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Rock and Roll (1949-2011)

#41
I think the article is exactly right. I've been seeing this coming for decades.

There will always be people making great rock music. They just won't be very popular in terms of number of fans.

Think about bebop. There are some great players still doing it. But is it a living art form, or is it a study of past glory, like being a baroque organist?

If you weren't around in the 60's and 70's, you can't imagine how rock felt. When a big act (eg, Zeppelin) came out with a new album, or when you went to an arena show, it felt very different than it does now, almost a revelation, like seeing something legendary in the flesh. And tickets were affordable. It's not like that any more, and it's not because the musicianship is worse.

It's because the world is different. When there are a million bands all putting out music, and billion people downloading songs, often for free, and people listen to music on earbuds as they ride on the bus or at work... It's not the same.

Rock is not dead. It has simply started to morph into something that it never wanted to be. :hmm:

Look at the fact that almost all the examples of rock's being alive in this thread are acts that have been doing it for 30 years. When they are gone, people will idolize them, but will anybody take their places? I doubt it.
 
#42
Things need a kick up the arse. The Pistols did it in '76 and GnR did it in '87. Sinec Appetite, there's been little to shake things up and turn it all on its head. Revolution is the only way forward, comrades! Follow White Wizzard and Airbourne for the glory of the Motherland!
 
#44
smeet said:
I think the article is exactly right. I've been seeing this coming for decades.

There will always be people making great rock music. They just won't be very popular in terms of number of fans.

Think about bebop. There are some great players still doing it. But is it a living art form, or is it a study of past glory, like being a baroque organist?

If you weren't around in the 60's and 70's, you can't imagine how rock felt. When a big act (eg, Zeppelin) came out with a new album, or when you went to an arena show, it felt very different than it does now, almost a revelation, like seeing something legendary in the flesh. And tickets were affordable. It's not like that any more, and it's not because the musicianship is worse.

It's because the world is different. When there are a million bands all putting out music, and billion people downloading songs, often for free, and people listen to music on earbuds as they ride on the bus or at work... It's not the same.

Rock is not dead. It has simply started to morph into something that it never wanted to be. :hmm:

Look at the fact that almost all the examples of rock's being alive in this thread are acts that have been doing it for 30 years. When they are gone, people will idolize them, but will anybody take their places? I doubt it.
Click to expand...

Maybe you're just experiencing nostalgia. Maybe it "feels different" because you're on the last leg of life not the first.
 
#45
Balog said:
Maybe you're just experiencing nostalgia. Maybe it "feels different" because you're on the last leg of life not the first.
Click to expand...

Was that meant to be as offensive as it came off? :eyebrow: I'm guessing yes. :spit:

I have always been and continue to be more open-minded both to styles of music and to media delivery methods than pretty much anybody I know, of any age. That doesn't mean all things are equally good. And in this case, they are getting worse. The rock scene was predicated on breaking the rules and trying new things. That is not being done as much these days, as many of the original things that could be considered "rock" have been done many times already.

If anything, I am much less nostalgic than the people who are trying to keep this dead thing alive. Remember I'm NOT talking about the music itself. Rock is not just about music, it is an industry. A dying industry. Move on, I have. It's only sad if you deny the fact.

I will continue to play rock, jazz, electronica, hiphop and whatever else comes along that I like. I don't care if the industry surrounding it is vibrant and alive or not. I encourage you to do the same if you are so inclined.

Art forms don't die. The industry and public interest surrounding them does. And it is.

It's a meaningless discussion anyway. If you like it, do it. Or don't.
 
#48
I swear people who claim rock is 'dead' or 'not what it used to be' must have no ability to google.
There is brilliant stuff out there of all genres, for all tastes, you just have to sift for it.

Commercially dying, creatively thriving is what I see.
Nobody's gonna be buying that green Lamborghini,
but If you make good music and find your audience,
you can make a decent living at it.

But what do I know I have a day job...:bassist:
 
#49
sorta related, kinda, but I just heard that legendary rockers Judas Priest are going out on their last tour here pretty soon. From what I heard from a friend they will still make albums, just not tour :( I've had the pleasure of seeing these guys twice, the first being my first heavy metal concert ever, and they have left me jaw hanging wide open both times. Rob Halford is a god of the genre and dare I say of vocalists in general and it will definitely leave a giant crater in music that can never be filled. Long live the originators of true metal Judas Priest! you will be missed! \m/
 
#50
KenHR said:
This is a great point. It's amazing to note how many albums from the '60s and '70s we consider classics were relatively poor performers in commercial and/or critical terms in their day.

99% of anything available at any time is crap. The cream rises to the top with the benefit of hindsight.
Click to expand...

Top 40 in the 60s was great just imagine, you could have The Beatles or Stones at number 1 and Frank Sinatra at number 2 on the charts. Those were great days.

blue
 
#51
smeet said:
I think the article is exactly right. I've been seeing this coming for decades.

There will always be people making great rock music. They just won't be very popular in terms of number of fans.

Think about bebop. There are some great players still doing it. But is it a living art form, or is it a study of past glory, like being a baroque organist?

If you weren't around in the 60's and 70's, you can't imagine how rock felt. When a big act (eg, Zeppelin) came out with a new album, or when you went to an arena show, it felt very different than it does now, almost a revelation, like seeing something legendary in the flesh.


Yeah it was such a buzz to go to those shows back then.I was fortunate, I was close to Madison Square Garden and the Filmore East. When you went it was sort of like we were all on the same page.

Hell, you go to a Stones concert today, half the people there couldn't tell you why they are there.

Yeah I like my iPod and I can get anything I want and it will sound better than any of the best stereos of the 70s on whatever mobile device I have at hand.

You probably also remember that whn you told sombody you were in a band they imediately wanted to be your friends and chics would get with you.

Tell some chic your in a band today and she will act like your talking in a foreign language.
Click to expand...
 
#52
mambo4 said:
I swear people who claim rock is 'dead' or 'not what it used to be' must have no ability to google.
There is brilliant stuff out there of all genres, for all tastes, you just have to sift for it.

Commercially dying, creatively thriving is what I see.
Nobody's gonna be buying that green Lamborghini,
but If you make good music and find your audience,
you can make a decent living at it.

But what do I know I have a day job...:bassist:
Click to expand...

In my opinion, I shouldn't have to google for Rock-n-Roll. It should find me and kick my ass and blow me away and make me want to listen to more and tell all my friends "you gotta hear this album". Not google search for this obscure thing on youtube that doesn't seem to exist outside the internet.

I'm sure there's loads of talent out there but it's not reaching people like the Beatles, Cream, The Who, Rolling Stones, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Rush, Iron Maiden, Guns-n-Roses, etc.

If I can't turn on the radio and hear one decent new Rock song all day, maybe Rock is dying a slow death? Maybe I am too old, but I don't hear much rock these days that I don't think sucks...stuff like Nickleback and Creed that all sound the same.

The old rock bands are running out of time.

Honestly, who is out there now, carrying on the holy torch of Rock-n-Roll? Maybe I'm missing out on some great new stuff, I don't know.

Thankfully Rush has a new album coming next year ! :hyper:
 
#53
There are so many other options for entertainment now. Concerts and live music does not command the attention with people like it has for past generations. To simply watch musicians playing instruments has a tough time competing with 3D movies, Gaming and Online Thrills. We can blame high ticket prices for concerts, DUI awareness in clubs, DJ's, and a multitude of genre's and meduims competing for market share, but I'm afraid that Rock is dying. Yes, the power amd emotion of the electric guitar still seems to be valid and there will always be rebellious head bangers and punks out to change the world, but overall it seems it's just not exciting enough for todays entertainment consumers.
 
#55
thudfromafar said:
The music industry is dead

....to musicians
Click to expand...

Spot on. +1.

My wife "forces" (?) me to watch "Housewives of Atlanta" and although I have some grudging respect for Kandy Burris (sic), I always notice that there is NEVER a musician (instrumentalist) anywhere in her studio.

I just don't think anyone wants to pay for a live concert when a person comes out and presses a button.

Just a thought.
 
#56
Rock and Roll is a virus. When faced with a hostile enviroment, it simply mutates, but retains it`s primal roots. It may become scarce from time to time and lie dormant. But it eventually flares up and becomes an epidemic again.
 
#57
Their measures of success are outdated and don't make their case. What matters is what people listen to, not whether CDs are going out, or whether 60's and 70's band pack stadiums. Music continues - their metrics for measuring its success are erroneous.

There is much to be learned from the continued popularity of classic rock. It was great music, and much of today's music is formulaic and selected by music companies simply because it fits their preferred formulas. Much of it is quite forgettable and it will accordingly be forgotten.

Today's music is scattered across websites, YouTube, Facebook and similar places. If the record companies can't make money off it, too bad for them, but the freedom to release music without them is good for all of us. New economic models will emerge to support the new modes of distribution.
 
#58
I think another factor in the success or power of rock and roll, and perhaps what some of us see as it's decline today, is the fact that Rock-n-roll has always been a shared experience.

You would go to the record shop with your buddies to get the newest releases from your fav groups.

Now you download it sitting alone at your pc or to your mobile device.

You would sleep out in line for concert tickets with your friends and fellow fans.

Now you just get them on line.

You would all pile in the car to go to the concert.

Now you log into the streaming audio concert pod cast or just wait for the concert DVD or Blu-Ray release.


Again, maybe I'm just a nostalgic oldster...but it seems to me all those things helped combine to make Rock-n-Roll a shared experience that fed back into it and made it all that much greater combined with all the great music and acts.

It seems like that vital element has been or is being lost.
 
#59
For decades people could buy singles on vinyl yet albums still sold well. The only way that people could get songs that were not out on single was to buy the album. Now we can download almost anything we want. This is the main reason why albums in cd form are not selling as well. Most people only listen to a few tracks off of any given album. Why pay $15 for a cd when you can pay $3 to $5 to get the songs you like instead? There is also a reduced cost to the record label when songs are made available for download. They do not have to deal with production and distribution costs.
The biggest problems with the music industry are the fact that there is very little orginality anymore and executives are more interested in how bands look rather than how they sound. It's sad but there are very few of today's bands that I like.
 

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