Devalued, degraded and overused, the use of the word just doesn't fit like it used to.
Rock used to represent something, something with substance; it represented the likes of Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. It was a description worthy of these bands, but as time has passed the meaning of the word rock has broadened with rock itself to a point were it includes many successful bands, which could be placed within the rock genre. A lot of this though depends on what you define as "rock". Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco, The Killers. Are these bands rock? It is an insult to the rock genre to call these bands a rock act.
Bands such as Judas Priest and Led Zeppelin were the epitomy of the rock of old; they represented a pure breed and portrayed that certain image. More importantly these bands knew how to "rock" because they were great at what they did. They could play those iconic guitar solos and belt out those suggestive lyrics with force and passion which meant they could sell albums without selling out.
Many groups, which nowadays would be defined as rock, are no more than pop acts that have learnt to play guitars. There is no riff orientated sound combined with clashing dominant vocals, and powerful drums. These pale imitations possess a clean cut sound designed and aimed to sell albums, stabbing in the back what they have been labelled. Just because they hold a guitar in their hands doesn’t mean they know how to play them well, it doesn't mean they know how to "rock".
How can you compare for example the definitive Led Zeppelin track "Kashmir", a masterpiece of rock 'n' roll scoring, to the overplayed Nickelback cash cow track that is the now monotonous sounding "Rockstar"? You just can't. Both songs may be seen as iconic in there in own right, though one is "iconic" for all the wrong reasons. While one song remains timeless the other is just played time and again. While classic rock songs can be forever loved, pop songs disguised as rock are like clothes, they are forever coming in and out of fashion.
This is just an example of what the problem is. Bands which have been labelled under the rock genre have this innate ability to produce material which doesn't live up to the tag it has been given, making them more than nothing than a fox in sheep's clothing, it's just wrong.
Rock isn't a word that can be just tossed around or used cheaply as it has been. It is a word that deserves to be used carefully and prudently, it's a word that comes with a substantial history; it roots being traced back to the blues in 1950's America. It has come a long way since then, perhaps too far?
But you have to consider, how this has happened? How has this problem occurred? To achieve success, being the simple answer. In its decline, the desperation obvious, no one has tried to stop this apparent willingness, to stoop to these levels so that success can be achieved resulting in rock selling itself short while also selling itself out.
Rock has brought this upon itself so as to be noticed by the mainstream, trying to make its presence felt by being too willing to take in the lost sheep, trying to make the genre popular. But to be successful, true rock groups have proved with their style and invention that they can sell albums, with the likes of Van Halen and Led Zeppelin each selling eighty million and two hundred million albums respectively, while staying true to the rock genre ethos, the core set of beliefs to which many a true rock band adhere to.
Yes, while many mainstream rock groups are achieving success on the pop charts, it is an insult to band these pop acts together with likes of classic rock groups such as Aerosmith and AC/DC, with whom they will never match in terms of longevity and success.
Rock as a genre has become too large, incorporating too many insignificant sub genres resulting in too many bands being placed under the rock label, degraded its meaning to the point where it has none, its significance being diluted by bands that can be naively compared to rock. Rock is a precious label that is too often thrown around now when trying to label bands, so when you try to incorporate the likes of Jonas Brothers and to a lesser extent Metro Station into the genre you can see that the problem has gone too far.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
