Is rock/pop music dying?

DIFFBROOK · Mar 4, 2014

Following on from other thread about Famous bands etc.

Is rock/pop music dying?

Who are todays equivalents of “rock legends” Beatles, Stones, Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, David Bowie all from the 60’s/70’s. Are there equivalents from the 80’s/90’/2000’s. Or was music in that era more than just a tune i.e was it a fashion statement, an identity, something to listen to with your mates, something to get angry about ( rock against racism, political lyrics).

Is music now simply a downloadable format, quick and easy to listen to , yet equally forgettable. Is it as important to youngsters as it once was?

ofco8 · Mar 4, 2014

DIFFBROOK said:
Following on from other thread about Famous bands etc.

Is rock/pop music dying?

Who are todays equivalents of “rock legends” Beatles, Stones, Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, David Bowie all from the 60’s/70’s. Are there equivalents from the 80’s/90’/2000’s. Or was music in that era more than just a tune i.e was it a fashion statement, an identity, something to listen to with your mates, something to get angry about ( rock against racism, political lyrics).

Is music now simply a downloadable format, quick and easy to listen to , yet equally forgettable. Is it as important to youngsters as it once was?

I think what you are inferring is correct. I often say to my wife will anybody know any of these current artists in 20 years time. Probably not, can't think of any.

Pavilionaire · Mar 4, 2014

Interesting. I think there is a "second wave of rock legend" too, i.e. Sting, Bono, Paul Weller, Morrissey and I fancy the likes of Robbie Williams and Adele will have that status in time.

Things are changing - back in the 80s there's no way a band from the late 60s / early 70s could have come back and taken pop music by storm the way Take That have. Similarly, there are so many more comebacks nowadays.

Overall ,I wouldn't say rock/pop is dying, it's just going the way of TV, i.e. there are now more channels, more programmes, more media, more choice of viewing so less concentration on individual programmes and personalities.

keaton · Mar 4, 2014

I would say the Arctic Monkeys balance being massively popular with critical acclaim and I can see their stuff lasting.

Radiohead and Arcade Fire maybe as well

spring hall convert · Mar 4, 2014

No it isn't. If I ever find myself asking this question, I'll know I've finally got old. There was a hell of a lot of sh*t in the 60's and 70's, there's a hell of a lot of sh*t now.

Some of the most important bands of the 70's couldn't even get arrested in their own time - Kraftwerk, Can, Stooges, Velvet Underground etc... One thing it appears this generation appears to have got rid of is the whiff of sh*t around mainly white, mainly middle class, mainly guitar led "rock stars." Rock/pop music isn't dead it's just that we've had enough of third rate copies of the great artists you mention above.

Dig a little bit beneath the mainstream and the wealth of choice out there is almost overwhelming.

joeinbrighton · Mar 4, 2014

No. But the relevance of the charts is.

Mellotron · Mar 4, 2014

Not dying, just changing. The way people used to know it is dying perhaps, but there is a more insatiable thirst for live music than ever before. Look at the MASSIVE number of festivals worldwide nowadays.

Green Cross Code Man · Mar 4, 2014

Pavilionaire said:
Things are changing - back in the 80s there's no way a band from the late 60s / early 70s could have come back and taken pop music by storm the way Take That have. Similarly, there are so many more comebacks nowadays.

Queen did just that in the mid eighties. For a few years following on from live aid, they were just about the biggest band around. That was after a few poor albums. However, unlike take that, they never went away so didn't need a comeback.

DIFFBROOK · Mar 4, 2014

I was playing devils advocate here. Merely making a suggestion.

My own point of view, is similar to that of Mellotron. And as you have said, if you find yourself saying " todays music is cr@p" then yes, you are old. I do try and buy something new, as well as old.

What I will say is that, I dont think bands make as political statement as they did. Surely, there are injustices in our society that gets the songwriter of today angry enough to write about. I'm thinking of a modern day Weller, or Strummer.

spring hall convert said:
No it isn't. If I ever find myself asking this question, I'll know I've finally got old. There was a hell of a lot of sh*t in the 60's and 70's, there's a hell of a lot of sh*t now.

Some of the most important bands of the 70's couldn't even get arrested in their own time - Kraftwerk, Can, Stooges, Velvet Underground etc... One thing it appears this generation appears to have got rid of is the whiff of sh*t around mainly white, mainly middle class, mainly guitar led "rock stars." Rock/pop music isn't dead it's just that we've had enough of third rate copies of the great artists you mention above.

Dig a little bit beneath the mainstream and the wealth of choice out there is almost overwhelming.

Vegas Seagull · Mar 4, 2014

Long ago, It died on 11 December 1982, in Brighton

Trufflehound · Mar 4, 2014

I thought music officially died on February 3, 1959.

I don't buy it myself. Plenty of life in the old dog yet.

joeinbrighton · Mar 4, 2014

DIFFBROOK said:
What I will say is that, I dont think bands make as political statement as they did. Surely, there are injustices in our society that gets the songwriter of today angry enough to write about. I'm thinking of a modern day Weller, or Strummer.

Not in this country maybe. But Green Day's 'American Idiot' album and particularly the title track was deeply scathing of George W. Bush's regime and the damage that it did to his country's reputation in the world.

Herr Tubthumper · Mar 4, 2014

Not at all. I think music is in totally rude health. I really do think it is an excellent period for music at the moment and this is a view commonly shared. I have been gigging and buying music for too long but the past 18 months has almost bankrupted me.

Plenty of icons, and plenty of underground and heaps in between. It's all there.

BBassic · Mar 4, 2014

This will no doubt make me sound like an elitist tosspot: there is plenty of great pop/rock music out there if you veer away from the mainstream. That's not to say all mainstream music is awful. Just a lot of it.

tinycowboy · Mar 4, 2014

Trufflehound said:
I thought music officially died on February 3, 1959.

I don't buy it myself. Plenty of life in the old dog yet.

That rock’n’roll, eh? That rock’n’roll, it just won’t go away. It might hibernate from time to time and sink back into the swamp. I think the cyclical nature of the universe in which it exists demands it adheres to some of its rules. But it’s always waiting there, just around the corner, ready to make its way back through the sludge, and smash through the glass ceiling, looking better than ever.

daveinprague · Mar 4, 2014

Had a similar reggae discussion recently
Where is the new Bob? Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Culture, Garnet Silk, Alton Ellis, Phyllis Dillon.
Its a bit bleak out there right now. Most of the mixes you see on the net these days are 'vintage' etc.

DIFFBROOK · Mar 4, 2014

Funny that, I was listening to that Album last night.

joeinbrighton said:
Not in this country maybe. But Green Day's 'American Idiot' album and particularly the title track was deeply scathing of George W. Bush's regime and the damage that it did to his country's reputation in the world.

Herr Tubthumper · Mar 4, 2014

tinycowboy said:
That rock’n’roll, eh? That rock’n’roll, it just won’t go away. It might hibernate from time to time and sink back into the swamp. I think the cyclical nature of the universe in which it exists demands it adheres to some of its rules. But it’s always waiting there, just around the corner, ready to make its way back through the sludge, and smash through the glass ceiling, looking better than ever.

Great words but a slightly awkward delivery I thought. His post-award interview was even more awkward. I have a reputation for pompous rambling and losing the plot but Alex trumped me with his Q interview.

Herr Tubthumper · Mar 4, 2014

DIFFBROOK said:
.

What I will say is that, I dont think bands make as political statement as they did. Surely, there are injustices in our society that gets the songwriter of today angry enough to write about. I'm thinking of a modern day Weller, or Strummer.

I heard a good explanation for this. Billy Bragg suggested that music often reflects, and is written about, what is going on in society. He wrote about the miners strike, it inspired him. As there is less activism these days this is reflected in less songs about politics. A fair point I think.

tinycowboy · Mar 4, 2014

Herr Tubthumper said:
Great words but a slightly awkward delivery I thought. His post-award interview was even more awkward. I have a reputation for pompous rambling and losing the plot but Alex trumped me with his Q interview.

I liked the delivery - enjoyed the awkwardness and the straight face (unlike band mates). Couldn't believe that some people thought he was being serious - the drier the humour, the better for me, but you always run that risk of people not knowing whether you're joking or not.

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Is rock/pop music dying?

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