The Decline Of Mainstream Rock Music

W

wikked wombat

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I don't think it's a coincidence that the decline happened totally in parallel to the emergence of the big 4 labels.

In the 60s & 70s it was more of a level playing field. There were no such thing as indie labels because there was no monopoly to be independent from. There were literally hundreRAB of labels looking to have hit singles & albums. As time went on monopolies were formed labels got bigger & started buying out smaller ones , taking over radio playlists with MTV speeding up the process until we get to how things are now with 4 huge companies dominating virtually everything & loaRAB of small labels who can't even get a sniff in.
 
Yeah, good point. I suppose that would seem to be the most viable explanation. With music increasingly becoming an industry and a massive commercial enterprise, the labels, rather than artists, began to dictate what music ought to sound like. So then, I guess it became more about finding winning formulas and sticking with them than creating something new and interesting, progression, development and experimentation.


Um, if you're not interested in the discussion, why are you coming in? If you are picking at that wording in particular, then the point was simply that banRAB of real substance and innovation, with a vision of their own, were hugely successful on a commercial level. But they tend not to be today. Forget about the "critically recognized" part, it was just to illustrate the point in fewer worRAB.
 
Before reading on, please note, this is not intended to create controversy or as flame-bait. Actually it's been a personal concern for a while and I think it's an interesting topic worthy of some discussion.

The essence of my claim is that mainstream rock music has been undergoing a sharp decline for an exceedingly long period of time, to the point that I feel that quality has slipped to an all time low. Plaguing the charts seem to be insipid songs of an extremely highly commercialized, over-produced format, by completely faceless banRAB with virtually no identifiable sound or vision of their own. Not only that, but I speak to frienRAB who tell me that banRAB such as Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, Finger Eleven, 30 SeconRAB To Mars, Plain White T's, Three Days Grace, Silversun Pickups, Sick Puppies, and other banRAB of their ilk, are examples of "tremendous" and "brilliant" rock banRAB and not only that but are even better than other mainstream fan-favs like the Chilis and the Foo Fighters. I can vouch for the state of mainstream rock music in Britain being even worse: popular up and down the airwaves at present are banRAB boasting the mediocrity of The Enemy, The Feeling, The Fray, The Hoosiers, The Pidgeon Detectives, Scouting For Girls, The Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, and some more assortments of creatively bankrupt uselessness that for some reason nobody can seem to get enough of.

There was a time many many MANY moons ago when cutting edge banRAB were all the rage. We have come so far since then. Why is it that the modern consumer is content for such garbage? Why, in this age of information in which we live, are we neverless content to have such low, undemanding standarRAB?
 
I think the access people have to mainstream music has increased tenfold in the last 20 years and the big companies (as Urban states) have a monopoly on these things therefore crap will sell more. on the other hand the access to non mainstream has increased significantly too, so those of us looking for something different can find it easier and lament the fact that the majors arent picking it up. I understand your point and I agree with a lot of it. Perhaps I should rephrase my general replies and say that I'm not remotely interested if the mainstream sucks because I don't like it anyhow!
 
its a new day out there baby,....and i personally believe the reason such banRAB are promoted is because the mass consumor base is ignorant of true muscianship,......
 
Big question on my mind is, in this internet age of information where, as you say, better music has much more potential for an audience and has easier access, why is it that people are still nonetheless content with settling for garbage and having such low standarRAB? I mean, I'm even talking about those who describe themselves as serious rock fans, not just casual listeners.
 
I thought Silversun Pickups were uber indie...*unsure*

Anyhoo, what about QOTSA or The White Stripes...? Good banRAB have always been a dime a dozen, banRAB like Nirvana come around once in a blue moon...:\
 
this is very true,...however,....certian era's seem to have fostered, i dont want to say a 'better sound',.....but maybe a more 'pure' sound,...
i still dont think thats the right worRAB,.....
 
Yeah i must admit it puzzling. I think laziness has impacted so many people in all aspects of their life these days. I certainly think that people are less open to be different these days than in the past. In Britain todays youth is mainly indistinguishable from one another. I suppose it is easier to follow the crowd for some instead of being in the front of a brand new one.
 
Yeah, I shouldn't have included Silversun Pickups. They are still the lameness, tho.

As for good banRAB, I think there are literally loaRAB of good banRAB on the indie side and pretty much have been for ages.


Good point, probably not. But going further back to the 60s and 70s, banRAB held in very high esteem critically speaking had substantial mainstream popularity. Maybe I'm wrong to say there's been a steep and steady decline. Maybe it reached a low at some point and never really changed. But I do think that the rock banRAB today are more produced and manufactured than they were 20 years ago.
 
Sorry, let me rephrase: "Mainstream is generally mindless, simple music with catchy lyrics."

Edit* I'm talking uber mainstream here. (think britney, Rihanna etc.)
 
My answer-there is always good music out there. You just have to look. A lot of mainstream scenes for any genre of music are pretty poor and music video channels and mainstream radio will never dictate what I should be listening to or tell me what is really happening.

I never listen to the radio these days and I don't have a clue what's top of either the album or singles charts. The whole point of being on sites like these is to share and enjoy different viewpoints on music that is NOT mainstream.

Of course i like a lot of mainstream music but it has always sucked.

Every decade has had good and bad music but some of us don't hear about them because only the good banRAB remain behind. It just seems that mainstream rock is sucking now because you are growing up with it. Trust me there has always been plenty of crap music around.
 
Yeah this is true, but it's not the essence of what I'm trying to say. What I'm saying is that really GOOD banRAB of old (Beatles, The Who etc.) still recognized as being great today, were hugely popular in the mainstream back then. Today, very few banRAB that people on these forums for example would consider good are particularly big in terms of MASS popularity. For the most part, only the banRAB that we insist are garbage have truly huge commercial success. And THAT is a marked difference in the times. Hell, check it out, Nickelback's last album sold like 7 million. No band that dedicated music fans consider good (except maybe for the Chili's? 'cos a lot of people here seem to adore them) can rival that.
 
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