For Those About To Rock
December 22, 2006 by Jo Minor
Rock music was, at one point in recent history, a global revolution on the world map. It brought millions around the world together to help stand up and fight against common causes, such as war and famine. Rock festivals, like the legendary Woodstock ’69, were massive celebrations of the human spirit but are now distant memories.
We are only left with faint images of the glorious past of rock ‘n roll and we carry on the lessons of unity and harmony it has taught us. The illustrious and carefree days of rock ‘n roll are gone forever.
Has rock music lost its purpose in music today? Or is it going through a temporary dip in popularity?
One of the reasons that hastened the demise of rock ‘n roll was political stability, ironically rock ‘n roll thrived during the chaotic years of the 60s and the 70s - the times when the signs of another world war were looming in the minds of people all over the globe. Rock ‘n roll served as a platform to speak out against foolish government policies and to stand up to oppression, in whichever form it appeared in.
Times have changed, and the world is a more peaceful place to be in. There seems to be relatively little to complain about these days, and our steadier political and economical environments have taken away a lot of the angst and anger from rock musicians.
Another factor would be the emergence of other styles of music that are just as popular as rock music today. Back then, it was all about rock ‘n roll. From Elvis Presley to the Beatles to KISS, rock music was the sound of a generation, and was adored by millions all over the world. Today, we hear just as much about rap or hip hop as we hear about modern rock - which is undoubtedly the most recent incarnation of rock ‘n roll - and this results in these other styles of music attaining massive amounts of popularity as well. Rock music no longer rules the roost; it is merely an equal partner in music today.
The music business has also seen the boom of rap music - and of course it’s financial potential as well - during the 1990s. Rap has continued to flourish, and has been around for too long to be overlooked as a fad - and continues to sell even more than it did during the monumental years of the 90s. It has even transcended the barriers once holding it back; rap music is no longer an African-American affair - and the emergence of a new generation of trendy - and very sellable - rap stars has secured the genres popularity for several years at the very least.
Rock music has also undergone some serious watering-down in recent years, with such sub-genres like emo and post-punk doing much to make rock music appeal to the younger MTV generation.
This has led to the formation of some of the worst pseudo-rock bands to ever see the light of day, like My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. With their absurd fashion sense and makeup - and even worse songs - they tend to appeal mainly to prepubescent schoolgirls who don’t know any better. It’s even sadder when you consider the fact that these appalling posers will be sometime soon be better remembered than, say, Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan. Modern rock bands like Nickleback and Hoobastank don’t help much either - there should’ve been an edict of some sort to ban them and the millions of other bands who sound just like them, from ever using the term “rock” to describe their music.
This is the end of an era.
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