Putting off what could be done tomorrow, today
The Future of Rock and Roll
Band playing on stage I’m not entirely sure that I’m best placed to write about the future of rock and roll. I might seem qualified. I’ve listened to a hell of a lot of music in my time. I’ve read a lot about music too. I think I have a pretty good understanding of rock and roll history and what makes a great band. Yet I’m not really the right demographic anymore. Rock and roll is music for the young, right?
Or is rock and roll just a heritage industry now? Old bands reform, tour and release new records. New bands sound like old bands who sound like older bands, a xerox of a xerox of a xerox. Nobody really gets excited by new bands, new releases. The market is saturated with reissues, an industry tricking us into buying the same songs again and again. Is rock and roll even valid anymore? Is there a future?
I still think great music and great bands can change lives. This might be in the visceral sense of hearing an amazing song at the right time of your life. It might be from immersing yourself in a band and everything they believe in and were inspired by, being led to other bands, books, films, politics. It might just matter in the sense of feeling less alone.Rock and roll also needs bands that matter again. They should be outspoken. Here we are in the grip of late-stage capitalism surrounded by war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, the oppression of the lower classes and nobody in rock and roll is really speaking out about it, writing about it. Where are the protest songs? Where are the bands introducing their followers to new avenues in the arts and politics? Where are the great interviews that make you care about a band? Rock and roll needs to respond to its environment, to reflect it and try to change it, knowing that aim is futile but trying anyway.
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SOLERPLEX STUDIOS INC.WCSS PANDORA / Blog
FUTURE OF ROCK
Putting off what could be done tomorrow, today The Future of Rock and Roll Band playing on stage I’m not entirely sure that I’m best placed to write about the future of rock and roll. I might seem qualified. I’ve listened to a hell of a lot of music in my time. I’ve read a lot about music too. I think I have a pretty good understanding of rock and roll history and what makes a great band. Yet I’m not really the right demographic anymore. Rock and roll is music for the young, right? Or is rock and roll just a heritage industry now? Old bands reform, tour and release new records. New bands sound like old bands who sound like older bands, a xerox of a xerox of a xerox. Nobody really gets excited by new bands, new releases. The market is saturated with reissues, an industry tricking us into buying the same songs again and again. Is rock and roll even valid anymore? Is there a future? I still think great music and great bands can change lives. This might be in the visceral sense of hearing an amazing song at the right time of your life. It might be from immersing yourself in a band and everything they believe in and were inspired by, being led to other bands, books, films, politics. It might just matter in the sense of feeling less alone.Rock and roll also needs bands that matter again. They should be outspoken. Here we are in the grip of late-stage capitalism surrounded by war, terrorism, economic uncertainty, the oppression of the lower classes and nobody in rock and roll is really speaking out about it, writing about it. Where are the protest songs? Where are the bands introducing their followers to new avenues in the arts and politics? Where are the great interviews that make you care about a band? Rock and roll needs to respond to its environment, to reflect it and try to change it, knowing that aim is futile but trying anyway.
Reply