In the 70s we had rock gods...

[redwingxix]

Took my son and a friend to a Logic (he's a rapper) show this summer and rather than hang out in the parking lot reading I got a cheap ticket and sat on the lawn. The audience vibe was all there as it was at any good rock show I've ever seen and it was mostly kids. Best part was there were no lines for beer and the bathrooms were completely empty, but if you were just watching the show without being able to hear anything, you'd have a hard time distinguishing it from any other rock show over the past forty years

 

[lancimouspitt]

Pretty sure this guy fits the bill as a modern rock god.

 

[Tommyc]

Well, I agree. And by extension where are Bach, Beethoven and Brahms? Let alone, Bartok and Stravinsky. Oh I forgot, they of the past didn't have the internet or other things to distract them and those aforementioned 5 were just the creation of the then, music industry.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I'm going to hit 50 next month, but if I ever turn into the old fart that wants to live in the 80's and just stay there 'cause everything today sucks, please shoot me in the head.

You will.
I won't.

I figure you have about five or ten years left in you before it starts kicking in.
It's subtle. You never notice it coming on, but others around you do.
Some of the signs are that you can't seem to keep your pants up high enough.
Your kids will buy you velcro walking shoes and start offering to drive you places.
You will eventually see it in yourself.
You will struggle.
You will eventually come to terms with it.

Then one day, you'll find yourself playing some contemporary music and someone 45 years your junior will be impressed by your listening choices.

True story. I got that compliment just a few weeks ago from a kid at the University where I work. Had something current playing on my desk computer. I just wish I could remember what music it was I liked.

 

[Wfrance3]

I can't believe I'm buying into this thread, but, here I am, typing something....

It's a function of changing times. Life does not exist in a vacuum. Rock is what we are talking here, so the more condensed than should be history is Elvis was a game changer, the Beatles added on. There was Free Love in the late 60s early 70s. Many bands were on the cutting edge of a performance style that would upset Ed Sullivan Show viewers. It was all becoming bigger than life faster than made folks comfortable, so yea; rock gods and goddesses. The ground was fertile the bar was relatively low, by today's standards. Mostly folks wanted to stand out a little because being a first rate musician just wasn't enough. I think a big part of it is that the way we consume media is different and people's attention spans are way, way shorter than they used to be. Stop me before I start going on about how neighbors used to just stop by eachother's houses just to say hello....

 

[Coolhandjjl]

People in the 50's and 60's who watched Jerry Lee Lewis light his piano on fire and still play were probably saying the same thing about the 70's rock gods.
Everything is relative.
However, the OP does have a point. John Mayer?? Come on....

 

[RickyWoo]

I'm a personal fan of how things are today. Of course there are the classics of days past, but to be living in a time where you can be an ultimate fan of a certain band that the person sitting by you has never even heard of is telling of just how little we know is out there. There is a wealth of discoveries waiting for us to discover, all while not being jammed in our ears by the powers that be and being made to feel like you have to like them. Some people prefer to adhere to the old route - of listening to what they're subjected to - and that just isn't going to be as satisfying in this day and age. IMO. I like to think that when I say "Who?", in response to hearing about a band I've never heard of, it is a positive question. It means we haven't hit the end of the road and that we aren't just waiting for the top bands of the decade's new releases exclusively anymore. I love the diversity. I love the exploration process.

 

[Hounddog409]

Oh boy, "rock-used-to-be-so-much-better" thread #87,563. OK, I'll play.

In the '60s and '70s, rock bands had a huge ready-made audience (thanks to the Baby Boom--birth rates have been much lower for a long time now) to buy their albums and tickets to their concerts.
In the '60s and '70s, people had far fewer entertainment choices--no internet, no online games, no movies you could watch at home, no shows could be recorded, only three channels plus some snowy UHF instead of 500+.
In the 60s and '70s, concert tickets were cheap!
In the '60s and '70s, record companies served as gatekeepers, so only a limited number of artists could really have their music distributed--so not only did you have a far bigger audience, you had far less competition.
In the '60s and '70s, record companies lavishly supported their artists with massive promotions and huge recording budgets. If Steely Dan started today, no way could they afford to hire five full bands worth of the best studio musicians in the world to record a single track.
In the '60s and '70s, people had to pay for your recordings, so you made a lot more money.
In the '60s and '70s, there was no social media to track every single move a musician made--far fewer "sins" were exposed, and pictures and video were far more rare. Thus rock stars seemed more mystical and bigger-than-life. Today, if a famous musician goes out to the grocery store in sweats and a ballcap, 10 people are going to snap a picture on their phones before the person is 5 steps from their car.

The people haven't changed, just their circumstances.

"In the 60s and '70s, concert tickets were cheap!"

I hate when people throw this out. Like a gallon of Milk, or a gallon of gas....

What was the average wage in the 60's and 70's? in 1970 minimum wage was $1.45 an hour. The Average yearly income in 1970 was $6,186.24.

Figure out the math....those tickets were not "cheap".

Fun tidbit....
For every dollar increase in the minimum wage since 1970, the price of an average item has gone up $1.36.

 

[renobassman]

Hephaestus was the god of metalworking and stone masonry, so he's really the original rock (and metal) god.

 

[dan1952]

Just finished Nikki Sixx's autobiographical book. No, the record companies weren't making up all those stories. Unfortunately...

 

[MtManiac]

"In the 60s and '70s, concert tickets were cheap!"

I hate when people throw this out. Like a gallon of Milk, or a gallon of gas....

What was the average wage in the 60's and 70's? in 1970 minimum wage was $1.45 an hour. The Average yearly income in 1970 was $6,186.24.

Figure out the math....those tickets were not "cheap".

Fun tidbit....
For every dollar increase in the minimum wage since 1970, the price of an average item has gone up $1.36.

Doesn't that make things more expensive now, relative to minimum wage?

 

[arbiterusa]

Inspired by the Freddie Mercury thread, I am inspired to say this:

In the 70s (and 60s and 50s) we had rock gods. And goddesses. Now there are just pale, derivative imitations. The people of today are not the people their forbears were.

Why would you expect anything to be the same? 1970 was almost 50 years ago as of today. This is like saying in 1970 that the vaudeville acts aren't anything like they were in 1920.

"Rock" is just about as relevant today as vaudeville was in 1970. That the youngsters today don't know much about it and really don't care is pretty normal. Frankly, I'd be pretty concerned if they were.

 

[GregC]

"In the 60s and '70s, concert tickets were cheap!"

I hate when people throw this out. Like a gallon of Milk, or a gallon of gas....

What was the average wage in the 60's and 70's? in 1970 minimum wage was $1.45 an hour. The Average yearly income in 1970 was $6,186.24.

Figure out the math....those tickets were not "cheap".

Fun tidbit....
For every dollar increase in the minimum wage since 1970, the price of an average item has gone up $1.36.

The rise in concert ticket prices has far outstripped inflation, though--I've done the math, even though I didn't show it in this post. Trust me, I hate it as well when people say that about commodities like milk or gas, or when people don't realize that an MIA Fender is roughly the same price now as it was in the '60s when adjusted for inflation.

 

[Oberst]

I thought Clapton was god until he saw Hendrix play?

 

[higain617]

The 90's had rock gods...Scott Stapp, Fred Durst, and Marilyn Manson. They were gods of crap, but still...

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I still buy multiple CDs a month.

I buy my favorites on vinyl and Spotify the rest!

 

[Deleted member 165050]

The rise in concert ticket prices has far outstripped inflation, though--I've done the math, even though I didn't show it in this post.

I guess that reflects the drop in income from physical media?

 

[cazclocker]

There were greats, but none were really gods. Of course not, but folks worshipped them as such.
I remember when Jimmy Page came to functions in Pattaya & guys would be acting like he should be walking on a red carpet everywhere he went.

After drinking shoulder to shoulder with rock stars in Hollyweird, I just walked right up & said hello, even got a photo of my friend with J.P..
Anyway, they're just regular people who inspired oodles of people to appreciate good music, or even go out & make music.

KBD, an insightful comment as usual. The important takeaway, in my opinion, is that rock stars are nothing but ordinary people who got famous by whatever means was at their disposal at the time. Most of my teen years were spent idolizing people like Eric Clapton and Ian Anderson. Never met EC, but I met Mr. Anderson backstage after a Tull show once. He was a dismissive jerk to me. Now, I hear he's a kindhearted & generous guy when he wants to be, but he was the opposite to me. That was when I realized these "gods" are just people. Nothing less, but nothing more.

 

[Lava]

Little Richard invented Rock n Roll. He is the only god.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Oh boy, "rock-used-to-be-so-much-better" thread #87,563. OK, I'll play.

In the '60s and '70s, rock bands had a huge ready-made audience (thanks to the Baby Boom--birth rates have been much lower for a long time now) to buy their albums and tickets to their concerts.
In the '60s and '70s, people had far fewer entertainment choices--no internet, no online games, no movies you could watch at home, no shows could be recorded, only three channels plus some snowy UHF instead of 500+.
In the 60s and '70s, concert tickets were cheap!
In the '60s and '70s, record companies served as gatekeepers, so only a limited number of artists could really have their music distributed--so not only did you have a far bigger audience, you had far less competition.
In the '60s and '70s, record companies lavishly supported their artists with massive promotions and huge recording budgets. If Steely Dan started today, no way could they afford to hire five full bands worth of the best studio musicians in the world to record a single track.
In the '60s and '70s, people had to pay for your recordings, so you made a lot more money.
In the '60s and '70s, there was no social media to track every single move a musician made--far fewer "sins" were exposed, and pictures and video were far more rare. Thus rock stars seemed more mystical and bigger-than-life. Today, if a famous musician goes out to the grocery store in sweats and a ballcap, 10 people are going to snap a picture on their phones before the person is 5 steps from their car.

The people haven't changed, just their circumstances.

Took the words right outta my head, dead on!!