Sunday, September 18, 2016

On the Death of Rock Music - And Why it's a Good Thing

"Rock is Dead" - Believe it or not, this statement has been floating around for decades. Before the last five years or so, it was mainly uttered by purists who lamented the loss of rhythm and blues influences and the joyously cathartic simplicity of pioneering artists like Chuck Berry. This authenticity has been challenged by changing conventions with every generation since he first sung "Johnny B. Goode", from the excess of early 1970's progressive rock to the moody aggression of grunge in the 1990's. While rock and roll has certainly evolved and devolved in its sixty odd years of popularity, it remained the fantasy of every youthful outsider who dreamed of conquering the world with his electric guitar and a couple of friends.

With the gradual surge of hip-hop and electronic music's popularity over the past two decades, that statement has taken on a different meaning. Now it seems less like the ramblings of an old person and rings more true than ever. For some reason, Gene Simmons of all people is most widely credited as being the first famous musician to speak this truth which has been boiling over for years. While Simmons has a history of making farfetched and controversial statements, he's not entirely off-point in this particular case. He's also not the only one to make this point. The infamously straightforward Tom Petty has likened the current state of rock to the decrease of popularity that befell jazz and blues as rock took the main stage.

Today's Billboard top 40 charts features no rock artists in the traditional sense. Every once in awhile, pop rockers such as Maroon 5, Twenty-One Pilots  and the like will have a charting hit, with the only qualifier of their "rock" credentials being the presence of a few live instruments. While rock bands and artists could be seen in live television interviews as late as the 1990's, today's talk show hosts seldom hold extended conversations with rock artists. While it was once difficult not to see a rock band in Los Angeles' sprawling and eclectic music scene, today's venues find it much more convenient and appealing to book self contained artists such as solo performers or DJ's.

This claim has elicited much controversy, especially from those who champion independent music and claim that exciting rock music is still being produced well below the public radar. I don't doubt that. As a matter of fact, there are still notable bands making rock music today, even in the public eye. Bands like the Black Keys, Alabama Shakes and Arctic Monkeys do their part to keep the tradition of an interwoven, organic (for the most part) band alive. Still, none of these bands have truly had a hit which endured in the same fashion as The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and apart from the very countable Black Keys, it's hard to name the secondary members of these groups.

This revelation has understandably made rock musicians all over the world nervous. It's as if the door finally closed on the gamble upon which every unsightly guy with a guitar depended. It was once our escapist fantasy; the back entrance to a glorious world of money, fame and the opposite sex. Even if you didn't end up becoming famous, there was at least a shallow appeal to playing guitar, drums or sometimes bass guitar which would at least draw some favorable attention from the ladies. Now it's just as common, if not more so to see women crowding around a DJ instead of the guy with a Gibson SG.

One of the most telling signs of rock's demise as a cultural influence is the shift of demographics. As the voice of disenchanted youth for multiple generations, rock's fan base now generally seems to be comprised of people seldom younger than twenty five. Of course this makes sense, as rock was last wildly popular two decades ago. It hasn't been around to endure the post-millennial generation. In its absence, the broadly categorized Electronic Dance Music art form has become the defining voice of youth. Featuring blockbuster festivals, bona fide stars and the hippest drugs, EDM has essentially taken rock and roll's place in the cultural zeitgeist. Even the once indie-rock oriented Coachella has become more electronic than ever. Young people flock to its festivals the way they once would to Lollapalooza or even the Vans Warped Tour. They invest in the musical equipment in a genuine effort to learn the craft. Barely legal college students meet, take an illegal substance, engage in casual sex and proclaim to their incensed parents that they had a good time. Sound familiar?

Why would I, the most rabid rock fan of all sub-genres from punk to prog feel good about the currently critical endangerment if not extinction of rock music? I've had a mix of reactions to the realization that the world wasn't going to open the door to glory just because I'd learned to play blues guitar and perfected my goofy Jimmy Page-influenced stage antics. When I turned twenty-five, I finally had to look around and see that the people around me who were gathering the attention I sought looked drastically different from myself. It was as if I'd practiced all of my life for the wrong challenges. I should have worked on my vocals, my image and listened to a lot more pop music. Or maybe it wouldn't have made any difference, as the only unsightly Asian musical figures over nineteen to gain any success in recent years did so at the expense of dignity. Think PSY or William Hung.

As a social outcast, I finally feel ecstatic about rock music fading from the mainstream because in a sense, it's finally been returned to its outsider roots. It's no longer the corporately corrupted pop culture exploit it had become. It's not the norm for a couple of weirdos to take the stage and hit loud, rude power chords. The coolest artists on the music scene don't play flashy minute-long guitar solos. I've done that and stuck out like a sore thumb. I love driving around and seeing the surprise of people hearing the Clash or ZZ Top emanating from my car. I love the mixed reactions that come from playing a Lou Reed dirge after three other singers play the same Sia song.

Rock music has never been about conforming to social norms or "making it", so to speak. It's the voice of social frustration and the accompanying cathartic release. It's a loud, rude and crude way for those on the fringes of society to express themselves. It's not a ticket to popularity, nor does it exist to please capitalist goons looking to exploit young people. It was born the mutant child of carefree youth and irreverence. It was once the true music of the people, not a big business trend. While it will never enjoy the same widespread exposure and sales numbers it enjoyed in its heyday, it finally feels "underground" once again. And that's a beautiful thing.

If you feel the same way I do, get off that Twenty One Pilots video, put on Raw Power by the Stooges and tell your neighbors to fuck off.




No comments:

Post a Comment