What happened to Rock in America?

[alaskanseminole]

My favorite band, Alter Bridge, sells out arenas in Europe, but here in America they play in local venues 1/4th the size.

Growing up as a child of the 80s, I vividly remember listening to everything mainstream pushed out which was a combination of so many genres--Duran Duran, MJ, John Mellencamp, Def Leppard, Journey, Toto, Poison, Huey Lewis, Beastie Boys, NWA, etc. Man the music was GREAT!

Even the 90s & 00s seemed to be a great mix. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alanis Morrisette, Blink 182, U2, Eminem, Linkin Park, Pink, Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, Evanescence, etc.

Am I just old and disconnected, but it seams the popular stuff is crap I won't listen to like Ariana Grande, CardiB, Miley Cyrus, Machine Gun Kelly, etc. I'm 49, have I finally become my parents--listening to the "classics" like Match Box Twenty, Bush & Breaking Benjamin? LOL

Rock music remains the most popular music in America, despite the fact that young people are less likely to listen to it. Adults under the age of 30 prefer it to hip hop and pop music, but it is the most popular music among all Americans.

https://www.boysetsfire.net/the-current-state-of-rock-music/#:~:text=Rock%20music%20remains%20the%20most,popular%20music%20among%20all%20Americans.

 

[SSG T]

To quote the bridge from Big Audio Dynamite's song Rush..."The only important thing these days is rhythm and melody"

That was in 1991...

 

[alaskanseminole]

To quote the bridge from Big Audio Dynamite's song Rush..."The only important thing these days is rhythm and melody"

That was in 1991...

I didn't even mention the fact I also love bands/artists like, CCR, Steve Miller Band, Bad Company, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, Steely Dan and others.

 

[SSG T]

The assimilation of styles, technology and just changes in taste are largely driving it. Hip hop/rap was growing in popularity in the 80s/90s. Pop started incorporating parts of it by the late 90's (samples, for instance). Anyone under 25 didn't start listening to (then) current popular music until the mid 2000s at the earliest.

What we think of as rock is as distant to them as Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Little Richard were to us. I liked those guys, but they didn't have the effect on my the way rock/punk/alt did in the 70s and 80s, when I was 10-15 years old.

There are outliers like my youngest daughter, who listens to Bowie, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Rush along with some of the punk bands I listen to. But she's always been a bit Out Of Step (see if anyone catches that reference) with the world.

 

[mnole03]

Rock and hip hop go together like no other music. Youths are missing out.

Listen to old Girl Talk. Rap over the intro to Morning by Arcade Fire is incredible. UGK over John Lennon or November Rain.

If rock groups were as laid back about sample pricing as disco and soul musicians, they’d be in half the hip hop songs.

 

[ICHawk-I]

"Bands" are created in test tubes these days. Gone are the days of bands coming up in fame by writing and playing their own songs and then promoting it by putting on a hell of a stage show.

Now songs are written by writers, background music made with studio bands which is then put together by sound engineers with vocals done by a pretty face that can sing.

 

[SSG T]

"Bands" are created in test tubes these days. Gone are the days of bands coming up in fame by writing and playing their own songs and then promoting it by putting on a hell of a stage show.

Now songs are written by writers, background music made with studio bands which is then put together by sound engineers with vocals done by a pretty face that can sing.

That's exactly how rock and roll music started in the 1950s. Buddy Holly was the outlier, he wrote and played his own stuff. Most music on the radio those days was driven by the writers and producers, not the artist.

 

[alaskanseminole]

BTW, what triggered the thread was when I said, "Alexa, play Match Box Twenty and similar artists". It took me back to my decade in Alaska which was one of the best times in my life (93-00).

 

[Mayland]

That's exactly how rock and roll music started in the 1950s. Buddy Holly was the outlier, he wrote and played his own stuff. Most music on the radio those days was driven by the writers and producers, not the artist.

This is a great point. As you stated, Buddy Holly was the first, then of course the Beatles and Stones came along and by the late 60’s most bands were writing their own music, playing their own instruments in the studio, and in many cases producing the album. Maybe we’re just seeing the opposite cycle right now?

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

There are so many Rock songs it is hard to come up with anything that doesn’t sound like it has already been done?

 

[SSG T]

The assimilation of styles, technology and just changes in taste are largely driving it. Hip hop/rap was growing in popularity in the 80s/90s. Pop started incorporating parts of it by the late 90's (samples, for instance). Anyone under 25 didn't start listening to (then) current popular music until the mid 2000s at the earliest.

Examples of what I'm referring. My oldest daughter was born in 1992. Her introduction to pop/rock was Britney Spears, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Cristina Agilera and the like. My older son, born in 1996, grew up listening to nu metal. My twins...my daughter I mentioned, her brother listens to some nu metal, but mostly current pop/rock.

Just the age span of my kids introduced them to completely different sounding music.

 

[mnole03]

There are so many Rock songs it is hard to come up with anything that doesn’t sound like it has already been done?

Eh, I listened to Ed Sheeran’s Stern interview yesterday, and there are so many great songs with the same chord progression. There’s still plenty of room for great new music.

 

[Colonoscopy]

Match Box Twenty, Bush & Breaking Benjamin = suck

 

[RollingBallofButcherKnives]

Eh, I listened to Ed Sheeran’s Stern interview yesterday, and there are so many great songs with the same chord progression. There’s still plenty of room for great new music.

View embedded media

I hope your right. I can’t listen to anything contemporary at the moment and the old songs I really like are getting worn out. It’s why I started listening to more podcasts…

 

[SSG T]

Eh, I listened to Ed Sheeran’s Stern interview yesterday, and there are so many great songs with the same chord progression. There’s still plenty of room for great new music.

View embedded media

 

[General Tso]

New music - GFY

 

[alaskanseminole]

Match Box Twenty, Bush & Breaking Benjamin = suck

I'm sorry you're upset.

 

[soybean]

You guys would have loved the 1960's. Most of us got the majority of our music on AM radio. To say the play list then were eclectic would a huge understatement. Imagine driving around in the evening on a school night with 3 or 4 of your friends and hearing everything from Elvis, Aretha, Neil Diamond, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Sonnny & Cher, CCR, Burt Bacharat, Bobbie Gentry, Pat Boone, comedy ablums, novelty acts, movie themes, Johnny Cash, Cream, Tom Jones, Rightous Brothers, etc, all in a 2 hour drive tooling around town.

I consider myself a rock n roll guy, but I listened to it all.

 

[mnole03]

Bush = suck

The much maligned Australian second wave of alternative holds up incredibly well.

Sure, it was derivative, but it also produced a lot of good music. It’s almost 10% of the Lithium 100.

 

[Colonoscopy]

The much maligned Australian second wave of alternative holds up incredibly well.

Sure, it was derivative, but it also produced a lot of good music. It’s almost 10% of the Lithium 100.

Never heard a Bush song that I thought was better than meh

Why bother when you Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkind, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chairs, Soundgarden etc...

 

[ironside1]

Match Box Twenty, Bush & Breaking Benjamin = suck

Bush doesn’t belong in your statement above.

 

[Colonoscopy]

Bush doesn’t belong in your statement above.

I suppose I'd like them better than Matchbox, but point stands... no thanks

 

[ANYCHawk]

Alter Bridge?

 

[NewVicHawkeye]

This is a great point. As you stated, Buddy Holly was the first, then of course the Beatles and Stones came along and by the late 60’s most bands were writing their own music, playing their own instruments in the studio, and in many cases producing the album. Maybe we’re just seeing the opposite cycle right now?

Chuck Berry was earlier and Buddy recorded a lot of songs he didn’t write. The guys from that era wanted to record good songs regardless of who wrote them. For my taste right now is a renaissance of music genres I love from rockabilly to hot jazz.

 

[mnole03]

Never heard a Bush song that I thought was better than meh

Why bother when you Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkind, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chairs, Soundgarden etc...

I know it’s an autocorrect, but I’d buy the t-shirt for Alice in Chairs.

I agree all of the bands listed are better than Bush. That doesn’t mean Bush sucks. Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase were good albums.

 

[hydro2.0]

My favorite band, Alter Bridge, sells out arenas in Europe, but here in America they play in local venues 1/4th the size.

Growing up as a child of the 80s, I vividly remember listening to everything mainstream pushed out which was a combination of so many genres--Duran Duran, MJ, John Mellencamp, Def Leppard, Journey, Toto, Poison, Huey Lewis, Beastie Boys, NWA, etc. Man the music was GREAT!

Even the 90s & 00s seemed to be a great mix. Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alanis Morrisette, Blink 182, U2, Eminem, Linkin Park, Pink, Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, Evanescence, etc.

Am I just old and disconnected, but it seams the popular stuff is crap I won't listen to like Ariana Grande, CardiB, Miley Cyrus, Machine Gun Kelly, etc. I'm 49, have I finally become my parents--listening to the "classics" like Match Box Twenty, Bush & Breaking Benjamin? LOL

Rock music remains the most popular music in America, despite the fact that young people are less likely to listen to it. Adults under the age of 30 prefer it to hip hop and pop music, but it is the most popular music among all Americans.

https://www.boysetsfire.net/the-current-state-of-rock-music/#:~:text=Rock%20music%20remains%20the%20most,popular%20music%20among%20all%20Americans.

You just have to search for it a little harder than normal

 

[TJ8869]

There are so many Rock songs it is hard to come up with anything that doesn’t sound like it has already been done?

Most of the current pop music sounds the same to me but that doesn't stop them from continuously cranking out more.