|
Why are hip hop and country taking off, while rock takes a back seat? Here are a few random musings on this topic, from your friends in Crankdaddy:
*Rock isn't as fun as it used to be.
When I was growing up, rock and roll was fun. A constant party. The lifestyle, the chicks, the cheering stadiums full of people...good times. I saw that and wanted to be a part of it.
Nowadays, the only people who are livin' that way are the hip hop artists...as evidenced by videos, MTV's cribs, etc. They're livin' large and having fun.
Most rock bands these days are gloomy, self-absorbed, self-indulgant.
That's one of the reasons why The Darkness is so great...they're having fun. Only problem is, most people can't get past the "are they a joke band?" thing. That and Justin's voice. (Although nobody had a problem with Freddie Mercury's.)
* The mainstream rock press ain't helpin.
Okay, knock Rolling Stone all you want. But they're still the pre-eminent journal of all things pop culture. They definitely have an influence on today's music scene.
And when they're putting people like Britney Spears on the cover, something's wrong.
*The rock crowd downloads/copies. The hip hop/country crowd downloads/copies LESS.
Maybe this is a total generalization, but I don't think most hardcore country and hip hop fans are sitting down at their Dells and duping the latest Gretchen Wilson or Outkast CD. They're buying them.
All of us are guilty of duping stuff, but I think we have to make a concerted effort to change that. I actually make it a point now to buy CDs I like, instead of just listening to a copy. Costs more, yeah, but if it puts even one dollar in the pocket of the artists who created it, I'll do it.
*Rock fans are too quick to dismiss rock acts.
Let's take Avril Lavigne. Most people just sneer at her and go, "Oh, she's not punk." Same goes for bands like Good Charlotte and Bowling for Soup. "Oh, they're not punk!" I say, "So what?" Granted, they're not as punk as the Black Flag or Minor Threat I grew up on, but you know what? They're playing guitars and rockin, man. I would much rather my kids listen to Avril or Good Charlotte than Britney or the A-Teens or whatever. If you don't like it or it's not your cup of tea, fine. Just don't go slaggin' it because you think you're the guardian of all things rock.
*Try something new.
There are a lot of killer, pure rock and roll bands out there now -- you just gotta find em. Buy their CDs and spread the word. Turn your friends onto something they might have missed. For example, here are a few you might want to check out for starters:
Supagroup; Silvertide; The Wildhearts; The Rasmus;The Donnas; Social Distortion; Jimmy Eat World (Okay, so you probably already know about the last three. But they're
three bands that deserve to be bigger than they are. So buy their latest CDs. You won't regret it.)
*Think globally, act locally.
Instead of bemoaning the current state of music/rock'n'roll, do something about it: Go to a local show every now and again. Right here in Syracuse, there's great little music scene brewin, with a lot of great bands hittin' it hard every week. Grab a bunch of friends and Go see a band like The Tones, or Wagner, or Caustic, or Plan 607, or Crankdaddy (okay, so I'm biased). Go see a band you've never heard of before. (It's not like it'll cost you a lot of money around here.)
Then, and this is the most important part:
TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THEM.
Talk up the bands, visit their websites, spread the word. If you tell two friends, they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on and so on. That's how you build a scene, and resuscitate rock.
Sorry if this seems like rambling. It's just that rock n roll is a topic near and dear to my heart, and I want to see it rule again.
I'll shut up now.
To Top
|
