The Guns & Also Roses Thread
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Joeboo
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Back in the 70s and 80s, Arrowhead here in Kc(seats 70,000) hosted bands like the Rolling Stones, U2, Guns N Roses/Metalica, etc.
Nowadays we get this:
Fuck everything about that. The Biebers and Brittneys of the world have taken over in full force. Sure, you always had pop music during any decade, but it never forced rock music so far out of the limelight as it has in recent years. I saw the Black Keys/Flaming Lips at a 15,000 seat venue that was only about 2/3 full a couple years ago here in KC,(same with Foo Fighters and Tool in the last couple years, each concert probably selling 10-12k tickets) and now One Direction(fucking who?) is going to sell out a 70K seat stadium. Jesus christ.
Nowadays we get this:
Fuck everything about that. The Biebers and Brittneys of the world have taken over in full force. Sure, you always had pop music during any decade, but it never forced rock music so far out of the limelight as it has in recent years. I saw the Black Keys/Flaming Lips at a 15,000 seat venue that was only about 2/3 full a couple years ago here in KC,(same with Foo Fighters and Tool in the last couple years, each concert probably selling 10-12k tickets) and now One Direction(fucking who?) is going to sell out a 70K seat stadium. Jesus christ.
Joeboo
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And with that being said, here is a sign that there is maybe still some hope for humanity
Pink Floyd Is Officially the Most Pre-Ordered Album in Amazon History | Music News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
Pink Floyd Is Officially the Most Pre-Ordered Album in Amazon History | Music News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com
Joeboo
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I don't think mainstream rock music has really ever recovered from the late 90s post-grunge movement(but it could be just that digital recordings came to light during that era as well, so that was the end of the old ways). About the only decent arena-level, big rock bands still going today pre-dated the late 90s (Radiohead, Tool, Foo Fighters, etc). Outside of a small group of decent & popular bands like those I mentioned, it's all either more niche stuff that couldn't come close to thinking about filling a stadium or selling a million copies of an album, or total post-grunge crap like Nickleback, Shinedown, Coldplay, and Linkin Park(which have all had #1 rock chart hits in the last couple years).
The days of new, good rock acts that are big enough to sell out arenas are pretty much gone, and at this point I don't think they are coming back, because they've been gone for close to 20 years now. I can't think of a single new band for the past decade or so that has anywhere close to enough of a following to fill an arena.
The main problem is just that music tastes now change so rapidly. Sure there are some new artists that could sell out an arena, if it were timed perfectly within about a 3-week window when their big hit song is popular. Definitely not something that could be sustained for months on end over the course of a world tour.
Back in the day you'd hear a song from a new band, you might like it, but you weren't shelling out $15 for the whole album for one song, you'd probably tape it off the radio in poor quality if you really wanted a copy. After you heard a 2nd or third song you liked you put your money down for the whole album, and listen to it from start to finish, finding other songs you liked. It was a slow process, but a band could build a deep & loyal following over the span of many months or even years. Nobody has the patience for that anymore, in our on-demand society.
The days of new, good rock acts that are big enough to sell out arenas are pretty much gone, and at this point I don't think they are coming back, because they've been gone for close to 20 years now. I can't think of a single new band for the past decade or so that has anywhere close to enough of a following to fill an arena.
The main problem is just that music tastes now change so rapidly. Sure there are some new artists that could sell out an arena, if it were timed perfectly within about a 3-week window when their big hit song is popular. Definitely not something that could be sustained for months on end over the course of a world tour.
Back in the day you'd hear a song from a new band, you might like it, but you weren't shelling out $15 for the whole album for one song, you'd probably tape it off the radio in poor quality if you really wanted a copy. After you heard a 2nd or third song you liked you put your money down for the whole album, and listen to it from start to finish, finding other songs you liked. It was a slow process, but a band could build a deep & loyal following over the span of many months or even years. Nobody has the patience for that anymore, in our on-demand society.
Alex
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Joeboo
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Close, but Muse's first big hit album was 13 years ago (Origin of Symmetry), and their first few EPs were released in the late 90s. I guess if you really stretch my question of "last decadeor so, then it might fit the bill, but that's pushing it. But yeah, they might be the last decent rock band that can pull off shows of that size. I can't think of any bands that have debuted more recently that can(and no I dont count One Direction or the Jonas Brothers as "decent")
Blakkheim
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Blakkheim
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I don't know what point Alex is trying to make. Yes, bands can fill huge venues for one off shows. Yes, bands can fill huge venues in their home regions (Springsteen sold out Giants stadium in 2012 and that was a massive show), but that GNR tour listed above is a 25 date, single country, football stadium tour. No band has done anything approaching that since. This isn't something you can really argue. It's just fact.
I agree with a lot of the perspective about music being cyclical and I'm sure sometime over the next couple decade real rock will have a resurgence, but I just don't know if the way the industry is structured today will ever allow for a GNR again. You can point at bands like Muse and The Black Keys as huge acts today. But the popularity of GNR in the early 90s dwarfs those other groups.
I agree with a lot of the perspective about music being cyclical and I'm sure sometime over the next couple decade real rock will have a resurgence, but I just don't know if the way the industry is structured today will ever allow for a GNR again. You can point at bands like Muse and The Black Keys as huge acts today. But the popularity of GNR in the early 90s dwarfs those other groups.
Alex
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You can't comment on today's music if you don't even know what it is.
I just get tired of people always saying rock's dead or it's all shit these days. That isn't the case at all. Sure, you won't see modern bands go on a 25-date tour selling out stadiums but music is WAY more diverse these days. Bands are producing themselves, marketing themselves, and booking their own tours. Today's model is more DIY than it's ever been. You don't need the backing of a record company anymore to get it done. That also means they don't have the endless supply of money to throw at promotions to get a tour at that level.
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I play in a post-metal band. I certainly understand what great underground music is out there. Our first album has some 40k downloads from bandcamp and that's absolutely amazing to me for a completely DIY band that can't ever tour more than 4 or 5 days in a row. That scenario wouldn't have been possible in the 90s.
But the general public isn't like that. The public listens to the radio and the Twighlight soundtrack and watches Glee then buys single songs off iTunes.
But the general public isn't like that. The public listens to the radio and the Twighlight soundtrack and watches Glee then buys single songs off iTunes.