Is Rock dying or already dead?

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chaos

Buzzfeed Editor
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Yeah you're just an old dude with get off my lawn syndrome. I'm sure I'll develop it eventually too. But there are plenty of analog artists out there. Jack White being the easiest example. But his new album is garbage.
I never got to see the White Stripes live, never caught him when he toured before solo. Finally got tickets, was so excited, then the album dropped and I was like "uhhhh.... shit". I'm still going to go, but my excitement level dropped, a whole lot.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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I never got to see the White Stripes live, never caught him when he toured before solo. Finally got tickets, was so excited, then the album dropped and I was like "uhhhh.... shit". I'm still going to go, but my excitement level dropped, a whole lot.

I caught him at NOLA Jazz Fest last weekend and half the set is still White Stripes material.
 

Muurloen

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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This is what rock is losing to.

 
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Lanx

Oye Ve
<Prior Amod>
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disclaimer, i haven't watched yet, i'm saving this episode for the weekend when i tile my porch
 

Grim1

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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Blues, Rock, Heavy Metal.... it will never die.

Goes underground for long periods, but the fans are so intense that they refuse to give in to the corporate BS of the moment. I say that half in jest since I love business and corporations, a true capitalist pig am I. But corporation rock - POP - is for the most part shit, and a surprising amount of kids in every generation know it.
 
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Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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I have a 25 year old coworker who doesn't know who Dave Grohl is. Never heard of the Foo Fighters. I'm pretty surprised about that.
 
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Feanor

Karazhan Raider
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Agree with everything Alex said, you're mixing up ideas. Pop music is about a brand. You don't go to McDonald's for a great burger.

For instance the only thing I appreciate about punk rock is that anyone can make music, which relates to folklore in a way. Don't think dance music is any less musical, just another approach. There is an expected difference between commercially written music and earnest music. Pop country music is generic rock with electronic sounds and twangy vocals. Nothing genuine about it. Good music no matter the name is usually visceral and at times otherworldly. Composers, performers, musicians, all the same shit.

Also agree with mkopec when it comes to rock music, jazz or any recording that is supposed to approximate a group setting whether recorded live or separately. Every sound should be as is with minimal overdubs and effects. No drum samples and adhering to capturing the room. Nothing else.
 
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orionTZ1998

Golden Squire
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Rock music has been dying since scene music lost popularity. That was was rock's last mainline into the consciousness of pop culture. Whether we like it or not, rock music needs to capture the attention of the youth of today to stay relevant and to give them a starting point to discover the rest of the genre. The loss of the warped tour is a sign of the times. All of the traveling rock festival shows have long disappeared. There's just no money in it anymore. There's been a recent trend of long tenured rock musicians just up and quitting music (Peter Iwers off the top of my head) because the economics of the lifestyle don't make sense for them any more.
 

yaph

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I know I can safely pass on any album a rock band describes as “the most experimental thing we’ve ever done” because chances are all guitars if any got buried in the mix and are drowned out by a drum machine and synth bass drop. And the chorus usually contains some backing whoooaaaaa and/or yeeeeaaaah. Those things just reek of a producer inserting the hot sound of the month.
 
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Scoresby

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Saw these guys live a few years ago and felt like I went back in time a decade before I was born. Growing up in Alabama it really resonated with me to hear some new southern rock. I do feel (as I believe Alex was saying) that there are new bands that are really good, just take some work to find.

That said, I think the guitar solo in rock may be dying. Almost never hear one anymore!
 
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Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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The loss of the warped tour is a sign of the times. All of the traveling rock festival shows have long disappeared. There's just no money in it anymore.

Traveling festivals have been replaced by annual festivals. There has been a massive explosion in the music festival business since Coachella and Bonnaroo. Practically every podunk town has one. Even fucking Cincinnati throws one every year now and it attracts some seriously big names. There are bands who pretty much play only the festival circuit and don't tour on their own. Cage the Elephant being the biggest example. I swear that band makes bank May-August and just snorts coke and fucks strippers until the next summer.

I listen to a lot of prog, jazz, and jam band music so I have no shortage of guitar solos in the music I listen to. It's actually mostly guitar solos.
 

Sabbat

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we are talking about two separate things, music has always been about the dexterity and physical skill of the performer. Without those there is no music, only notes on a piece of paper.

The relationship between a is similar to an architect and a construction worker, one is able to put into paper what to do, but is completely unable to grab hammer and start actually building. A composer/ architect lives on the idea realm. A construction worker /musician lives on the physical world.
Also the physical challenge of actually playing the music is part of the music itself, and the appreciation of it.

It is very similar to drawing. It is one thing to draw on a computer, and very very different thing to draw on a physical medium. But whatever.. time to mow my lawn.

Only just stumbled upon this thread.... so forgive me if this gets covered later or you're all over by now.

Holy shit, Lendarios, I'm shaking my head in disbelief.

I want to say that music is not just about the performance, but that's not quite right. The technical skill to strum a tune, or the dexterity to hit the right note at the right time every time is not what makes a great sound. Ah, there it is... I think. Sound. You can play a string of notes with perfect harmonics and timing, and you can play those same notes with sloppy shifts from one to the next, or drastically alter the timing from note to note to generate an entirely different sound.

That sound becomes music when it's delivered to you by the artist.

Even I can strum a guitar, put chords together and create a sound that I don't think sounds like a herd of screaming trees. I can read Tab (lol) and eventually I can piece bits together to make the riff sound like it should. Sometimes I find that loosening up and deliberately slurring my notes I can turn a simple 3 chord shift into something that sounds like a tune. I swear that other good musicians and guitar players on this forum would agree and understand how good it can feel to just play a 3 chord shift, varying figuring and timing and getting crazy with it. You don't need to be perfect, you just need to do something. This, I believe is the essence of Blues.

... and holy shit sir, that line about drawing on a computer vs. real life? Get the fuck out of here. I've been a designer and artist for over 20 years, and a computer is only a tool, just like a pencil. It's neither harder, nor easier to create good looking stuff with either. It's hard to create period. The only real advantage a computer has (and it can be a massive advantage at times) is an Undo feature... and that feature is why some digital illustrations just hit that uncanny valley effect because the creation has no imperfections... no soul.
 
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Sabbat

Trakanon Raider
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It's pretty clear Lendarios thinks people just log onto a computer, hit a couple buttons, and spit out hits. I'm surprised he isn't a platinum recording artist.

I've tried, and failed miserably. It actually takes some talent. I'd almost be willing to bet that Lendarios has never played a musical instrument, drawn a picture or tried to do either of those things digitally in his adult life.