Rock and Roll is dead.
Well I wouldn't go that far; not at all...more like dead but reborn or something.
Maybe, but reborn into what? Sugary pre-fabbed teen prom-limo angst? There hasnt been a significant movement in the direction of music since the early nineties...probably with the advent of Pearl Jam and Nirvana etc. I dont mean just a change, I mean the advent of a revolutionary sound. Something that changed the way a whole generation listened to music. I dont really think hip-hop counts because the sound of hip-hop hasnt altered much over the last three decades...just gotten more pricey looking. And now all we have to chose from are the corporate hand-picked teeny boppers, the 7,000 different varieties of Green Day, your oceans of nameless talentless music du jour that is the refuge of the college student with no generational music identity, and of course the bitch slingin fowty drinkin hip-hop coming from a guy who has a 30 million dollar yacht and probably hasnt laid his hands on a fowty since 1990.
When I was younger you had to stand up for what you listened to. Many times it defined your social boundaries as well as functioned as a sort of sound track to your identity growing up. Now that anything and everything is so accessible and saturated, artisits dont have to be much of anything special or unique in order to rise to the top....they just have to fit the corporate mold.
I think its just sad personally.
You make some damned good points here, Carmel. I shared your sense of irony at seeing Prince's halftime show. See the thread on Let It Bleed, or even cross post it here if you would, callled "I Hate Rock and Roll"..
I gotta disagree with you abnout the hip hop situation. There are many talented and relevant artists such as Guru, Cage, Pigeon John, Mr. Lif, and many DJs like RJD2, Shadow, and Kid Koala who are creating entirely new works of sound, and they are pretty far removed from promoting crack dealing as a means to bitches and bling.
I think there is a very vital garage rock rennaissance happening on both sides of theAtlantic, and there are some pretty talented pop acts in the mainstream such as The White Stripes that are making interesting music that borrows from and builds on a lot of traditional rock influences.
THere is a burgeoning alt-country scene, and there will always be talented musicians of all genres whose work is only appreciated by aa small underground following. Often they gain acceptance and wider acclaim only after their careers are over, or after their death, but that's the way it goes in any field of human endeavour.
Yeah, I hear ya, and a lot of the time I hate rock and roll, too, but there's some good shit out there that neither you nor I have even heard of yet. Sure, there is definitely the generational identification that will be there with nearly everyone, and I can wax nostalgic as well as anyone (except maybe 85DJ-----[just kidding, Bob......]), but I like to think that the best is yet to come.
