Is the USA bored of hard rock?

[guitarmike]

So much cynicism in this thread.

Almost every generation has said that rock was dead after what they grew up with went out of style. 80's and 90's hard rock/metal is hugely popular around here, but the things that are being said about more modern metal were said about 80's/90's stuff by people who grew up with 60's stuff.

Metal is alive and well. You just have to go looking for it now, much like you had to with non-spandex metal in the 80's before Metallica blew up.

Your point is very true. Even in the 80's, if your style of metal was not on MTV or on Zrock, it probably was underground. Most of the thrash bands that did achieve a larger degree of success had some songs that fit the radio/MTV format. Megadeth with Symphony of Destruction, Anthrax with the Sound of White Noise come to mind as their "breakthrough" albums. These bands received radio play nation wide for songs off of these albums. Before then, like Iron Maiden, they received minimal airplay.

You can turn on the radio in Milwaukee and far more Maiden/Megadeth/Anthrax/old Rush, etc now than you did 20 years ago. When 2112 was released it did not get on rock radio, now I can listen to is once per week if I choose to listen to the radio. Go figure.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

You can turn on the radio in Milwaukee and far more Maiden/Megadeth/Anthrax/old Rush, etc now than you did 20 years ago. When 2112 was released it did not get on rock radio, now I can listen to is once per week if I choose to listen to the radio. Go figure.

Because middle aged fans of those bands have become revenue generators and fit the commercial demographic target for the radio station's advertising income.

The 80's generation has become the current "classic rock" target for many advertisers.

90's soon to follow if not already...

 

[squank]

The real source of the problem was/is record company and radio station greed. In the 80's they saw how much money could be made by over saturating the public with whatever music was popular. Radio stations started buying blocks of music from the record companies of bundled music that was designed to attract a specific audience so advertising is more effective and then more profitable. That is why the hair metal scene collapsed so fast. There were a lot of bands writing quality songs in the early 90's but when the record companies decided the money was in grunge music, heavy music, hair metal was dead. This has been repeated over and over in all genres since, that is the #1 reason we are were we are.

Bands today do not have the long term backing and support to develop, so the product (in most cases) delivered to the consumer is weak and does not have much perceived value. This is what led to file sharing and the mess we have today.

If we somehow could get record companies and radio stations to behave like they did from 1966-94 ish record sales would go up through the roof (Yes I realize there were big problems then too). There will always be file sharing but there will also be incentive to buy your own copy of the music just like in the album/cassette days.

Otherwise the Internet will continue to be the great leveler in the music world. Over the air broadcast stations are being replaced by narrow casters that focus on specific genres. I personally like this way but it reduces the chance of an artist breaking big on a national or global scale to 0.

I'm not following you here - how is it that mediocre mainstream music lead to file sharing?

I think the problem is cultural. Stuff on the internet has always been mostly free (other than paying your ISP for access). The generation that grew up with the internet suddenly had access to free information, and lots of it. During this information revolution, social rules change. Downloading a picture seemed similar to downloading a song.

Then Youtube developed, and you have record companies putting their music on there for people to hear for free. The lines do get blurry, and I can understand how many younger people don't see a difference. Record companies say it's ok to listen to music for free on demand on the internet, but it's wrong to burn a copy of that same song so they can listen to that song on demand on their ipod.

I'm not saying I agree with their conclusions, of course. I'm a musician, and I have worked long and hard to write, record, and market my music. But I think the file sharing/illegal downloading problem was directly due to the internet revolution, and not because the music industry was pushing lousy music on the public.

 

[SFW]

I think good music is still out there in abundance. You just have to look past the surface. Big Wreck, Joe Bonamassa, Soren Anderson, etc... I could probably rattle off a dozen band that have put out great albums in 2012. The 70s and 80s where a rare time when hard rock was actually pop music.

 

[mentoneman]

im just bored of boring music

 

[guitarmike]

I'm not following you here - how is it that mediocre mainstream music lead to file sharing?

I didn't say that. The record companies destroyed the artist's ability to develop a career because they no longer put the support behind the bands. This happened before file sharing took off. File sharing is the culmination of tape trading, youtube, albums with 1 good song, etc, etc.

There is no real solution to file sharing is to get the original stuff off of electronic formats and make it difficult to convert to digital formats. Artists need to come to terms that making money off of recording music is no a main source of profit if at all. It doesn't matter if it should be, it just never will be again. Recorded music is part of the total package an artist offers to his fan base, it is the carrot at the end of the stick. That's how I see it anyhow

 

[amiller]

What impresses me about a band is the MUSIC! If the music isn't there and it's just a bunch of jumping up and down and called a "show" ... count me out. My son once said of his band ..."we should be entertaining even if the plug gets pulled." Huh, what's entertaining about jumping up and down with no music? That's how I see most bands today...no "real" music and just idots jumping up and down thinking they're entertaining.

 

[Skrapmetal]

What impresses me about a band is the MUSIC! If the music isn't there and it's just a bunch of jumping up and down and called a "show" ... count me out. My son once said of his band ..."we should be entertaining even if the plug gets pulled." Huh, what's entertaining about jumping up and down with no music? That's how I see most bands today...no "real" music and just idots jumping up and down thinking they're entertaining.

Well, there is a little wisdom to his words. I've been to a few shows where technical difficulties arose and the band was able to entertain the crowd while waiting for the sound guys to fix it.

But yes, it's really all about the music. The rest is fluff.

 

[stephen sawall]

Any music I haven gotten in the last ten years was given to me by the original artist. I about never listen to music .... only what I see on TV & all I have is a antenna so that is very little. I have not payed for much music in about 15 years & have never downloaded / stole it. Any cassettes I had I recorded from material I bought.

In today's world if your material is not being downloaded free by someone you are not even relevant...

 

[squank]

What impresses me about a band is the MUSIC! If the music isn't there and it's just a bunch of jumping up and down and called a "show" ... count me out. My son once said of his band ..."we should be entertaining even if the plug gets pulled." Huh, what's entertaining about jumping up and down with no music? That's how I see most bands today...no "real" music and just idots jumping up and down thinking they're entertaining.

Well, there is a little wisdom to his words. I've been to a few shows where technical difficulties arose and the band was able to entertain the crowd while waiting for the sound guys to fix it.

But yes, it's really all about the music. The rest is fluff.

Very true.

The underlying music needs to be good, of course. That's a given. But if the musicians don't put on some kind of a show and interact with the audience, why bother to go see them?

 

[Meathead]

What impresses me about a band is the MUSIC! If the music isn't there and it's just a bunch of jumping up and down and called a "show" ... count me out. My son once said of his band ..."we should be entertaining even if the plug gets pulled." Huh, what's entertaining about jumping up and down with no music? That's how I see most bands today...no "real" music and just idots jumping up and down thinking they're entertaining.

Well, there is a little wisdom to his words. I've been to a few shows where technical difficulties arose and the band was able to entertain the crowd while waiting for the sound guys to fix it.

But yes, it's really all about the music. The rest is fluff.

Very true.

The underlying music needs to be good, of course. That's a given. But if the musicians don't put on some kind of a show and interact with the audience, why bother to go see them?

meh...so you are saying if Miles Davis doesn't do the splits while he's playing it sucks and everyone should leave?

Fuck the glitter...the playing and the music is far more important. I always hated the glitter part of music.

 

[Skrapmetal]

What impresses me about a band is the MUSIC! If the music isn't there and it's just a bunch of jumping up and down and called a "show" ... count me out. My son once said of his band ..."we should be entertaining even if the plug gets pulled." Huh, what's entertaining about jumping up and down with no music? That's how I see most bands today...no "real" music and just idots jumping up and down thinking they're entertaining.

Well, there is a little wisdom to his words. I've been to a few shows where technical difficulties arose and the band was able to entertain the crowd while waiting for the sound guys to fix it.

But yes, it's really all about the music. The rest is fluff.

Very true.

The underlying music needs to be good, of course. That's a given. But if the musicians don't put on some kind of a show and interact with the audience, why bother to go see them?

meh...so you are saying if Miles Davis doesn't do the splits while he's playing it sucks and everyone should leave?

Fuck the glitter...the playing and the music is far more important. I always hated the glitter part of music.

There's a difference between glitter and stage presence/charisma.

Given two bands with comparable talent, I'd rather see the one that puts on a good show. And I don't mean makeup and firebreathing crap, I mean a band that knows how the work the crowd and make it a fun event rather than just a demonstration of how they play their songs.

 

[Heritage Softail]

People like what looks good.

How many times do you hear of the guy with short hair and a beer gut passed over to be in a band cuz he didn't look the part?

If Katy perry was ugly and A cup, could she get a free drink, let alone on a stage?

I like the show and the music. It is rock and roll man! It's supposed to be a show

 

[Hail Satin]

Well... AC/DC has certainly lost some luster here. Especially when you can turn on any rock radio station and hear them once an hour every single day, all day long.

Wow, that doesn't sounds like such a bad deal to me. I'd be pretty happy with that scenario...

That being said:

Yeah, we're spoiled here in the u.s. with entertainment (not condemnation, just observation).
Look at what other countries pay for concert tickets or (still relevant hopefully) cd's. Over here a show or cd is probably an hour or two's work wage for a kid/young adult (I know, Stones/GnR not applicable). In europe or mexico, it can be a couple of days wage for a show. (cd costs are still higher than what we pay though). A buddy who lives in belfast set me straight in that if you are going to spend 20euros on a cd, you'd better be sure that you're into it before plunking down your cash.

I remember slinking around Brussels a few years back and we were invited to a punk gig near
the Gran Place. We arrived as the show was ending but there were nearly 50 people crammed into a "venue" that was a 10x12 room. Though not a huge turnout, people filled the place.

Another example. Again Brussels 1999. Hanging out a Rock Classic with some long hairs that just released their cd. They were going to play a gig at the RC 3 months later and were totally stoked and inquired whether or not I could come. (being poor and located in l.a. put it out of the question...). Hell, these guys were signed to roadracer records and couldn't find a place to play a gig in their hometown. There simply aren't the glut of venues in some other countries and maybe as a result, fans don't get as jaded.

(generalization) Other countries pay more for music and entertainment and in my observation tend to place higher value on the product/experience.

In the u.s., hard rock/metal essentially went back "underground" around 1992 and we really haven't had "media dominant mainstream" hard rock for roughly 20+ years now.

Bored? Not for the fans. The Mainstream, Yup.