Well, that's probably my fault as I used the title from the Stones tag line for the thread title.
It's really about rock, but the Stones themselves are pretty deeply rooted in blues and rock n' roll.
Is Rock and Roll Dead???
- Thread starter Andyman
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Well, that's probably my fault as I used the title from the Stones tag line for the thread title.
It's really about rock, but the Stones themselves are pretty deeply rooted in blues and rock n' roll.
Andy makes an excellent point about the diversity of Pop music and Pop radio in the 50s and 60s. Top 40 radio introduced me to Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dionne Warwick and Bobby Darrin as well as to Elvis, Little Richard and The Beatles. And songs from musicals like West Side Story, South Pacific and My Fair Lady were Top 40 hits right next to Buddy Holly.
Then there was cool oddball stuff like "Running Bear", "They're Coming to Take Me Away", "Camp Granada" and "Ahab the Arab"; Christ knows where stuff like that would find a mass outlet today.
Then there was cool oddball stuff like "Running Bear", "They're Coming to Take Me Away", "Camp Granada" and "Ahab the Arab"; Christ knows where stuff like that would find a mass outlet today.
Oh, I totally agree. I was just using the list to illustrate what a diverse mix top 40 really was. You could hear The Beatles, Tommy Roe, and The Temptations all in a row. Since there weren't a lot of alternatives (8 tracks??? :yesyou often had to settle for something you normally wouldn't listen to.
Hell, as teens we were always pushing those car radio buttons looking for something good. Up in Milwaukee, I had the locals WOKY and WRIT, plus WCFL and WLS out of Chicago until the "underground" stations like WZMF and WTOS popped up and we had to go to Olsen Electronics for those cheesy FM converters.
Back in the early 1980s when i lived in Chicago, I used to listen to a lot of WXRT as they were pretty eclectic. When I'm there now, I'm astounded that there are still some of the same DJs left damn near 30 years later
I admit to being more than a bit jealous of the variety that was on radio then. We were lucky to hear R.E.M.. XRT has its moments still. I caught a late-night Sunday show a few weeks ago that made me want to bang my head against a wall, because it was what radio COULD be. Just a DJ playing the most eclectic mix of old soul, new rock, random indie, you name it. All stuff I'd never heard of, with a commentary between songs by somebody who cared, and who knew what they were playing.
You can find some of that now in online music blogs and stations which often feature downloads to introduce folks to new music.
Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,
Here I am at Camp Granada
Camp is very entertaining
And They say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
Bits from comedy albums like The First Family were on Pop radio too.
Here I am at Camp Granada
Camp is very entertaining
And They say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.
Bits from comedy albums like The First Family were on Pop radio too.
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spideyjack
Addicted Member
He's got a union card
And he's practicin' hard
To play the gitar.
Gon' be a big star,
Yeah he's gonna go far.
An' carry moonbeams home in a jar!
He ordered Chet's guitar course COD,
Makes A and E an' he's workin' on B.
Digs C&W R&B and me an' a chimpanzee
Agree that one day soon he will be,
A celebrity.
This thread is rather confusing as to whether Rock and Roll/rock is a specific genre or a generic term encompassing a whole range of genres.
For example if the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Supertramp, Pink Floyd are considered rock and roll, I guess we using it generically. I suppose sort of related genres like jazz fusion are related but not strictly rock and roll or just plain old rock. I had thought we discussing the genre that the likes of Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Ten Years After etc, typify.
I'm 55 years old and am just as exited as today's music as 60/70s music although I do admit to missing the SQ of vinyl.
For example if the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Supertramp, Pink Floyd are considered rock and roll, I guess we using it generically. I suppose sort of related genres like jazz fusion are related but not strictly rock and roll or just plain old rock. I had thought we discussing the genre that the likes of Led Zep, Rolling Stones, Ten Years After etc, typify.
I'm 55 years old and am just as exited as today's music as 60/70s music although I do admit to missing the SQ of vinyl.
Yeah, like I said earlier, it's really about rock, but the Stones used/were/are "The World's Greatness Rock n' Roll Band", so hence the title. We can look at bands that don't play Chuck Berry covers
I'm listening to a brand-new release on vinyl, pressed over two albums at 45rpm for even better sound quality
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gagelle
Super Member
One factor to consider is demographics. I was part of a huge baby boom that took place after WW2. I remember when growing up,that my whole neighborhood was filled with kids around my age. I'm not an expert in this area but I think it was a period with one of the largest number people under thirty years of age in our nation's history. It's the perfect setup for a huge demand of fast passed, sexually charged music.
Another thing to consider, is the Western victory of WW2 led to an unprecedented amount of prosperity. If one studies the history of the entire human race, the first and primary demand for resources is warfare. Even in the study of anthropology, no group or nation ever survived for long periods of time without a powerful military.
I am by no means an advocate of warfare. These are just the inescapable facts of human history. Similar ideas are explored further in a lecture by Joseph Campbell called "The Mythology of War and Peace" in a collection called "Myths To Live By. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...eld-keywords=joseph+campbell+myths+to+live+by
Once a nation is secure against enemies, there is an excess of resources and energy that was previously used in battle. These resources are now free to be directed into the arts. This excess is referred to on both an individual and collective basis by the great thinkers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer as superfluity of energy and manifests itself in an individual as genius and collectively as art.
My primary idea is that we were poised in a moment of history that was conducive to an eruption of creativity in popular culture which took various forms in modern art, jazz and rock music. In a democratic state, popular culture is the most likely outlet for artistic expression. The reason for this is that we no longer have classes of royalty and nobility to dictate the taste for a nation. Whether the arts have suffered from the overthrow of a ruling class is an interesting subject that is open to debate.
Another thing to consider, is the Western victory of WW2 led to an unprecedented amount of prosperity. If one studies the history of the entire human race, the first and primary demand for resources is warfare. Even in the study of anthropology, no group or nation ever survived for long periods of time without a powerful military.
I am by no means an advocate of warfare. These are just the inescapable facts of human history. Similar ideas are explored further in a lecture by Joseph Campbell called "The Mythology of War and Peace" in a collection called "Myths To Live By. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...eld-keywords=joseph+campbell+myths+to+live+by
Once a nation is secure against enemies, there is an excess of resources and energy that was previously used in battle. These resources are now free to be directed into the arts. This excess is referred to on both an individual and collective basis by the great thinkers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer as superfluity of energy and manifests itself in an individual as genius and collectively as art.
My primary idea is that we were poised in a moment of history that was conducive to an eruption of creativity in popular culture which took various forms in modern art, jazz and rock music. In a democratic state, popular culture is the most likely outlet for artistic expression. The reason for this is that we no longer have classes of royalty and nobility to dictate the taste for a nation. Whether the arts have suffered from the overthrow of a ruling class is an interesting subject that is open to debate.
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Loop2kil
Active Member
This!!
Being 40, I love every single one of the mega groups mentioned so far(watching Celebration Day right now) but I also listen to lots of newer stuff that I would personally consider epic in the music world.
Just a few of my favorites that still make music:
Blackberry Smoke - My current addiction!!!
Tool
Avenged Sevenfold
Jack White
nashvillebill
Super Member
Maybe I'm looking back at things with "rose colored glasses", but in the 70's, it was a BIG DEAL when a major band came to town. For example, Led Zep coming to Phoenix! (too bad I was only 16 and I knew there was no way I could talk my mom into letting me go)
Now several things made rock music more relevant then. There weren't the many distractions of today: no computers, no cell phones, no video games, no personal DVD or Bluray players, not even cable TV (well it was around but few folks had it). A house had one phone and typically one TV which only got a few over-the-air channels. So for us kids, we had...music on FM radio and the records/tapes which we bought. FM radio was a huge factor for teenagers then, since the Vietnam war was still going on when I started high school; DJ's on FM radio gave us teenagers an alternative viewpoint (anti-draft, anti-war) and we liked the music the DJ's played. When these bands came to town, every kid in high school wanted to go see them!
Now, in 2012, I don't hear of major venues being sold out by modern bands. The heyday of stadium/arena rock was the 70's.
Now several things made rock music more relevant then. There weren't the many distractions of today: no computers, no cell phones, no video games, no personal DVD or Bluray players, not even cable TV (well it was around but few folks had it). A house had one phone and typically one TV which only got a few over-the-air channels. So for us kids, we had...music on FM radio and the records/tapes which we bought. FM radio was a huge factor for teenagers then, since the Vietnam war was still going on when I started high school; DJ's on FM radio gave us teenagers an alternative viewpoint (anti-draft, anti-war) and we liked the music the DJ's played. When these bands came to town, every kid in high school wanted to go see them!
Now, in 2012, I don't hear of major venues being sold out by modern bands. The heyday of stadium/arena rock was the 70's.
^this.
Rock is not a genre now, it is a heading, with more sub-genres than most of us have knowledge of. Ever look at Rateyourmusic's list of genres?
The fact that Muse are not the darlings of Pitchfork's critic is not the indictment you may think it is. Yeah, that particular intro you posted doesn't play well over youtube. I have a 20 year old son that is a big fan of Muse. He didn't learn of them on FM radio, but over the web, like most of his discoveries. He doesn't care for Uprising, preferring the band's older stuff.
@Andy, check this version, and note the shots of the crowd. Is this the arena rock stuff you were looking for?
@halfttime: Now that we have a good idea of your extensive list of dislikes, has any recorded music met your exacting standards?
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Interesting post.
The most surprising thing to me in this thread is that Muse is such a big band. I really didn't know. I used to put a song from an album they did in the early 2000s, on mixes for friends. Its the last I really had known by them, except I occasionally see that the Palladium channel has them playing to big crowds.
Taowolf51
Well-Known Member
Here's an interesting fact. Of the 17 largest concerts ever, 12 of them were for electronic music artists, 15 of them happened after 1990, 8 happened after 2000, and only one happened before 1980 (which was an electronic music concert).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_concerts_ever
Big concerts still exist (and can be argued that they are getting larger), but are spreading out to newer genres of music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_concerts_ever
Big concerts still exist (and can be argued that they are getting larger), but are spreading out to newer genres of music.
Rapidan
Well-Known Member
Always enjoy your posts, Tom.
Thanks to AK'er Grillebilly for digging up this top 40 list from WEAM in Fairfax, VA, the AM station I grew up on. I think I have about 20 of the 45's listed here, mostly bought from Giant Music, a major WEAM sponsor.
I have no problem finding just as much music to like today as I did then. It sometimes takes a little digging, but it's there.
Rock & Roll has been dead for quite some time, but it will never die.
I'll let Jon Langford and the Mekons have a word on the subject as well -
http://youtu.be/SCQ6DLwV9CI
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