Do I feel old? Am I a species on the verge of extinction?

Bob-Dubery

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8254476/Rocks-in-a-hard-place.html

In 2010, there were only three songs even loosely identifiable as rock in the whole of the UK’s top 100 bestselling tracks. To add insult to injury, the highest placed of these (at number 25) was a 30-year-old re-release from American AOR band Journey, Don’t Stop Believin’, which has taken on the status of a camp karaoke showtune following its adoption by The X Factor and US teen TV drama Glee.

Rock’s pathetic three per cent of the charts was down from an already rather sickly 13 per cent in 2009, and 27 per cent in 2008. Turn that into a hospital graph and the prognosis would be terminal.

Rock fared a little better in the album charts, accounting for 27 per cent of the UK’s top 100. But, before you get too excited and start jiving around the room to Danny & the Juniors’ Rock and Roll is Here to Stay, the figures bear closer examination.

Album sales are themselves falling dramatically, declining seven per cent (that’s physical and digital), while single sales actually increased by 5.9 per cent. Young consumers, in particular, interact with music culture through single downloads (or at least that part of the younger generation willing to pay for music at all). The crucible in which tastes are being formed is club-based, hip-hop inflected urban electronic music and the karaoke MOR culture of TV talent shows (witnessed in Glee club hits and the retro-styled success of artists such as Michael Buble and X Factor contestants).

Eina!

OK... most of what I'm interested in isn't going to fill the 02 arena and doesn't seem to have any interest in doing so.

But I do wonder... is the hair at the gigs that I do go to getting greyer and thinner? Are the people in the front rows going to be leaning on zimmer frames in a few years? Is the music that I like dying out? Am I a dinosaur?

I don't think it's wrong or unjust or anything. Le musique est mort, vive le musique! and all that. Things come, have their day, and go. The universe works that way.

Maybe I see my own increasingly looming mortality mirrored in the rise of the things other than the things that I like, different things.

Maybe it's different on the indy charts. There's a cheery thought.

Maybe rock is right-sizing.

Keira-WitherKay

well bob i think you nailed it by saying each style comes has it's days then goes....... thats the way of the world

and yeah i'd be pretty surprised if the 20 somethings were packing out the gigs we ( the more mature ? ) were frequenting damn i never liked the music music my parents listened to .......... so i say we grow old gracefully and let the 20 somethings keep lady ga ga while we line for tickets for martin taylor or tommy emmanuel

and as dylan said ......'the times they are a changing" and as i grow older .......be damned if i have the energy to keep up with all the changes ....

finally do not forget the risks involved when one gets older...if at a more "mature concert" the audience gets excited and rush's the stage ........ the chance of being crushed by wheel chairs is a real threat ?

singemonkey

I saw that too. I think it's industry forces there. The ipod, the single, all that stuff. I don't think kids are being exposed as much to rock music and the like due to the demand for hit singles.

But I do think that as long as there are suburban teenagers, there will be rock music. It won't last forever, but I think it's a long way from being dead. There have always been periods in which saccharin pop music has dominated. This is another one.

raithza

this is great news - it means rock music is finally cool again!

Squonk

We just need to educate the kids

My daughter(12) and son(9) are expressing interest in music but it's Hannah Montanna, Usher, Rihanna, Eminem etc, everything thats going at the moment.

I bought Muse - HAARP about a month ago, my son asked me what is this stuff, I explained a bit about Muse, got him listening to some albums and he is Muse fan now.
I also taught him "White Stripes" Seven Nation Army on guitar , and it's his favourite song at the moment.

There is still hope for rock and roll!

Bob-Dubery

It could be worse.

I could be a Barclay James Harvest fan.

MIKA-the-better-one

Squonk wrote We just need to educate the kids

My
I bought Muse - HAARP about a month ago, my son asked me what is this stuff, I explained a bit about Muse, got him listening to some albums and he is Muse fan now.
I also taught him "White Stripes" Seven Nation Army on guitar , and it's his favourite song at the moment.

There is still hope for rock and roll!

Is it so important to preserve Rock n Roll?
I would go so far as to say Muse, are in the sane boat as Hannah Montana..... whats the differance between the two? Muse still push out the same format of song to Hannah montana, they are both on the big labels.......

raithza wrote this is great news - it means rock music is finally cool again!

Why do you want it to be cool??? Rock is much better when its uncool

Squonk

MIKA the better one wrote Is it so important to preserve Rock n Roll?
I would go so far as to say Muse, are in the sane boat as Hannah Montana..... whats the differance between the two? Muse still push out the same format of song to Hannah montana, they are both on the big labels.......

I have noticed the similarities! Maybe Matt Bellamy should do a duet with Mylie, have huge airplay on the Disney Channel

Jack-Flash-Jr

In the 90s UK charts were dominated by "techno" and yet it is arguably one of rock's best decades (aren't they all?)... charts mean less and less as access to new and lesser known bands gets easier and easier.
Also, there are enough redneck brothers in the US to keep rock rockin' (and I mean that in the best possible way).
Even at Bob's advanced age there's still enough time to ~~watch~~ listen to the wheel turn quite a few more times...

Seventhson

Music is dead in the industry. The music industry is a heartless soul no and days. Gone are the days that actually musos owned their own record company. They are all run by business men.

Just like the gaming industry.(which is taking over the movie industry)

Riaan-Combrink

Great post, Bob.

One should, of course, note that this refers specifically to the charts. 'Charts' are somewhat nebolous, as some are based on sales, others on airplay, others on what DJs or magazine like, etc. So it may not be fully representative of a total decline in INTEREST in rock. May be the rock kids share more files illegally than the pop kids?? ?

I think rock will always have an audience. It would also have been interesting to see a comparative figure for, say, a decade ago. I suspect rock tracks have always made up a considerably smaller component of any mainstream chart.

Hammeron

Your definition of Rock 'n Roll is becoming very thin.
My definition of rock requires it to be GUITAR driven.
And the ultimate Guitar driven rock genre' is Heavy Metal.
And Heavy Metal is steadily becoming stronger and stronger...Amen. >☹

Bob-Dubery

Riaan C wrote Great post, Bob.

One should, of course, note that this refers specifically to the charts. 'Charts' are somewhat nebolous, as some are based on sales, others on airplay, others on what DJs or magazine like, etc. So it may not be fully representative of a total decline in INTEREST in rock. May be the rock kids share more files illegally than the pop kids?? ?

Ja. And I have no interest in stadium rock anyway. I think there is a vital smaller scene. Forget about the old 60s remnants that I enjoy and that are not getting any younger. Look at somebody like Wilco for example. They are vital, creative, working - they just aren't going to fill soccer stadiums. Which is fine by me.

But I do sort of feel like this is a cusp time and in many ways.

It also depends, of course, on the definition of "rock". I don't think I'm interested particularly and certainly not exclusively in Rock with a capital R, with lots of hair, with big drum kits and light effects.

Sean

So almost at the end of the article this caught my attention:

"At some fundamental level, the rock narrative is exhausted. Its musical palette has nothing new to offer, and, arguably, that has been the case for a decade or more. What is perhaps most remarkable is that rock has lasted so long, propelled by the visceral thrill of the electric guitar, the primal energy stirred up by three chords and the truth, and a parade of fantastic characters driven to wring every nuance from a multifarious genre."

??? ??? ??? ???

Er, I don't know what to make of this...maybe it's just been an incredibly long and tiring day for me, my thought process is somewhat retarded at the moment, but that seems to be an incredibly silly thing to write.

I'm really curious, what do you folk think about that?

singemonkey

The death of rock has been announced many times. Starting in the middle '50s when it first appeared.

Suburban teenagers and - including us aging and embarrassing suburban teenagers - often feel like our lives are out of control. But when that rock 'n roll music hits you, you feel like it doesn't matter if stuff is out of control. The music is based around one single concept: "Ah, f*&# it!" That's why in Eddie Cochrane's C'mon Everybody, he sings that if they get caught partying, his parents will drop the lid on all his fun. And then pauses and says, "Ah... who cares."

For me it was The Stones, The Sex Pistols, Sabbath. I still feel forget all the worries and go, "Ah, who cares." when I hear that stuff. Moments like that I really do believe in Rock 'n Roll. Because it transcends all fear. Those guitars just burn it off like a blowtorch. That's why it'll keep coming back. Every generation has kids who're looking for that.

As for metal, for certain kids it just clicks like a key in a lock. It's not going anywhere.

Gearhead

Ah well they still play Mozart as well. Not even as dead as you might assume.

I think it was put very nicely in one of the interviews in the second Crossroads DVD: good music needs a host, which is why we only learn about Hendrix at age thirteen when someone says: you oughta listen to this record, or this one.

Rock will be like Blues: millions of people will watch it / listen to it without the hype of the pop stuff of the day.

Hammeron

It's not going anywhere.

Nah, come on, it is the face of modern rock.
And, IMO it's going everywhere!

PeteM

Hammeron wrote
It's not going anywhere.
Nah, come on, it is the face of modern rock.
And, IMO it's going everywhere!

I agree. In my limited knowledge of the genre though, currently the guitarists are incredibly well skilled and schooled yet a tad nerdy, while the singers/screamers are all wannabe badasses. To me they don't quite cut it.

Oops, now for the metal backlash. ?

[deleted]

I think he meant, "It's here to stay."

Keira-WitherKay

just a point of interest is that the more recent rock/metal genre especially the more technical ones..... when one watch's video's the audience is predominantly male.....?????????? prob all guitar enthuisiasts . but if music does not appeal to both genders it will maybe not die out but will be a relegated to the league of the underground scene...... cos back in the days of the old original rockers........ women seemed to really support rock well ( again all wanting to "meet" the band)

so just a thought on that cos i have noticed it more and more in newer rock "live' video.......or am i the only one noticing this??