Rock'n Roll Is Dead, Long Live Rock! :)

[firestarter]

Rock as a genre is less popular than it used to be.

Mainstream rock has said a lot of what it had to say... and it's turned 'classic'.

There's still new rock out there, but you have to look harder, in different places and listen to bands that are a the edge of the genre.

Saw this band live at a small gig a month back - and they absolutely killed it!

 

[MacNut]

Rock as a genre is less popular than it used to be.

Mainstream rock has said a lot of what it had to say... and it's turned 'classic'.

There's still new rock out there, but you have to look harder, in different places and listen to bands that are a the edge of the genre.

Saw this band live at a small gig a month back - and they absolutely killed it!

YouTube: video

I would not say it is less popular as much as it doesn't sell as well. This is why stations don't play it as much. They can get more money out of the teens with the crap music. Advertisers are getting a bigger return out of top 40 and Pop.

Is that music better, no, but it is easier to sell. Keep pumping out cheap hits that the kids eat up vs a highly produced rock album.

 

[impulse462]

I love Rock music. But I avoid "Classic Rock" stations like the plague. Why?

Because I've heard pretty much every track on their daily playlists about a thousand times and, unless the mood or circumstances call for it, I don't need to hear them again.

Take a look at this list of the Top 15 Most played Classic Rock songs. They are all good songs - but I'm borderline sick of most of them.

The only time I listen to music on FM radio is if I happen to catch one of the curated shows presenting new music in genres I like. If you never listen to new music, or at least music thats new to you, then you end up fossilizing in your musical tastes. Frozen in time. And thats not a good place to be.

Don't be a dinosaur. Because "Classic Rock" radio stations are what killed Rock Music - not rap, country, or anything else.

You're right about that, but the classic rock stations play only the same songs from each band. You'd never hear "She Said She Said" by the Beatles on any classic rock station which is a shame since it's an awesome song.

In any case, the "classic" just comes from the fact that its old. Just as the Beatles were seen as "pop" from 1963-1964. It was just popular at the time. Katy Perry and Bieber are seen as pop now. It might be the same demographic, but the music is worlds apart.

 

[rdowns]

Very biased towards classic rock over newer stuff but to me the real difference is quantity. Every song is great on many Bruce, Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. albums whereas you're lucky to get two or maybe three these days.

 

[Kissaragi]

Most people like to listen to crap so thats what most of the radio plays.

Luckily these days you don't have to touch a radio to get whatever music you want so theres nothing to complain about.

 

[AustinIllini]

These guys are the real deal. Rock's fine. Just look in the right places. Like older Black Keys. The new stuff is a bunch of duds.

 

[rhett7660]

Very biased towards classic rock over newer stuff but to me the real difference is quantity. Every song is great on many Bruce, Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. albums whereas you're lucky to get two or maybe three these days.

Amen, i have a tough time finding an album that I can listen through from start to finish. The ones you just mentioned, hours on end. Put on any LZ album and I can sit and listen same for the Beatles!

 

[bradl]

Very biased towards classic rock over newer stuff but to me the real difference is quantity. Every song is great on many Bruce, Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd etc. albums whereas you're lucky to get two or maybe three these days.

You have the record labels, MTV, and Youtube to thank for that.

The record labels, for pushing one hit wonders onto us like no tomorrow, and hoping that the hit supports the album sales. In short, one killer, all filler. Compare that to its complete opposite, like Hysteria from Def Leppard. Mutt Lange asked the question of "why can't a rock band have 6 or 7 hit singles off of one album?" Look what happened. Each one of those 7 you'll still hear on the radio today. You don't find that anymore.

MTV: They singlehandedly killed the (rock) video by doing nothing but rap, let alone videos at all.

Youtube: With going to the people directly, why release an album? Put one or two songs or videos up there, and it drives the rest.

But I have to agree about the Classic Rock stations. I don't remember anywhere outside of Las Vegas post-2003 where I've heard Big Balls by AC/DC on the radio. It may be the backlash from the Howard Stern incident with him going to Sirius/XM, but it is as if radio stations are afraid of such a backlash that they don't help to push those boundaries anymore. They play music that is 'safe', which is why we get the crap we have now.

As far as rock goes now, you really have to look, look deep, and look overseas. Most of the acts that would be considered 'classic' here have huge followings overseas and have some things released there that we haven't seen here.

P.S. Rock'n'Roll isn't dead. God gave it to us, and Rock'n'Roll will never die. KISS and Brian Johnson said so.

BL.

 

[AustinIllini]

Rock is just a lot different now. I'm going to focus on modern albums you can listen to straight through.

Italics are not as close to classic rock

Funeral by Arcade Fire
White Blood Cells by the White Stripes
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
Deloused at the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
Attack & Release by the Black Keys
Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age
InnerSpeaker by Tame Impala
White Women by Chromeo
Blak and Blu by Gary Clark, Jr.
Days are Gone by Haim
The Carpenter by the Avett Brothers
Demon Days by Gorillaz
AM by the Arctic Monkeys

I can offer more. Just because MTV doesn't show them, rock music is as healthy as it has ever been.

 

[MacNut]

Rock is just a lot different now. I'm going to focus on modern albums you can listen to straight through.

Italics are not as close to classic rock

Funeral by Arcade Fire
White Blood Cells by the White Stripes
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
Deloused at the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
Attack & Release by the Black Keys
Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age
InnerSpeaker by Tame Impala
White Women by Chromeo
Blak and Blu by Gary Clark, Jr.
Days are Gone by Haim
The Carpenter by the Avett Brothers
Demon Days by Gorillaz
AM by the Arctic Monkeys

I can offer more. Just because MTV doesn't show them, rock music is as healthy as it has ever been.

Foo Fighters are up there too. They have some great front to back albums. I also like Shinedown.

 

[AustinIllini]

Foo Fighters are up there too. They have some great front to back albums. I also like Shinedown.

Dave Groehl projects are usually pretty good (I actually think Foo Fighters may be the weakest of his projects).

Hopefully you've checked out Them Crooked Vultures. Take Groehl in his best role (drums), add Josh Homme, and the legendary John Paul Jones. Fantastic.

 

[Huntn]

Rock is just a lot different now. I'm going to focus on modern albums you can listen to straight through.

Italics are not as close to classic rock

Funeral by Arcade Fire
White Blood Cells by the White Stripes
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
Deloused at the Comatorium by The Mars Volta
Attack & Release by the Black Keys
Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age
InnerSpeaker by Tame Impala
White Women by Chromeo
Blak and Blu by Gary Clark, Jr.
Days are Gone by Haim
The Carpenter by the Avett Brothers
Demon Days by Gorillaz
AM by the Arctic Monkeys

I can offer more. Just because MTV doesn't show them, rock music is as healthy as it has ever been.

I should sample some of these. Can they be found on the radio? Any particular type of station or are they on standard pop?

 

[D.T.]

Dave Groehl projects are usually pretty good (I actually think Foo Fighters may be the weakest of his projects).

Hopefully you've checked out Them Crooked Vultures. Take Groehl in his best role (drums), add Josh Homme, and the legendary John Paul Jones. Fantastic.

YouTube: video

Yeah, great stuff, so is QotSA and Eagles of Death Metal - Josh Homme can do no wrong in my book

 

[AustinIllini]

I should sample some of these. Can they be found on the radio? Any particular type of station or are they on standard pop?

Ugh. Not really. That's the problem. Alt Nation on SiriusXM tends to have all of them, but they throw in vague nonsense at the same time to sound "hipster". Probably iTunes radio, honestly. Spotify is the bomb.

 

[Asuriyan]

I saw the title and was so glad to see QotSA and Them Crooked Vultures mentioned in the first page.

Don't forget Jack White and his many projects. He's about as rock and roll as it comes.

 

[D.T.]

Don't forget Jack White and his many projects. He's about as rock and roll as it comes.

Another great call - his solo work, The White Stripes, and The Dead Weather, are some damn fine Rock and Roll

 

[aPple nErd]

I'm an even older codger, and I think rock & roll, with some very few exceptions, died out in the very early '70s.

yup. after 74 or so, everything went to crap.

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YouTube: video

YouTube: video

These guys are the real deal. Rock's fine. Just look in the right places. Like older Black Keys. The new stuff is a bunch of duds.

thanks man! that actually is real rock, but nothing like the pre 75 stuff like i mentioned.

 

[zyr123]

Just no. Artic monkeys are the only true rock band left. The black keys were till they switched to being alternative and now they suck.

 

[Huntn]

Thread revival...

These days I listen all most exclusively to 50-80s Classic Rock, with diversions into jazz (which I was big into college), classical, and New Age. Most of the time, it's in the car, and I'm listening to Rock and even though I've heard these songs hundreds of times, frequently I hear a song, that regardless of how many times I've heard it before is a musical treat that still wows me.

Premo Rock #1 (number only represents posting order)
Van Halen: Jaime's Crying (1978- 37 frick'n years after release )​

 

[Mousse]

Thread revival...

These days I listen all most exclusively to 50-80s Classic Rock

Today's popular music gives me a headache. But if you only take the best of the best, then it holds up well compared to the golden oldies. The main reason I like oldies music is because only the best lives on. I can't name 90% of the bands from 50's-80's. The crap music of that era has faded into obscurity.

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll
-- Bob Seger (Old Time Rock and Roll)

 

[lowendlinux]

I honestly could never listen to most of the bands listed in this thread for more than a couple minutes. Old =/= Good nor does new but I'll let you guys get back to it.

 

[Plutonius]

Tunein Radio when I have WiFi, and my iPod storage when I don't

 

[Huntn]

Today's popular music gives me a headache. But if you only take the best of the best, then it holds up well compared to the golden oldies. The main reason I like oldies music is because only the best lives on. I can't name 90% of the bands from 50's-80's. The crap music of that era has faded into obscurity.

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll
-- Bob Seger (Old Time Rock and Roll)

I honestly could never listen to most of the bands listed in this thread for more than a couple minutes. Old =/= Good nor does new but I'll let you guys get back to it.

No issues with your comments. For reference, what is you preferred music?

 

[rhett7660]

On February 15th, 1995 with their last song playing; Metallica's "Fade to Black", KNAC was no more. I pretty much stopped listening to radio after that.

KNAC 105.5 which was a local rock/metal station for Los Angeles County. What a sad day in history for me. Listened to them play their last song, hoping it would never end.

Those where the days!

 

[Mousse]

No issues with your comments. For reference, what is you preferred music?

Classical > Opera > Oldies Rock > Show Tunes

Classical runs the gamut of emotions and only the BEST works of several centuries survived. It's both soothing (Mozart and Beethoven is very relaxing) and inspiring (Wagner gets the blood pumping). Being an evil mastermind, Opera is a must. I love operas for the same reason as Classical, and you can crank the volume up to drown out your enemy's tortured screams. Oldies Rock has good lyrics and good music. Show Tunes...well it's catchy. It's like junk food, nice if small doses.

I find dissonance of modern pop music frazzle my nerves. Country music has nice lyrics, but little else. Rap (what I call spitting music, because of the beat box stuff), I can say nothing good about that.