The Black Keys Are Making It Trendy
I hear it all the time, from people around me, on YouTube, even some random comments I get here at the site. “What happened to Rock and Roll”? That’s the million dollar question. Lots of people are wondering that same exact thing. In fact, the not-so-recent decline of quality Rock music has prompted many fans to see if Rock still has a pulse. Believe it or not, there is a pulse, and it’s not as faint as you might think.
If you haven’t read the quote Patrick Carney, the drummer for The Black Keys, gave to RollingStone, you are going to LOVE it.
“Rock and roll is dying because people became OK with Nickeback being the biggest band in the world.
So they became OK with the idea that the biggest rock band in the world is always going to be shit - therefore you should never try to be the biggest rock band in the world. Fuck that! Rock and Roll is the music I feel the most passionately about, and I don’t like to see it fucking ruined and spoon-fed down our throats in this watered-down, post-grunge crap, horrendous shit. When people start lumping us into that kind of shit, it’s like, ‘Fuck You,’ honestly.”
Oh my God. Hear me now, people, I want, nay, I NEED an interview with this man. And I will do everything in my power to make that happen.
And Patrick is exactly, painfully, bluntly right. When people settle for crap, that’s all they are going to get. But is Rock and Roll really dying? Let’s examine this a little closer.
Rock and Roll has certainly taken a backseat in the music world. Gone are the glory days of the late 60s and 70s when Rock was tops and it seemed like every new song that came out was destined for Classic Rock infamy. In today’s music world, Pop is at the forefront. It has been there for many, many years now. Pop music began to rear its ugly head back in the 80s when some bigger names like Michael Jackson and Madonna started turning heads. Had music not found something else to preoccupy them (i.e. Nirvana and all the amazing bands that were given the chance to shine because of Nirvana’s influence), Pop music would have taken hold long ago. Inevitably Pop music took control. The passing of the grunge era was pretty much the last gasp for real music.
Or was it? There are still some pretty awesome Rock bands coming out, it’s just that they are so overlooked by the shiner, flashier, auto-tuned, half-naked Pop stars, that most people don’t even know they still have the Rock and Roll option. Who are these bands I speak of, you might be asking yourself? How about Cable35 for starters. Is it Rock in its true sense, no. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction. And they rock my world. How about The Sheepdogs? Take a trip back to the Golden Age of music by listening to them. How about Burning Shapes? Again, not your “traditional” Rock sound, but still very good. Or perhaps you should listen to Ritmic Traumatic.
The problem is that you rarely hear about these great bands because they aren’t flashy or Poppy or dance around half-naked or make songs that make teeny-boppers go wild. The bands I mentioned above make awesome, loud, gritty, Rock music. They don’t make the music for the fans, they make the music for themselves, which attracts the fans. That’s the way most music used to be. What do Joplin, Clapton, Morrisson, Cobain, and Hendrix have in common with Gaga, Perry, Bieber, and all those other mindless Pop clowns? Not a fucking thing. What’s the difference between them? One group made music to set themselves free and express their thoughts, emotions, and grievances through music. The other group? They just want the fortune and fame.
So is Rock dying? I say no. I say it’s as healthy as ever, just overshadowed. Overshadowed may be putting it a bit mildly. And of course, good Rock music still has to contend with crappy Rock from posers like Nickelback and all those other whiny, crybaby, generic “Rock bands”. But what music needs, and Rock specifically, is another savior. Just the way Nirvana blew up the music scene and saved people from MJ, we need another savior to get rid of today’s Pop stars. The longer it takes the less hopeful I become that it will ever happen. Each new generation that is exposed to the Gagas or Montanas or Gomezs is another generation we can consider doomed to a life of meaningless music.
And until that musical savior comes, all we Rock loving people can do is try to spread the good word of Rock to as many people as we can. The heartbeat of Rock may be difficult to hear through the glitz and Pop, but it’s there.
