Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.
Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.
Some say that hell is when you repeat the same thing over and over again.
Music of today condensed two and a half decades in just two and a half years and we, my generation has been listening to a perverbial hell. Kids today don't know it though. But I do. I remember.
What the h-e-double-hockey-stick am I talking about?
As mopesters Theory of a Nickelfault continued on their guitar solo-less radio friendly 4 chord songwriting careers, I knew this new sound wouldn't last as soon as it started. And it didn't.
People got quickly tired of it and demanded something new and fresh, like buns in bakery.
A couple years ago, when classic rock appeared to be making a comeback, we were inundated with new bands like Jet, The Trews, and The Darkness, rehashing old styles from the 70's, if not blatently plagerising. ("Are you gonna be my girl?" is EXACTLY like "Lust For Life" is it not?) Don't get me wrong, I liked the comeback. I'll take it over moperock any day.
But then what happened? Well, after we had a brief stint with classic 70's rock, I thought, what's next, punk? Yep. Inspired on by Green Day, we had high school "punk" skater revival where every beat was snare drum and every song had 3 chords. Fuck, even Avril Lavigne outgrew all that.
So then I thought? Wait a minute. I see a pattern here. Hmmm, I'm starting to hear more keyboards on the radio? Oh no, not again! Next up was that every freakin' new band was named The Blahs and led by The Killers, 80's retro rock made a comeback. Mod styles were in again, and then there was that day I sauntered down from my office to Holt Renfrew and what doth I see on manakin man? It was like a freakin' time warp where Miami Vice meets Chet the homosexual tennis player and pink alligator shirts were once again the rage. But thankfully, that style ended quickly, the starch thrown out, and the late 60's early 70's hip style (that's why it's the best period in fashion ever) remained. Gee, were sales going to shit?
And as the music got poppier, I thought, "Uh oh, here we go. What's next, 80's glam metal ballad rock?" Sure as shit. But who were the new bands reviving the cheesy hair spray? Well, there weren't any? You know why? YOU FUCKING WANNA KNOW WHY? I'll tell you why. Because a lot of those bands from back then, a whole freakin' 20 years ago, ARE STILL AROUND. And they were touring! And they were selling out! Sometimes TWO SHOWS! Case in point: Motley Crue. Even Quiet Riot came back, then Def Leppard, ad nauseum. Dead horses everywhere!
But then there was the icing on the cake. I couldn't believe it, but wasn't surprised. Nickelback releases their fourth album. How does a band get shitter after each album? What the fuck was Chad thinking? Oh, I know. "Well, it seems 80's glam metal ballad bands are making a comeback. Why don't I write some and fill the void?" What's even sadder is he doesn't even stack up against those shmaltzy songs. I'll put a Whitesnake, Europe, shit even Brighton Rock (remember them?) tune up against Chad "Can't sing higher than middle C" Kroeger. His voice does not warrant it. Hehe, Warrant. Get it? Chad, stick to the gut wrenching growly rocker riffs, or you gettin' soft?
Okay, enough of the Nicklebashing (for now anyway). As I've said in other postings, there are some bands that have transcended and perservered through all this repeated crap and actually sound original, even though some of them are a mish mash of the old . Even then, at least they have vision. Let's list a few, shall we?
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Audioslave
- Velvet Revolver
- Foo Fighters
But let's look at this though. All the guys in these bands were in what bands that emerged after 80's glam metal died? Early 90's grunge! The Seattle alternative sound! I don't need to list all those bands do I? You reading this should know. If you don't then stop reading this blog!
So you can guess what music style is just around the corner can't you? I know, I'm not looking forward to it either. Go pull out your CD collection from 10 years ago and you'll see. Then the next thing you know, Nickelback will make a comeback.
I'm on a highway to hell.
3 comments:
This was hilarious and entertaining....AND SOOOOO TRUE! Thanks Coat Rack!
I agree with pretty much everything you said, but I think there also comes a time when you have to put the critical reviews of the music behind you and just let the emotion take over.... Sure there are a few, okay a lot, of mediocre songs that I love, but I love them because of how they make me feel. Sometimes that's more important than the skill with which the song was written and recorded, or lack thereof.
texas,
I'm not necessarily talking about skill, as compared to originality, which is lacking. The Sex Pistols were terrible musicians, but they had originality.
If I talked about skill, my rant would have been all about the skill in underground progressive rock (like Spock's Beard and Transatlantic), not the lack there of in mainstream hard rock.
Hearing a new original sound that rocks is what makes me love it. And the mainstream popular rock bands I mentioned, QOTSA, Audioslave, Foo, VR, are pushing rock to new levels, leaving others like Nickelback in the dust of unoriginality.
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