November 22, 2008
Rock's Greatest Generation? Part II
(continued)
- "In 1965, James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" was a watershed record. Formalizing polyrhythm, it is the most important rock album in history." — Robert Christgau
We just know too much nowadays, as Google instantly answers every musical question and all that pitch-perfect, easy learning simply makes more forgettable music.
By the mid-‘70s, Vietnam was over, Nixon was gone and Carter was in the White House. Without a clear enemy, the counterculture was in disarray and music lost direction. For every Clash album, there were dozens of disco singles.
The music industry had long before figured out how to market the new progressive rock. Led Zeppelin begat the much clunkier Black Sabbath and assorted mediocre heavy metal bands. The ‘80s saw marketing take a quantum leap with MTV, as poseurs like Duran Duran became video superstars.
The ‘60s had their share of cute poster boys and ‘70s rock gave us a goldilocks guitar hero that teenaged girls adored in Peter Frampton. But MTV turned "cute" into an industry, birthing the boy-band explosion of the ‘90s, which in turn led to today's king of pop, Justin Timberlake.
Nonetheless, the music of Timberlake, Britney Spears and the rest of today's pop crop, while carefully crafted, isn't quite real. Heavily synthesized, their records are overproduced, allowing no room for those little creative accidents that make the music ReZoomers first heard decades ago still worth listening to.
- "Do little kids actually grow up wanting to be Kid Rock?" – Dave Marsh.
Some of today's best new artists like Corinne Bailey Ray, John Mayer, John Legend or the new king of country, Brad Paisley, have absorbed the most important lessons of the best musicians of the past, when the goal was making great music, not just hit records.
And that may be the biggest single reason why so much of that classic era of rock stands the test of time. Increasingly sophisticated marketing has crowded out much of the artistry of modern music. With iTunes, we're back to the singlesong era, as albums become passé and flavor-of-the-moment pop hits reign.
Music is simply less important today. Video games, movies, the internet and multi-function cell phones all vie for teens' attention and disposable income. For most kids, music is just another entertainment option in the ever-growing digital media menu.
- "One of the most important things about rock ‘n' roll is that it was about consciousness of a generation of an age. And because of that, certain people never lost their interest with the age." — Robert Christgau
In rock's classic heyday, music was an adventure both for musician and listener, a journey that defined us individually and as a generation. The cultural and musical divide between Sinatra and the Beatles was huge. But the gap between the Beatles and the Strokes isn't so wide. It's the same old equation: two guitars + bass + drums = rock.
For the best of today's musicians, music-as-adventure remains the goal, as acts like the North Mississippi All Stars, Derek Trucks and Cat Power all make music in 2007 that beats with a real, live heart.
But while there is always great music being made somewhere, most of today's best artists operate under the radar. In the ‘60s, Jefferson Airplane was on the cover of Life magazine. In the ‘70s, in a single week, Bruce Springsteen graced the covers of Time and Newsweek. Today, what music phenomenon is plastered on every magazine cover?
"American Idol" Season 6.
Part I: Relive those "Revolver" moments.
Want more Music? Check out these stories.
(login / or create an account to comment)