Is rock music "dead"?

[Wu Wei]

 

[Kathryn]

Hey, I like Nirvana. Oh wait, they're old too.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I've been into rock & roll for fifty years, and it's still my favorite genre of music. Sadly, rock isn't what it used to be. I remember when Pink Floyd released The Wall way back in the late 1970s. It was a block buster. Everybody talking about it. But there hasn't been anything even close to it in recent years.

So what's going on? Why is rock & roll dead or apparently on its last legs?

Its hard to get into music and not be a copycat. Some groups opt to be punk, but that isn't usually profitable. Anybody that can play together and make a good show...well they are going to be similar to somebody that has come before them. There is only one Dolly Parton etc.

 

[PureX]

Part of the reason rock-n-roll is dead is because the old fossils that created it won't ever go away. No one's done anything innovative in 50 years but there they still are, all over the radio, all over YouTube, and half of them are even actually, physically dead st this point. But media is eternal. And now there are whole new generations that could "discover them". No room for anything new. And not much desire for it, either.

 

[LadyJane]

A lot of great tunes were inspired by true events that were going on at the time. The greater the peril the better the songs in many cases. Let alone concept albums.

There's no shortage of strife round the world...so where are all the protest anthems?

 

[Twilight Hue]

The short answer is the music industry is vastly different today and no longer develops artists like it used to. That coupled with technology has all but eliminated the processes that fostered genuine talent..

Not to mention formulated to hell which makes music homogeneous and irritatingly dull and lifeless.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

No, it's fine. It's just not mainstream in America and that's actually a good thing. It still has a huge fanbase all over the globe (it's still very popular in Europe and rock and metal bands that aren't as big here play arenas there), there's always new bands and sounds coming out. But if you just stay in your classic rock bubble, you're probably not going to know about the new stuff. Branch out.

 

[rocala]

I remember when Pink Floyd released The Wall way back in the late 1970s. It was a block buster. Everybody talking about it.

Nah, I have been around long enough to remember 'The Wall' was considered a sell-out to commercialism.

 

[Soandso]

No, it's fine. It's just not mainstream in America and that's actually a good thing. It still has a huge fanbase all over the globe (it's still very popular in Europe and rock and metal bands that aren't as big here play arenas there), there's always new bands and sounds coming out. But if you just stay in your classic rock bubble, you're probably not going to know about the new stuff. Branch out.

I think this is mainly the problem. Main stream rock fans are kind of stuck in a rut and don't care to branch out

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I just heard the new Bon Jovi and I'm concerned that the OP may be right. Rock may have died.

I used to love those guys. Not sure what this is now.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I think this is mainly the problem. Main stream rock fans are kind of stuck in a rut and don't care to branch out

Yeah, they're used to just putting on the radio or the TV for music videos and hearing/seeing a fresh new band. Don't work like that now. You have to use the Internet to find new artists, really. Whether it's Spotify, YouTube or a rock music mag like Loudwire, Alternative Press, Revolver, etc. You have to look for it. I'm used to it, because I'm mostly into alternative and underground music, so that's how I've always heard about new things - looking or someone tells me or a favorite musician mentions something, etc.

Also, since the "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" decadence era seems to have ended, rock has gotten a bit more serious and less gross. Now people are probably more likely to join bands out of love for music, and not for wanting to just get rich or get girls, although that obviously still happens to an extent. Now it's rappers who act like rock stars used to. I can't say it's something to envy. So there's good aspects of it not being mainstream right now. It will probably be so again, though. There's still a pop punk revival going on that got Gen Z interested in guitars.

 

[Jagella]

Nah, I have been around long enough to remember 'The Wall' was considered a sell-out to commercialism.

I'm not sure what that means, but I think The Wall was a milestone album. The only problem is that it's been played to death.

 

[Jagella]

I just heard the new Bon Jovi and I'm concerned that the OP may be right. Rock may have died.

I used to love those guys. Not sure what this is now.

That keeps happening. The old bands we loved in the old days can't put out new music that's nearly as good as the old stuff. Well, there are some exceptions.

 

[F1fan]

I take it you all are referring to classic rock. Today music has many different genres, and a lot of diversity. I think the options are spread thin among listeners. And Hip Hop seems to be the new mainstream preference over rock.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I've been into rock & roll for fifty years, and it's still my favorite genre of music. Sadly, rock isn't what it used to be. I remember when Pink Floyd released The Wall way back in the late 1970s. It was a block buster. Everybody talking about it. But there hasn't been anything even close to it in recent years.

So what's going on? Why is rock & roll dead or apparently on its last legs?

There's actual science to this. Mainstream music has become more homogenous over the decades, and that was before the internet dealt a massive blow to the music industry, which caused changes so deep it still hasn't recovered (record labels not having as many artists and opting for more commercially safe music).
Were not getting old. The music really isn't as good as it used to be.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I just heard the new Bon Jovi and I'm concerned that the OP may be right. Rock may have died.

I used to love those guys. Not sure what this is now.

Well, it was about 40 years ago when they were on top of the world.
But, yeah, even Country went pop. It's not rock that's dead, it's mainstream commercialized music as a whole. Gone are the days when great talent often got signed. Today the more mainstream the more commercially safe. The good stuff is from people working a regular job.

 

[Viker]

Rock's not "dead". It's just not popularly hogging the limelight.

 

[LadyJane]

limelight

 

[Altfish]

I've been into rock & roll for fifty years, and it's still my favorite genre of music. Sadly, rock isn't what it used to be. I remember when Pink Floyd released The Wall way back in the late 1970s. It was a block buster. Everybody talking about it. But there hasn't been anything even close to it in recent years.

So what's going on? Why is rock & roll dead or apparently on its last legs?

My mum used to say similar when I was 12, have you listened to the new albums by ... Bodega, The Nightingales, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, there are many more. I still listen to old stuff but there is plenty of good new stuff out there

 

[PureX]

A lot of great tunes were inspired by true events that were going on at the time. The greater the peril the better the songs in many cases. Let alone concept albums.

There's no shortage of strife round the world...so where are all the protest anthems?

Everything is about the money, now. Rock-n-roll was dead when Reagan and disco took over in the early 80s. Greed and decadence won the day, and has ruled us all ever since. Even the last gasp of punk rock was mostly a kind of reverse decadence. The idealism was gone. The hope was gone. All that was left were the drugs, the money, and that fame. And those don't inspire great art or innovation. They inspire a lot of stupidity and selfishness, mostly. Culture is corporate, now. They turned cultural expression into advertising and all they advertise is selfishness. Because that's the only "virtue" they believe in.