I recently heard a similar lament. A guitarist friend of mine was complaining that people should be learning to actually play guitar instead of playing the various guitar video games out there.
Usually you'll see a bunch of kids faux jamming at the local Best Buy (American electronic goods store). I can see his point, but just recently our Best Buy made an addition and is stocking many different drum sets, guitars and keyboards. I don't think this would've been possible without the recent interest in rock, mostly initiated by Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Your Rock may be dying, but I don't think Rock is dead. Those kids will find ways to express themselves through the medium. Rock was originally rather simplistic and crude, but had a vitality in its sound that still appeals today. It makes you wonder what exactly IS Rock music anyway? There are 'Rock' musicians that play with musical structure and that doesn't invalidate the Rock label. The instruments used don't invalidate it either. It must just boil down to an attitude, and a tradition. On Mar 19, 6:50 am, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > The I, IV and V7 progressions have slowly found there niche in local > arena where diehards insist on reliving ancient times. New genre > paves the way for youth as relics like us hang on to what seems to be > a semblance of sanity in our musical minds. There is a lot of > rehashing out there and I feel there is a strain to establish the new > genre. Improvisation is mostly what happens when I sit at any piano > or grab a guitar. The Roland RD500 gives me versatility and sound > quality. Having the split keyboard gives me left hand bass to > accompany several presets. Toss in the Alesis SR16 drum machine and > my band is up and running. I don't play out much anymore as most > venues have DJ and Karaoke and others are dominated by contemporary > styles. All that's left for this dinosaur is private party. The > Roland is very heavy and cumbersome so I bought a Yamaha DGX500. It's > still a full size keyboard but without all the weight, plus the built > in amplification cancels the need for other equipment, not that I > don't have a ton of it. I have a digital recording unit and a disc > burner so make my own CDs and have fun doing it. > So sadly the answer is yes, you and the music are both getting old. > > On Mar 19, 3:58 am, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > And now for something completely different … > > > “The blues had a baby and they named it rock and roll” (Muddy Waters). > > Sometime around the beginning of the 1950s, rock n’ roll started to > > emerge (synthesising influences from jazz, blues, country and gospel) > > and quickly developed into what is known as “rock music.” There > > followed the creative explosion of the 60s, further development (Glam, > > hard rock, progressive, reggae) as well as correctives (Punk) in the > > 70s, more new trends in the 80s (such as New Wave, indie, electronic) > > and some new creative impulses in the 90s (Grunge, Britpop, world > > music) and then … > > [Whether one sees black music/r’n’b as a sub-group within rock (with a > > somewhat different cultural history and development; blues, gospel, > > Motown, soul, etc.), or as something basically different to rock music > > is a matter of debate (personally I tend to the first > > interpretation).] > > > Rock music has fractured into hundreds of genres, from Death Metal to > > different varieties of techno. Hip hop (originally with a pedigree in > > perceived US black alienation, now diversified world-, language- and > > culture-wide) strikes me as being musically very limited. Commercial > > pop remains as strong and parasitically creative as ever (contemporary > > r’n’b sanitising a lot of rap/hip hop being one example), but, because > > of its commercial imperatives, pop will never be really artistically > > creative, feeding instead on new impulses which have, over the past > > half century, usually been provided in the area known as “rock music.” > > > Over the past ten years or so, I have the feeling that rock is > > creatively increasing running out of steam. The scene today seems to > > be dominated, as I said, by different genres and, increasingly, by > > aging dinosaurs, either repeating themselves (like U2 or REM) or > > parodying themselves (as the Stones have been doing for decades). > > Elton John and Phil Collins are now writing musicals. There’s a lot of > > good new music out there, but nearly all of it seems to be no more > > than very competent variations on themes intensively explored long > > ago. Has the original inspiration of three chords and twelve bars; > > electric guitar, bass, (keyboards) and drums, finally been mined out? > > > Or am I just getting old? > > > Francis > > > “When I hear the word gun, I reach for my culture.” (Malcolm > > Muggeridge)- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
