Rock music's current status

[Rickenbacker]

..has crashed & burned. Rock isn't dead. But its status is. Mainstream rock, that is. For a several years now, rock fans (esp. old school listeners), have had to grudgingly admit that rock was no longer the genre that young people turn to in large numbers anymore. (vs the 60's - 90's) Whole different musical world today.

Do you foresee a time when mainstream rock makes a noticeable comeback? Will the pendulum eventually swing the other way for a new wave? I suspect that at *some* point, people will tire of Autotuned dance pop.

[klothos]

..has crashed & burned. Rock isn't dead. But its status is. Mainstream rock, that is. For a several years now, rock fans (esp. old school listeners), have had to grudgingly admit that rock was no longer the genre that young people turn to in large numbers anymore. (vs the 60's - 90's) Whole different musical world today.

Do you foresee a time when mainstream rock makes a noticeable comeback? Will the pendulum eventually swing the other way for a new wave? I suspect that at *some* point, people will tire of Autotuned dance pop.

The same way people got tired of drop D depressing tunes and singers that sounded like pirates during the 90s/early 00s

I know I am usually by myself on the messageboard concerning pop - I like it -- and much prefer now music to the pop-starved/Rock dominated 90s, but to each his own

Viva La Pop

[Rickenbacker]

The same way people got tired of drop D depressing tunes and singers that sounded like pirates during the 90s/early 00s

Actually, yeah! *I* sure got tired of hearing "nu metal" band after band using that sound with singers who All sounded like Edder Vedder.
And truth be told, the occasional current pop tune will slip under my radar & I'll dig it. (eg: Blurred Lines, Boom Clap, etc)

[klothos]

I think rock will make a comeback, but technology will definitely have an impact on what the next phase of rock will sound like - perhaps Rock with Pop production?...To be honest, Im looking forward to hearing what the "New Rock Sound" will be.......I DO think there will be many retro elements involved, as that seems to be a flavor with the younger generation of budding musicians atm ...plus, Guitar Hero and Rock Band certainly will impact them, too

[progeezer]

For me, rock's current status can be defined in 2 words:

Barely relevant

[rcarlberg]

What is "rock"? Seriously, there are so many sub-genres and so much cross-pollination these days that one has to define what it is that died -- is it old fashioned unevolved pub rock?

[mogrooves]

I think rock will make a comeback, but technology will definitely have an impact

Technology is the new rock music, status-wise.

[trurl]

Whatever.





Really... there will always be something worth listening to, and that's all that matters. And even if there wasn't there's enough existing great music to spend a lifetime discovering.

[klothos]

What is "rock"? Seriously, there are so many sub-genres and so much cross-pollination these days that one has to define what it is that died -- is it old fashioned unevolved pub rock?

Technology is the new rock music, status-wise.

OK, i guess for discussion's-sake, the OP should define the definition of "Rock" -- I was taking it as "the simple cliche mainstream ideaology" that is a form of music that is usually guitar-driven and usually composed on guitar (can be written on and driven by other instruments, such as piano/keyboards, but the guitar is the standard and usually out front regardless)...

[Rickenbacker]

I was taking it as a form of music that is usually guitar-driven and usually composed on guitar (can be written on and driven by other instruments, such as piano, but the guitar is the standard)...

That's pretty much my take. I would've figured people here would know it when they hear it.

[mogrooves]

That's pretty much my take. I would've figured people here would know it when they hear it.

Except that you didn't ask for--or propose--a definition of "rock music"; you asked about its current--and potential future--status. The word is even in your title.

[SteveSly]

..has crashed & burned. Rock isn't dead. But its status is. Mainstream rock, that is. For a several years now, rock fans (esp. old school listeners), have had to grudgingly admit that rock was no longer the genre that young people turn to in large numbers anymore. (vs the 60's - 90's) Whole different musical world today.

Do you foresee a time when mainstream rock makes a noticeable comeback? Will the pendulum eventually swing the other way for a new wave? I suspect that at *some* point, people will tire of Autotuned dance pop.

Yet, there are some great straight ahead newer rock bands out there that seem to be making at least some headway. Rival Sons comes to mind. They are fantastic and appear to at least be garnering some following. Some younger southern rock bands such as Black Stone Cherry or Blackberry Smoke have developed a decent following. Rock seems to becoming more of a niche, but there are still a lot of bands keeping it alive and well.

[ThomasKDye]

The heck with rock, I think I'm dead.

[davis]

beats me. I just watched a Toner Low gig on Youtube. now watching Bongripper. I watched a 4-hr Tom Petty doc on Saturday.

For me, rock's current status can be defined in 2 words:

Barely relevant

relevant to what?

[Reginod]

<< Rock music's current status

..has crashed & burned. Rock isn't dead. But its status is. Mainstream rock, that is.>>

Not news. I agree with yez but it ain't news.

What happened in the 60s and 70s (maybe 50s and 80s too), not only just musically but culturally and artistically, was a unique thing that will only happen once. It's over and it's been over for a while now.

There's still good music around of course. As a matter of fact I think there are 5-6 prog bands that have sprung up just this week, right in my immediate neighborhood!

[progeezer]

beats me. I just watched a Toner Low gig on Youtube. now watching Bongripper. I watched a 4-hr Tom Petty doc on Saturday.



relevant to what?

You really need me to explain that?

[davis]

where's the 'shrug' emoticon? if you don't want to, don't. it's not that important.

[bob_32_116]

I'd say there are a few artists around who are keeping "rock" as defined above alive, Jack White for example. It would be difficult to call his music anything other than rock.

[progeezer]

where's the 'shrug' emoticon? if you don't want to, don't. it's not that important.

In 2014, rock is barely relevant in our society compared to just how relevant and important rock music was in our society from 1966-1973.

I'm definitely showing my age.

[Facelift]

In 2014, rock is barely relevant in our society compared to just how relevant and important rock music was in our society from 1966-1973.

I'm definitely showing my age.

Agreed. Rock is dead and has been for a number of years now. Most of the new indie rock considered important over the last 10 years or so (Pitchfork picks, etc.) is either heavily ironic or is a mishmash of styles considered interesting more for the bits that make up the recipe rather than the finished product. There remain popular rock bands - some megapopular ones, even - but how many of these are less than, say, 15 years old?

The final nail in the coffin is probably the technological changes. If new bands have no hope of ever becoming rock stars, there will be fewer new rock bands. People who make music to sell albums and become stars will do so in whatever genre this is possible in, and those who have motives that are artistically purer will likely represent a wide, diverse range of styles, of which "rock" in the general sense will certainly be represented, but will not be dominant.

The "rock" era - say, 1965-late '90s - encompassed a lineage of innovation and reaction that 1) formed a reasonably coherent narrative, and 2) occurred as the dominant form of popular music. Once this all was severed, I think it becomes fair to ask the question of how significant it was for music to be called "rock" to have been a part of that. In other words, would music made in 2025 that is instantly identifiable as being "rock" be any more connected to the evolution of the style than a typical swing band today can be considered connected to the history of jazz? Based on what I've witnessed over the last dozen years or so, I'd bet on "no." I've been a proponent of the idea of "rock" as a spent force for about a dozen years now, and nothing that has occurred since this time has caused me to revise this opinion. In fact, the music's drastic drop in popularity since this time would seem to only confirm it.

People will point to whatever newish active bands they're into as a rebuttal, but that's not really the point. There are a bunch of newish active bands that I'm into as well; it's just that few other people are into these same bands, and these bands are not really part of popular culture in the way that bands of their ilk once had been.

Some might also say that rock had been declared dead on numerous other occasions and it always came back. While it might be true that "rock" seemed to be in trouble at a couple of times in the '80s, its "dead" status never lasted more than a few years in a row, and, when you look closer, there were a bunch of scenes percolating under the surface that gave rise to the next big things of the genre (metal in the first half of the '80s; grunge and alternative in the second half of the '80s).

I like rock so I'm hoping that it makes another comeback - I'm just not expecting it to.

[spacefreak]

Do you foresee a time when mainstream rock makes a noticeable comeback? Will the pendulum eventually swing the other way for a new wave?

No, I don't think it will ever make a mainstream comeback. Music, combining a status of social urest, isn't a priority for the youth of today. And today's rock has lost its insight to reinvent itself and appeal on a massive scale.

I'm definitely showing my age.

Rock is now the music of the parents and the grandparents. Without being relevant to the majority of the young, it is condemned to breath in the confines of its tiny niche.

[Digital_Man]

I don't agree. At least I don't think I agree with the assessment being made here. Mainstream rock or classic rock might be dead or at least some kind of nostalgic thing but I think it depends on what we define as mainstream. Also, who is deciding for us what is hip and what isn't. I decide for myself. I don't let anyone decide for me what I like and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Indie rock seems to be very popular now. The further away something is from the mainstream the more popular it becomes. Very ironic I know. Music always seems to be recycling itself so even if something is dead now it might turn up later.

[Facelift]

Indie rock seems to be very popular now.

It does? I don't know of very many indie rock bands that fit the criteria of "very popular."

The further away something is from the mainstream the more popular it becomes.

I guess Steve over at Cuneiform can start expecting the millions to begin rolling in any time now?

[Chain]

Rock Music's current status is, current.

[davis]

February 1969