The Future of Rock Music

What do people here think of "The Kings Of Leon"?

I find them to be a little too poppy.

Anyone else?

Rock Music is here to stay whatever it takes... I don't care if it's limited to a limited audience or if the music has to integrate electronic sounds and instruments, there always going to be a audience that like some good guitar, bass and drums.

mr.cub wrote: The Kings are one of the few true rock bands out there. A unique vocalist, an edgy sound and great songwriting defined their first two albums. Older fans might not like the changes they've made sound wise over the last two albums but to me it seems like a natural maturation and progression of their sound. I enjoy their music, it is certainly more refreshing than other 'poppy' music out there

Me too

I am responding to the OP and have not read the entire thread so forgive me if I cover ground already trod by others. 

I don't disagree with your conclusions...but think you largely miss the reason for the "demise" of rock.  You say no band has become as big as Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin in the 70's.  The reason is not that there aren't good bands or that radio / mainstream coverage has abandoned them.  It's because the record company's grip on distribution has been broken. 

In the 70's there was virtually no music heard by even enthusiastic music fans that wasn't:

1. Produced and distributed by major record companies
2. Aggressively marketed through radio payola and well-financed marketing efforts
3. Covered widely by a thriving and profitable music media (think multiple "album-oriented" radio stations, Rolling Stone Magazine, Creem, Circus, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, The Midnight Special, nationwide radio shows, etc.
   

In short, virtually every means that potential music fans could access music was controlled by major media outlets.  That allows those media companies to control distribution, limited access to a (relatively) small number of bands.  With attention (and thus dollars) hyper-focused on few bands, those bands invariably became monster acts. 

That has all been completely wiped out with the internet.  Today, bands can create, record, distribute and market themselves with little or no assistance from record companies.  More importantly, fans can discover new music / different bands through an endless array of sources (from MySpace to Amazon recommendations to internet fan sites).  This has created a more fragmented music scene, with fans interest (and dollars) distributed among far more bands. 

The days of "mega bands" like Led Zeppelin are history; we'll never see that again.  Instead you will will have a much larger number of small bands appealing to a small, but dedicated audience.  The "big' bands of today are not bands at all but corporate brands.  Kelly Clarkson and all the American Idol "artists" represent that approach with music simply being part of a multi-media effort to sell a wide variety of goods (clothes, movies, posters, key chains, ringtones.....music plays a relatively small part). 

I think it's a good development any time the means of production are taken away from moneyed gate-keepers (which is what has happend to music and newspapers...and will eventually happen to all forms of media).  Yes, there are no more "mega bands" but the sheer variety and number of rock bands out there represents a more robust and organic music scene than the 70's. 

MrMan2000 wrote: In the 70's there was virtually no music heard by even enthusiastic music fans that wasn't: Produced and distributed by major record companies Aggressively marketed through radio payola and well-financed marketing efforts Covered widely by a thriving and profitable music media (think multiple "album-oriented" radio stations, Rolling Stone Magazine, Creem, Circus, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, The Midnight Special, nationwide radio shows, etc. In short, virtually every means that potential music fans could access music was controlled by major media outlets.  That allows those media companies to control distribution, limited access to a (relatively) small number of bands.  With attention (and thus dollars) hyper-focused on few bands, those bands invariably became monster acts.

Them's sage words for a newbie.  Welcomen.

You said about it all being wiped out with the internet.  Actually their greed well keel-hauled it before that.  I'm starting up a band myself, and we're discussing with some excitement, I can tell you, the strategies possible to get us into interested ears all over the world, something that would have been impossible years back without a hairy-chested lying manager-vampire.

dzx wrote: Keltic wrote: Nirvanna, like Oasis and many, many others, borrowed ( nay, make that stole ) indiscriminately from other artists. Even Kurt Cobain admitted as such.   It's hardly news. They all do it and will continue to do it. Like all classical composers as well.  To quote Brahms when someone pointed out that one of his melodies ripped off Haydn he replied 'Any idiot can hear that'   Music is limited by having only so many keys only so many notes and chords. its obvious they are going to be reproduced but used (as in influences) in different ways. I tend to think of it as a sort of Musical Scrapyard. You write music and you are obviously influenced by your influences and blend them into your 'ideal' music.

And more, listen to his First Symphony and try not to think of Beethoven's last.  When people talked about the near quotes extant in his new symphony Brahms' answer was basically, "No..., really?"  It was something he was made to feel historically obligated to do, such a long shadow had Beethoven cast.  After this he got down to the business of writing the great Second, the first symphony that was truly his.

progkidjoel wrote: What do people here think of "The Kings Of Leon"? I find them to be a little too poppy. Anyone else?

After the first albums I thought they were ok and have a couple of nice songs, I eeven saw them live when I went to see The Strokes and they didn't impress me that much, they sounded just like another southern rock band. But their last album was a nice surprise, I really liked it and to me it sounds more interesting than their earlier stuff.

I'm not quite sure how you could say that Guided By Voices is "pretty terrible"... I feel as if you must have listened to some other band by mistake. What album did you hear? There is so much to hear in their catalogue that one can surely find something to like.  Not to mention that they were one of rock's most enduring and prolific bands. Each album provides something different... whereas most bands just pump out the same old same old. Guided By Voices has sooo much music to choose from. Some of it is lo-fi and some of it is polished hi-fi. Vocalist Robert Pollard is still going strong today with Boston Spaceships, solo work and perhaps his most prog-tinged music with the Circus Devils. A lot of his music has such a rich prog undertone and you're likely to find something new everytime you listen to it. I find that with each listen, the music grows on you until you can't hear it enough. I feel his style of songwriting envelopes a perfect blend of all that is great about rock music. Not everything he produces is perfect, but most of it is rather brilliant, and that's a pretty damn good acheivement considering his output. The lyrics are quite original and poetic. The songs aren't too over-blown like much of prog rock's royalty, yet it's not rudimentary by any stretch of the imagination, either. I strongly suggest revisiting GBV and Pollard's catalogue.

Oh I was responding to some dude who said that GBV is pretty terrible...somewhere in this thread...

harold pig wrote: Oh I was responding to some dude who said that GBV is pretty terrible...somewhere in this thread... I think too many prog fanatics get to Dream Theater on here when it comes to music today... I mean, how irrelevant is Dream Theater or any of these over-blown, silly bands that play state fairs? I simply feel music needs to be smarter and unique... and Pollard and Todd Tobias provide these qualities with great influence... Bee Thousand is great... and there is so much more to GBV and post-GBV music by Pollard.

Nice job, couldn't agree more!  Even if one doesn't have a personal yen for GBV...  I don't know, I just wish at least people would stop backing the "over-blown, silly bands" and take an interest in the... interesting.  What makes, for instance, Dream Theater "prog" is beyond me.  (I'm sorry, I shouldn't get into this stuff.)