is rock music dead

Well, if we want to talk about dead things...
I've been going through the theory and composition threads and I found dozens of questions about chords, scales, major minor, progressions and so on.
A century ago some guys said the tonal system was dead, that Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Strauss had strained it out. There was no new progression to be made, no new chords, no harmonic frontier to conquer. So they found ways to crack the tonal system and compose out of it.
So...
Tonality is back, troubadours are back, minimalism is back, rock is back, disco is back, ridiculous sun glasses are back, democracy is back, the dark ages are back, glam is back, prog hippie psychedelic punk is back, neo-goth is back, Jesus is back (have you seen the free-hugs campaign?).
Every trend of human expression will come back eventually. It used to be an Apollonian - Dionysian oscillation. Today, with globalization and mass communication, things are back before they die out.
But we sure as hell AIN'T coming back, so I'm gonna keep listening those great rock bands before I'M dead.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Hole music industry is dead!! People dont care bout buying cd's they would much rather download a crappy version for free somewhere and as the radio is crap too, people would much rather listen to a stupidamount of bass in the cars than the radio... This has both caused big artists to get let down in sales and only release 1 album before being kicked off of the labels, and in the small underground music its been booming with no1 buying cds and new music everybody looked somewhere else for new music and new trends. Which lead people to myspace and **** lyk that. and cause myelf was full of crappy indie bands, all people wanna hear are indie bands. However, because they all sound the same SOON the indie trend will die out and summink else will enter the lime light... But nothing will ever stick around for long just because music isnt a huge following anymore like it used to be (for instance the beatles) they were around for AGES!!! no band will ever have a life expectancy of that. When bands like the beatles put out a lp or did a tour, people actually spent shed loadsa money to see them and to listen and follow them.. Nothing is lyk that now aswell due to the media and how there is such a variety of trends out there that todays news is already tomorow rubbish bin!! as in what you listen to for a week or 2 you prob wont remember after a month or 2!!

PEACE!!
Sorry for the rant i just saw it and was lyk 'HELL YEAH'!!

Jordan Gibbs
 
As far as getting into the mainstream yes rock is pretty much dead. But personally, i don't care for that side of music there are plenty of bands out there that are awesome and it's just a matter of digging a bit deeper and finding the good stuff.

Radio i don't listen to because i hate what they play. I like a lot of styles of music but i can't stand hip hop, rap, rnb, dance etc etc because to me, THAT all sounds the same.

Althought admitedly i listen to metal most of the time when talkign about heavier stuff but i still like a lot of rock. It's more popular than you think, it's just that some people don't even realise it exists half the time
 
hey man i'm trying to bring the rock scene back in this area...i can't think of nationally yet but dammit, gotta start somewhere...now i just need to find band mates...
 
Metal will live forever and i don't believe it can die someday! Nonsense! Metal rocks! :cheers:
 
I think the music industry in general needs a kick in the shins. They release whatever's the latest trend. Rock and metal is very much alive, it's the radio that's killing it.

It's so true. In popular culture and popular music genres, there are so much rubbish. We have to kick the shoddy ones. But rock music is still one of the most alive genres at all. :)
 
Rocks not dead YET !!! But it's on it's way, There is a problem with musicianship today. there has been a trend of guitar shredders in metal but they're all rehashing the same arpeggio pattern exercises in every song, every solo sounds like an pattern exercise the riffs are genaric stock or rehashed riffs. The bands that are really selling out shows and touring successfully are the older bands such as ac/dc, aerosmith,metallica,van halen,motley crue,slayer, etc. when you look at the summer concert schedules its mostly nostalgic.
when these bands retire the younger bands are goin to struggle, there are not alot of bands playing arenas and clubs or bars are not the most reliable source of income. I was in the rock or metal scene in texas and ok in the early 90's and it was alive, people showed up to clubs regardless of who was playing. now they're only showing up for tribute bands and an occasional original band ... it's a sad scene anymore.
 
I think rather than asking is a musical genre dead, a better question might be, is the genre waxing or waning, or where is the pendulum sitting at this moment. Music moves in cycles, as does politics, world superpowers, belief systems, etc. Just the nature of the beast. I believe right now we are going through a transitional period like others have said, where the old music industry format isn't working like it used to. This bubble too has burst, and all the crap will be weeded out for a time. Anyway, I don't know what the hell I'm saying anymore. :)
 
afaiac rock died long time ago, maybe with kurt. when i say rock i mean the real rock, not just guitars, drums and bass, it is also about the attitude, can't be rock without real rockstars, and i don't see many real rockstars around anymore..yes there are some good guitar-bass-drums bands and they can even produce some new stuff, but that's not rock..
that's just my take on rock anyway
 
How is anything post Nirvana time not Rock? It shows all the symptoms of Rock and is technically at a much higher quality than anything before it. What makes or who is a real Rock star btw?
 
yes it is true that from a strictly technical point of view there are some solid rock bands around, but my personal view of what rock really is, not only related to the music but to the attitude and everything else, i don't see many rockstars around. and with rockstar i mean someone that is able to conjugate a genuine and underground attitude for rebellion with a mainstream and broad audience. that's what elvis, jimi, brian jones, lennon, keith moon, kurt and all of the greats did.
As long as there is some really famous star, rock can live in the underground.
I mean as long as there is Jimi the world-famous rockstar there can be rockers like Betty Davis even they're not so well-known, but if there's not a leader representing the scene, you can live as a rockstar but you'll never really be one. i do not see any such leader now, i do not think i'll ever see another.
of course that's only my point of view about rock, and i can see that's quite a personal and confusing take, but that's what i think.
 
Fair call :D I think it is more of a generational thing. All you have to do is flip through the letters in a Rolling Stone magazine to find letters that compare The Arctic Monkeys to the greats such as Franz Ferdinand. Gives me an image in my head of some pimple faced teenager writing them in. Maybe I am just getting old?
 
U can say the same question, or rather ask the same question in 1979...89...99..and now 09..
and everytime, (except rather then 99 because imo rock has remained somewhat leveled minus few bands that have stood out ) rock has bounced back. I think a new sound will emerge because now with the internet younger guys can actually SEE the shows and HEAR the records of the founders of it all ( no not blues talkin bout say sabbath on )..and this will play a huge influence in how the young up and coming guys take metal to the next decade in the mil.
 
Back
Top