Is rock out of the conversation?

Radiohead is the Kenny G of rock 'n roll?

 

I didn't miss out in the 90s. I loved the first two albums, and they were really great live. Didn't care for the third album and not sure about the new stuff I've heard, but it's cool that they're back at it.

 

I work with teenagers every day.

Almost no young people listen to rock music at all. Maybe 10% do. Teenagers in USA listen only to dance-pop-rhythm music. Weird.

 

No one rocked the skins like Rubble did;

 

Is there a need for new rock? It certainly appears from time to time, and is often more of a throwback to the classic period than being innovative on it's own. Has the best rock been created? Do we need new rock, or can the art form be developed further than the classic artists have done?

 

A few years later the same man passed on Hendrix.

 

And that is NOT to say that the contemporary pop is inferior. Inferiority of music is in the head of the listener.

I think what is at the core of the complaint by we older folks that rock music (or R&B, or country music) isn't dominant anymore, is the fear of cultural extinction.

I think a lot of these people are saying that they want wrock music to dominate the world just one last time before they die.

 

rock bands i hear all the time from young people is...21 pilots, my chemical romance and the 1975...
mostly 21 pilots though.

 

lol

 

21 Pilots is Alternative Rap.

 

just watched some videos.....they got a drummer at least

 

yep. They are the Crazy Town of now

 

In other (strange but good) news, my teenage daughter (below) asked me last week for some Black Sabbath to listen to in the car. I responded like this: I gave her Paranoid and Master of Reality. Her response? "Dad, that was awesome. Why don't drums sound that good in today's music?" She does have a sinister look in that photo.

 

For people my age, in general, yes. The thing is, it almost makes it better in some ways. You either meet people who don't care, or they're obsessed with some old group you can talk about for hours with. I got a friend into Renaissance, he got me into a prog band from the Netherlands Earth and Fire - and then one day we both realized we liked Jefferson Airplane despite not discussing them before. Stuff like that.

 

No, Nickelback!
Radiohead is the Sun Ra of Rock! !

 

I'm am impressed by your daughter's musical ear.

 

You accidentally typed a comma in between the two words in your sentence. There ... I fixed it for you.

 

There are lots of 'metal' dudes roaming around town, the night clubs, farmer's market, artisanal bakeries, coffee houses -- they're bearded/tattooed, wearing mostly black w/metal band t-shirts, baseball cap, and, like, a utility carabiner/key chain (dozens of keys), in their 20s -- these guys must listen to metal? Bands like Black Mountain, Mastadon, Earth, Sleep, Om... etc. Something sturdy/powerful, to augment the beard and smartphone. It's almost like a uniform. Some of them are audiophiles, even. Or maybe this was five years ago.

 

I think I do.
The new Car Seat Headrest is awesome, for example.

I'm talking about resonance more than quality itself.

 

I guess this topic deserves a serious answer from me, after the rather glib response I posted earlier.

It's been something like 70 years that Rock has been around in some form or another, and if "Rock" is all about drum kits, electric guitars, bass, vocals, and sometimes keyboards creating driving songs with a powerful rhythm, some artists have moved away from that traditional model. Even as far back as the mid '90's I noticed a conspicuous absence of lead guitar soloing in a lot of releases. I doubt that the traditional rock band format will ever go the way of the wind entirely, but artists are experimenters, and trying new things isn't exactly a millennial concept.

But that's format. And I don't know that it's what rock is about. Uniforms change over time, but the mission remains. Rock is a celebration of youth. It's using music to express and effect social change. It shapes our culture, and helps us to find ourselves. It validates our feelings and unites us towards common interests and goals. It comforts us when we're down, and energizes us when we're courageous. That's the spirit of rock, and it's all over the place in one form or another.

Look at your children
See their faces in golden rays
Don't kid yourself they belong to you
They're the start of a coming race.

-David Bowie.

Change for the better or change for the worse is another topic for another thread. The kids are still rocking. Always have, and always will. They probably don't call it that now, is all.

 

Good points. So much fantastic rock music was created from the 50s to 70s (and a teeny bit extra from the 80s to 00s) that I feel I don't need any more really. I don't need new rock. I'm forever curious to hear what's going on but it very rarely hits the spot for me like the old stuff still does. Even though the majority of today's obscur "rock bands" are essentially retreading a well-worn path, there will always be room for further development. However, it might never be hugely popular but who gives a damn anyway?

 

Maybe you don't, but those young teens with a chip on their shoulder out in Podunk, USA need a new generation of bands to call their own.

 

Blues, country, folk, rock; the guitar is the cornerstone of American music.

 

Yes, I agree! I do hope that youngsters can find good new rock music to enjoy and those who want it will certainly find it.
It must be weird for them also with the bewildering choice of music there is in the matrix now compared to the comparitively smaller choice of music that was up for grabs in the 20th century.

 

No, they're the Last of the Arena Rock Mohicans (for their generation). Madison Square Garden, not space, is the place.

Searching for Transcendence with Radiohead - The New Yorker »