Thread: Is rock music in decline?

This article is one of the many on the web, claiming rock is in decline.

I don't know what to make of it. I'm pretty old fashioned when it comes to rock and haven't been listening any of the new songs.

Is that what's going on?

Sure. Started in the late '70s.

Originally Posted by Hilltroll72

Sure. Started in the late '70s.

I must be really old-fashioned then.

commercially, maybe. I dunno what's the band that get the hypes like Guns N' Roses nowdays.

but community-wise, rock and metal music is growing as ever. The factor is modern technology in home/laptop recording, information sharing tools like youtube,myspace etc. also it is much easier to learn new tricks in guitar (and other instrument) now compared to decade past, with plenty of lesson resources available online. all this factors culminate in arise of band that play rock and metal music.

I follow the European metal music scene and literally everyday there is a worth album release with enough fun quality to enjoy (at least once listening) via youtube / myspace.

Originally Posted by Hilltroll72

Sure. Started in the late '70s.

Bang on. It pretty much coincided with the transition from hard rock to heavy metal in the youth culture popularity contests, aided by the extremely short supernova of punk, plus the increased affordability of synths.

Since rock started declining, we've also had the rise of both dance and hip hop, both of which are currently at the point in decline where rock was in the 80's. That doesn't mean good rock music isn't being made nowadays because there is, just that most of it is either irrelevant or heavily commercialised.

Classical and jazz have been commercially dead for years, and I think some absolutely great stuff is being produced in those genres (in the loosest possible definition) nowadays.

Here's what the cool kids listen to:







I've no problem with that at all. However, I'm not into all the Animal Collective (or is it Fleet Foxes, I get confused between the two) type of bands.

I think I'll pass on the animal action also {unless it's Eric Burdon and The Animals, of course} and stick to "classic" groups like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, ELP , Jethro Tull and Yes etc. etc....

I think that music which is popular is in decline, while very good quality rock music is still being produced, but it doesn't get the popularity. We could argue that it is the public taste that is actually in decline.

And yes, I agree, even the good music is too often irrelevant today.

Originally Posted by Whistlerguy

I think that music which is popular is in decline, while very good quality rock music is still being produced, but it doesn't get the popularity. We could argue that it is the public taste that is actually in decline.

And yes, I agree, even the good music is too often irrelevant today.

Could you just define what you mean by "irrelevant" in this context?

For example some indie band or art rock band makes a great album but it still lacks the passion of the early rock'n'roll and doesn't have the ambition to change the world. At the same time the album is popular only to some small group of people, and even to them it is not as important as some albums were to rock fans in 60s, 70s and even 80s and 90s.

Even the great albums and songs today seem to be not as BIG as before.

The big stuff has almost disappeared since around 1995 or few years later.

[QUOTE=Whistlerguy;162458

Even the great albums and songs today seem to be not as BIG as before.

The big stuff has almost disappeared since around 1995 or few years later.[/QUOTE]

Maybe a way to look at it is that you are bigger, so those albums and songs seem smaller?

One needs only browse the comments of YouTube classic rock videos to see (allegedly) young people lament that they weren't born 40 years ago to have seen it all in the flesh. We never said that about The Andrews Sisters, did we? Well, I didn't anyway.

But I don't think there is any less great rock. I just think there's a lot more of everything. So it's harder to wade through the chaff. I also think that rock or any other style for that matter is not being promoted by the music industry. They are merely promoting midriffs.

There was a great little article on BBC web site right on the money a while ago that is still very much relevant, I suppose. I wanted to link to it back then, but couldn’t decide where I should do so, because I thought that it could make quite an interesting read for classical music lovers as well, as it touched on future music trends in general, I felt. But the laziness got the best of me as it does most of the time.

Anyhow, here it is:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11664781

Originally Posted by Weston

But I don't think there is any less great rock. I just think there's a lot more of everything. So it's harder to wade through the chaff.

Very interesting opinion. This answers a lot of questions.

Rock music? Isn't that sh!t stuff like this?

Originally Posted by Weston

One needs only browse the comments of YouTube classic rock videos to see (allegedly) young people lament that they weren't born 40 years ago to have seen it all in the flesh. We never said that about The Andrews Sisters, did we? Well, I didn't anyway.

Those people who say things like that wind me up. They are either too lazy to look for the good new music or are ignorant enough to believe there is no music beyond the charts and mainstream.

Plus I'm sure there were guys growing up in the 70's wishing they could have been around to hear Charlie Parker, Woody Guthrie, John Coltrane, Robert Johnson, Django Reinhardt etc in person.

As far as popularity, then rock still holds it's own against other genres.

When I mentioned irrelevancy earlier, I was talking about these new rock bands being unable to capture the Zeitgeist as much as newer genres. Nirvana and Oasis did it in the 90's, but I'm not sure what rock band did that for the 2000's. Maybe, Radiohead?

After all, rock is the music of my generations parents, it shouldn't be as relevant to the youth.