On 19 Mar, 08:58, 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)
Neil Young: Hey, Hey, My My. Rock and Roll can never die.
Surely, Fran, you remember 'Into The Black'? And then throw in Black
Oak Arkansas' "Keep The Faith" for backup!! ;-)
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