Posted on 03/24/2026 5:01:46 PM PDT by BEJ
The Death Of ROCK
These are some points to consider about the death of Rock Music.
1. Neil Young was wrong in singing that rock and roll would never die in his song “Hey, Hey, My My.”
2. The four hotels in my small home town which hosted rock bands -- the Norfolk, the GUV. The Melbourne, the Village Pump -- also died as a result of rock's death. If nobody sees bands -- no liquor sales.
3. There are no new rock bands in the Top 40, no anticipation of newly released band material.
4. Only old bands exist as travelling acts, e.g., The Eagles, Stones, McCartney, etc.
5. Strangely enough, the Stones, Johnny Rotten, and Neil Young have outlived rock music.
6. Most people are content to stay at home on their sofa streaming their entertainment (and their rap music) rather than go to a hotel to drink cold beer and watch a band.
7. Times have changed. There is even a Mary Hopkins song about that called "Those were the Days." In my small city of 350,000, back in the mid-80s, 34 venues hosted bands; now it is down to 4 venues.
8. Music schools are hurting for students and advertising because people know how hard it is to be a musician and not play out in hotels. Even prestigious schools like Berklee are advertizing.
9. Some videos on Youtube call music schools “scams” and “grifters” for raising false hopes and not telling the reality of the music situation. The reality is that only 11% of musicians make a living from music. Can you say that of other professions like doctors, nurses, and plumbers?
10. If a car pulls up to you at a stoplight and music is blaring out of the window, chances are that it is rap music, not rock music.
11. It's an After the Gold Rush moment. What remains are memories from the past, "ghost towns" of what once was. Rock music has all been mined out of existence. Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" has been strip-mined. There is no more gold in them thar hills... So, the heart of Saturday night back then -- rock music -- is now a nice memory.
Convinced?
Rock music died when bands or artists started relying on in-house produced music.
In house you mean rap?
The Death of Rock and Roll
Todd Rundgren, 1975
Just the other day I got a call from a friend
“I heard what you been playin’ and I think it’s a sin
Why can’t you make a living like the rest of the boys
Instead of fillin’ your head with all that synthesized noise?”
Jackals wait nearby, watching rock and roll die
And no one dared to help it
Vultures fill the sky
I thought we was supposed ta, supposed ta be free
But we all got sold
It must be the Death of Rock and Roll
The critics got together and they started a game
You get your records for nothing
And you call each other names
Things got out of hand and somebody got sore
Now we’re all tuning up for the Rock and Roll War
Time to take up sides, helping rock and roll die
Pick up your check at the window
No one left to cry
I thought we was supposed ta, supposed ta be free
But we all got sold
It must be the Death of Rock and Roll
Nobody paid, nobody played, nobody stayed
Just my lonely guitar
Nobody paid, nobody stayed, nobody played
Just my lonely guitar
I think Neil was on a high and couldn’t see that there is a end to most things. We don’t play ragtime from the 30s anymore but once it was hot, it was the cat’s ass.
Why go to music school, practice, or perform in a bar when there is autotune. Artifical Intelligence will write your songs and maybe play it.
Want some strange looks? Have the windows down and the volume cranked listening to Rimsky-Korsakov’s RUSSIAN EASTER OVERATURE.
Swing killed ragtime. Long live ragtime.
Tom Petty was the last of the rock ‘n rollers, in my book.
No. Most music produced since the 80’s has been done by in-house musicians and music writers. It saves a ton of cash and the music companies dont have to worry about paying as many royalties as much. The record companies don’t visit small cafes to hear new sounds.
Since the 80’s most music has been manufactured.
These things go in cycles. It’s why Don MacLean wrote American Pie.
In a few years all the legacy rockers will be retired or RIP.
That will open up a new era of rock.
AI is at once frightening and influential. It’s scary to know how easy it is to write music on AI, then create fictional characters to play it.
Maybe he’s thinking of Rock & Roll as the 50s music. But it’s true that synthesizers came in big in the mid 70s. And that continued well into the 80s with synth pop.
Why pay for CD’s when you can have all the new music for free? Digital. Bands may have to stay on the road to make a buck.
I miss the 70’s. Foghat.
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
Rock and roll is here to stay
It will never die
It was meant to be that way
Though I don't know why
I don't care what people say
Rock and roll is here to stay
(We don't care what people say)
(Rock and roll is here to stay)
Rock and roll will always be
I dig it to the end
It'll go down in history
Just you watch, my friend
Rock and roll will always be
It'll go down in history
(Rock and roll will always be)
(It'll go down in history)
(Everybody rock)
(Everybody rock)
(Everybody rock)
(Everybody rock)
(Now everybody rock and roll)
(Everybody rock and roll)
(Everybody rock and roll)
(Everybody rock and roll)
(Everybody rock and roll)
Rock and roll is here to stay
It will never die
It was meant to be that way
Though I don't know why
I don't care what people say
Rock and roll is here to stay
Rock and roll will always be
I dig it to the end
It'll go down in history
Just you watch, my friend
Rock and roll will always be
It'll go down in history
If you don't like rock and roll
Think what you've been missin'
But if you like to bop and stroll
Come on down and listen
Let's all start to have a ball
Everybody rock and roll
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
(Rock, rock, rock)
Oh, baby
Have you given J-Rock a chance? While the US has kinda stopped developing new rock music, Japan is making some of the most compelling modern rock I’ve heard.
I trust you won’t make any K-POP jokes, since this is about Japan and rock, and not about Korea and boy bands.
Born in 1952. Weaned on rockabilly, Little Richard, Elvis, Buddy Holly. Went through puberty with the Beatles, Kinks, Stones, Yardbirds. Went through my teens with Hendrix, Cream, Janis, Doors, early Pink Floyd, Who. Went through college with Yes, ELP, Soft Machine, Joe Walsh, James Taylor, more Floyd and Who. The 70's were a constant stream of great innovative songwriting and production. The 80's were for me a let-down, I avoided disco successfully, spent a lot of time listening to Clapton and Queen. Dug grunge in the 90's, but it was clear the tide had gone out.
I haven't found very much to listen to in this 21st century, which is disappointing. But I was privileged to grow up in the best age of music.
There’s still plenty of Rock and Roll out there, you just aren’t hearing it because it’s not as popular as the garbage pop. You have to seek it out. There are lots of rock bands out doing gigs all of the time and a lot of it is pretty good too.
This is more about the death of society as we knew it. Society is much less social thanks to technology and modern values. The cost of going out is much higher. The chances of being the victim of a crime or spat in a public place are much higher. And the younger population are much more lazy than the rock musicians of the past.
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