop said:
Who then? Colter Wall? It's modern only in the sense that he's not old, but it's not "modern country" nor fast & hard nor vaguely rock. Luke Bryant is pop/hip hop, and not at all country nor rock. I really dislike most things labeled country since before 1980something, but I'm curious to check out something considered modern, country, hard & fast, and/or rock like.
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Well, I don't know, I'm not huge into country at all, but it seems more like rock than the pop stations and personally don't have any Luke Bryan or Jason Aldean on my (all access) apple music. It may be fine, I just don't know. -That's true ignorance on my part of those guys, I've just never given either enough of a chance.

Where do you put Zac Brown? Those guys will rap and do covers in a concert, but his originals are more rock to me than new wave of the 80s or a lot of the softer alternative of the 90s. Eric Church is pretty similar in my mind. Lukas Nelson / POTR maybe? I thought those guys jammed pretty hard in concert. Where do you slot in Jason Isbell or Chris Stapleton? -More acoustic-ish on the latter two, but not all their songs. Sounds like probably not your thing, though. It isn't metal, it isn't Zepp or Floyd or anything like that, but it seems like a more direct descendent than anything pop today, in my mind anyway, and a lot of things called "rock" in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s. Edit: I'm content with guys playing instruments (guitars / bass / drums) and maybe lacking a bunch of the other pop stuff as "close enough" personally. Cool if you aren't, though.

Coming back to your post - I guess where does your definition of rock end? If it ends with the 1970s, I'd have to agree with you. For me if I have to count Radiohead (I personally can't stand them) and so many cut from that softer "alternative" cloth (some of which I may like a lot) in the late 90s, I'll definitely count someone like Zac Brown in, even if he won't count himself.
 
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#177
coyote1 said:
Wouldn’t rock have to have died at the inception of death metal?
Simmons’ comments should be taken as a compliment.
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I don’t know if off the top of my head I would give a definitive date of death for rock n roll but I say undead because it’s something dead which is still animated.
Rock isn’t haunted but I would argue haunting.
That’s not to say new rock music is all bad, because I actually like some of the new stuff I hear but because of the renewal of past trends without any significant breakthrough into the culture.
I guess for me the number one symptom of rock being dead is new bands with a retro sound saying there bringing rock back.
That’s a symptom of the haunting.
The definitive stamp of being undead.

oasis comes to mind for me along with jet in bands I would argue make rock undead.
 
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#179
Yellow Bang66 said:
Okay, "Nirvana( new music) & covid killed his career", he failed to take responsibility for the decline of his own ancient group. Should concentrate more on good song writing, than marketing space clowns, lunchboxes & coffins!
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Are you serious? KISS rakes in millions a year from all their music and merchandizing royalties. I'd say he's a success by just about anyone's measure. I don't remember hearing any songs from or seeing any merchandise for "Yellow Bang66"...
 
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