Gene Simmons - Rock Is Dead

Here is what can't be denied. Look at the Billboard Top 100 charts (what I grew up with) and show me all the hard rock bands on the charts. I'll wait.

Totally dead? Maybe not totally, but nothing like what it was in its glory. This isn't even open for debate,

And as for the Justin Bieber thing, Simmons was talking about "rock". Not pop, not dance, not R&B not any of that other stuff which seems to thrive in the new environment. He's talking about rock.

That's what's dead or at the very least on life support.

Again, show me the Billboard top rock artists.

Gene Simmons has always been more showbiz than rock 'n' roll, but in the interview, he falls into the same old trap as other "death of music" doom-mongers by confusing the health of music with the health of the music business - and in particular, the corporate music industry.

The rise of the internet as a distribution channel and the technological progress in recording techniques and equipment has afforded opportunities to countless musicians - the vast majority of whom would never have been given a glimpse inside a studio under the old system of major record company monopoly.

I don't grieve for the passing of those record company giants. The old industry was first and foremost a star-maker machinery* business model, with the actual music often of secondary concern. The point made in the article about the perceived lack of icons such as The Beatles, The Stones and Dylan in recent decades, ignores the evolving cultural significance of popular music in our society. When we were growing up, music was just about the only creatively accessible outlet for frustrated and disaffected youth. There are far more options available for both the artist and the entertainment consumer nowadays. In some ways, the rise of rock 'n' roll as a cultural phenomenon can be seen as the early stirrings of the subsequent widespread "cult of celebrity" across virtually all media.

It's now much easier to make and distribute a recording. Yes, the chances of rising to super celebrity status and becoming the next rock icon are slim to none, especially without some major industry promotion, but true musicians don't enter the business for that reason. They're content with making a living writing and performing their songs.

I was lucky enough to catch one such artist, Israel Nash, at a small club in London last week. Here's someone who put out his first album independently, picked up gigs wherever he could, and thanks to the viral nature of the technology so bemoaned by Gene Simmons, built up a large enough following to prompt an indie label to sign him up (under his terms). He's just issued his third album, recorded in his own house. What's more important is that this is great rock music, reminiscent of Neil Young or early Jayhawks, that would probably have been ignored by the big labels in the so-called heyday of popular music.

Don't waste your time mourning the death of the music industry. Go out and discover for yourself that music - including rock - is very much alive and kicking.


Frank

*Thanks to Joni, of course, for the reference.

I was just going to mention the price of concert tickets that people pay to see their favs. They're raking in some high bucks for being "dead".

My niece just went to see NIN and someone else -- the price of the ticket? 60 bucks.

Internet has brought up some very valid issues that the industry needs to solve.........

But it will never kill Rock and Roll.

A couple of my favorite quotes by Ginger Baker.
Yes I'm not a metal fan



As far as rock being dead or played out, well that's just funny.
Here's a couple newer bands.

I think it also has to do with perception Don.
For example I'm a Zeppelin fan, but never thought of them as heavy metal, but simply Rock and Roll.
I don't really like putting labels on music like metal or rock as I think it causes people to not listen to groups they may like because they don't like that "type" of music.
I learned to play Jazz and Swing before I learned rock and that still has an impact on how I approach a song to play. That's why I like the Baker quote on metal so much
When listening to any song I don't decide if I like it or not based on the type of song, but rather if the musicians are good. Even then I'll narrow it down to the drummer and the rhythm section.
It's all good though in my mind. Really music is music no matter what other label is put on it.
Of course I'm just a drummer, so what do I know. Oh wait Science Shows How Drummers' Brains Are Actually Different From Everybody Elses' - Mic

Holy cow - same favs. You and I could get along well as neighbors. We wouldn't be complaining and calling cops over each other's stereos being a tad to loud a tad too late.

Right after listening to that Korn video I was off to Ytube for more Taiko.
By the way my practice sticks are Chad Smith signature by Vater, now that you mention the Chile Peppers.
Don't think I can agree with that. One night at open mic a couple years ago a band came in made up of kids between the ages of 11 and 15. Everything they played was from the 60's and 70's. My kids grew up listening to my music and even going to concerts with me and their mother. In fact my oldest step-daughter and youngest have seen the Band and Little Feat at least three times. You stop by their houses and you could hear anything from the 50's to the present playing. Same goes for other people and their kids, at least those I know.
On the other hand I still listen to Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, etc. because that's what my parents listen to when I was growing up.

After getting a good night's sleep and having some time to think about this, I've realized a few things. Not all very comforting.

First of all, I've gotten old whether I want to admit it or not. I used to think I would never change. I'd always be that 18 year old "musician" and music lover. I'd always buy hundreds of 45s and albums every year. I'd always be on top of all the latest music.

Then the 90s hit and I noticed that I started hating most of what was being produced. There was no question that the music was different from the music I grew up with. But was it really worse? Since quality is all subjective (yes, it really is) the only thing I could come up with was this.

I had become my parents who hated rock back in the 60s because they grew up listening to opera and, at worst, Glen Miller.

Had I grown up with rap, hip hop, etc. I probably would have loved that and hated everything that came after it. Who knows.

But then something really weird happened. As I started getting more and more into music these last few years, and because of that "had" to keep up with things, I started to notice that there was a lot of good stuff out there both post 1980s and today that was really good.

Why hadn't I heard of it? Why isn't the "radio" playing this stuff? Why did I have to go to Wiki and YouTube to find out what all these new genres were and all the groups in them?

Do you have any idea how many electronic music sub genres there are today?

I can't believe I actually like something like Dubstep. I think it's really interesting how they create all those wobble bass sounds and drops. Having to keep up with the industry because of my business has "forced" me to stop being my parents.

But this is what frustrates me. All of this music, had it come out in the 70s, would have all been covered by one of 4 stations in my area without any doubt.

WPLJ
WNEW
WDHA
WXLO

Between those 4 stations I would have absolutely heard everything that is available online today.

Now? Forget it. You might as well throw your standard radio away unless you pay for something like Serious or whatever the hell it's called.

And that's where I'm still stuck with my parent's mentality. The thought of having to pay to listen to music, something you could always do for free for as far back as I could remember, sticks in my craw. What's next? I'll have to pay to breathe the air?

I understand that there are free radio stations online and I don't mind if I have to listen with commercials. I mean commercial radio back in the 60s and 70s played commercials. LOTS of them. That's something I don't miss. Or WABC playing a whole freaking hour of news between 6 and 7 PM. God that was torture.

And to that end, I guess I've gotten spoiled.

We now have music stations on the TV. Pick your genre and listen all day commercial free. Problem with those stations is that they have limited playlists. I know this because for a long while I used to listen to the Show Tunes station. After listening for months and months, you started to see that they had a limited list. Granted, it was a pretty big playlist, but it was still limited. If I hadn't heard Ezio Pinza doing "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific in a month's time, I wasn't going to hear it ever.

Back in the golden age, if a song was new, you heard it. Some not as often as others, but you still heard it. It's how I built up such a huge record collection over the years. I didn't just blindly go into a record store and pick out a bunch of albums because the covers were pretty. I heard stuff that was never popular. But there was a station playing it.

Short list of stuff I've bought over the years that never made a dent in the Billboard charts that was still played on the radio

Renaissance
The Move
The Strawbs
Triumvirat
Chesapeake Jukebox Band
Tangerine Dream
Fireballet
Sparks
Turner And Kirwan From Wexford (Go pick up Absolutely and Completely)

And the list goes on and on.

Today, these same groups that were played on at least some commercial radio station would never be found unless you got some kind of subscription radio service or hunted real hard for them.

That's what Gene is saying. It's tougher for groups today, not that it was ever easy.

News flash. The Beatles would not be the big sensation today that they were in 1964 because the world has changed. They were in the right place at the right time. Their early music was simple and not that great. Today, that same music would hardly be noticed.

The world has changed. A lot. I'm still stuck in 1972 (Arguably the pinnacle of prog rock) and don't want to leave because I don't want to grow old. I don't want to become my parents but in so doing that's what I've become. I'm clinging onto a past the way they clung onto Joan Sutherland and Glen Miller.

There really is a crap ton of great music out there today, not just in rock. But you're not going to hear it just by turning on the radio in your car unless that radio is plugged into a subscription service.

Maybe if I had money to burn I'd get one of those services.

Because I'm sure as hell tired of listening to the few choices I have now.

You're missing the point, Don. Yes, rock is topping the share of sales in 2013. Part of Gene's (and others) points are that album sales overall have declined substantially over the last decade. Why? Because the fans have killed the industry as it was by stealing the music.

Here's a link to an article regarding the current historically low album sales.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/02/news...usic_industry/

Gene was making the point that it would be much harder to achieve what KISS and other long time popular bands have done now because of the inaction taken when Napster and others first infringed on their rights as artists.

Artists should have banded together and taken action against the people that were downloading their music illegally. They owned the artistic rights to those songs and it was being stolen from them! Now it would be almost impossible to turn back. Does anyone remember the term "piracy"? It made no difference to fans that all of the sudden wanted their favorite music for free.

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify the point being made. Rock isn't "dead" and likely never will be in our lifetime. But it's nearly dead for new musicians and album sales. It would be interesting to see how the industry looks in 30-40 years once all of the current popular acts are gone.

I don't agree that it was easier back in the 70s to get your music out there. Back then the music that made it onto the radio went through only a handful of people. If one of those people didn't hear your music, and/or like it, you didn't have a chance. And most of the time your music never even made it to one of these people.

Now - anyone that is good enough has a real chance. All you have to do is post your video to youtube and share it. If your music is that good, people will continue to pass it on.

Personally I'm glad that the old ways of music business are dying out. There's definitely much more diversity now. - Not on the radio, no. They're still doing business the old way, and thus the same music is played over and over. The real reason people don't listen to the radio, is because they aren't really playing what most people want to hear. They are only playing what they can peddle. And most of that sucks, so people are moving online and elsewhere, where people have figured out how to monetize the current technology trends.

FWIW, it was never easy to make it in this business. Now it's just a different kind of hard.