Long Live Rock?

      A couple big topics in the world of Music YouTube lately have been; "Does New Music Suck?" and "Is Rock Music Dead?" and "Is AI Going to Replace Musicians?". You might be surprised to know, I have some opinions on these questions that I haven't really heard anyone discussing. Before I get to that, here are my general observations about the state of Rock Music. I don't believe Rock is dead. It might be on life support, but it's not quite dead yet. 25 years ago, Radiohead mused that there was nothing new that could be done with the guitar. Maybe that's true, but there are still great bands putting out great albums every week. Most of it is the pastiche of the nineties, or the sixties, like The Lemon Twigs, but it's good stuff. The main problem for "new" Rock Music is there are now only two outlets for a band to be discovered - The Internet and College radio. The issues with these platforms are a matter of scope. The Internet is a vast arena of content that on the surface appears to have no "Gatekeepers", but actually does. A band breaking through on the internet is only slightly more likely than winning the lottery due to the sheer amount of posted content and nostalgia for the past. College radio has a much smaller scope of broadcast coverage, although there are a few stations that have decent streaming audiences, like KEXP in Seattle. Breaking through to the mainstream on College radio is also a long shot. I also disagree with the premise that new music sucks. Certainly, if you go on the internet and listen to an episode of Casey Kassem's Top 40 from the 70's, when I was growing up, that "new music" is superior to the new music on today's Top 40 radio. Yes, I know that's just my opinion, but come on...it's true. Back then, record labels and DJ's were the gatekeepers. Now it's algorithms and streaming. Rock radio, in general, today is mostly nostalgia. Other than College radio, Rock stations only play "Classic" Rock". When I was a kid, that WAS Rock radio. It seems counter-intuitive, but it seemed easier to find new Rock music back when all we had was radio and music magazines...before the Internet. Much of YouTube is young people "reacting" to classic rock music that they've supposedly never heard before; like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and RUSH or the "Vinyl Community" discussing reissues of albums by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and RUSH. NOSTALGIA! At least that's what I'm being fed by the algorithm. Results may vary. As far as AI goes...who knows. If AI replaces Travis Scott then I say "Thank you robot". 

     You've probably heard most of that before. Now, I'm going to blame the kids (and their parents). The Western world has become a place where kids go to school to get a job that they can support themselves on and helicopter parents are flying around all over the place. "Risk" and "Failure" are to be avoided at all costs. It's unimaginable today that four kids from Liverpool could run off to London, have a club residency, go to Germany with a minor in the band (George Harrison), play until all hours of the morning for drunk sailors, come back as conquering heroes and invade America. I'm not asking for anything that exciting, but could we allow kids to be a little more free range again. Let them try things that may not be practical. God forbid, let them fail...or succeed spectacularly. Take some chances before they have a mortgage and a family and health insurance. Whatever happened to scenes like CBGB's or The Whiskey A-Go-Go or The Cavern Club where kids could start a band and learn their musical chops playing shows all the time? Where are the kids like Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart playing 300 shows a year, driving around the country in an old van, taking turns driving all night from show to show? Today, if you allowed your kid to do that someone would call Child Protective Services. It's the loss of these opportunities for bands to develop that's killing Rock music. Most of the successful "Classic Rock" bands had no Plan B. They were committed and willing to take chances and pay the price for the music. Everything today is a hedge. Why risk all of that when you can sit in your room with a laptop, record an album and try to go viral on the internet? Why play 300 shows a year when you can get a few shows in your town opening for other bands and try to sell some merch to their fans? Do you want to know what really sucks? Never taking chances and being stuck in shitty, straight jobs until the day you die. Peace.