Members the stranger Posted April 29, 2007 Members Share Posted April 29, 2007 ...They sent the sheriff down to try an' drive us away We were sittin' ducks for the police man They found a dirty-faced kid in a garbage can, uh ha Ooh! And I'm alone, I'm on the highway Wanted, dead or alive Dead or alive How come bands don't make rock and roll like they used to? Sad shame that what I think is the pinnacle of rock and roll is usually regarded as some tacky trend that is better forgot. What happen to bands that had fire and reeked of the very essence of what rock and roll is all about? Where are today's AC/DC, Van Halen, Motley Crue/s, etc? Where is the hair? Why is everything subject to the usual cycles except a half a decade worth of killer jams? These classic rock stations stop at a certain year and the new rock stations pick up way after that, leaving a whole piece of rock and roll untouched, vilified, and ignored. Not only does the media ignore this segment of rock and roll, nobody seems even half way concerned with bringing back the true essense of rock and roll. Strip away the makeup and the spandex, ignore the petty fashion issues of this era of rock and you will find some killer jams that still haven't been topped. Van Halen II is seriously rawk and roll. Shout At The Devil? Bon {censored}ing Scott. Makes my hair stand on end to this day...even right now as I type this. I'm alone, I'm on the highway....wanted, dead or alive! I just wanna rock. Go figure. All these societal issues mucking up the program. And the same (of course) can be said for hiphop, metal, punk/hardcore?, and most other scenes that sit on the inside or the outside, but never in between the mainstream and the underground. You could also use the old cliche about how I'm getting old. I say rock and roll just doesn't rock like it used to. If it's not loud enough, your not old enough. I always hated Bob Seger and his old time rock and roll propaganda, but I just don't know now. Maybe he was right. I always sided with Billy Joel, in that it's still rock and roll to me. Hip hop to grindcore, it's all rockin'. But, it just doesn't seem like my theory has stood the test of time. I have to scour the past and the dustbins of music in order to find something that moves me. A society that let the advertisers take over the group consciousness. The homogenization of the populace has been a stunning success. I take a vacation and drive from Ohio to Texas. I drove about 4,000 miles over the course of the trip. And excpet for the climate and local environments, nothing changes. Every exit in every city, they all are exactly the same. Same couple of corporate petroleum thieves, same five fast puke chains, Wal-Mart, and the barren wasteland of suburban sprawl. Current production methods that reduce music to a series of phrases. Strapped into the mechanization of the grid. Forced to exist bound in a structure it wasn't meant to exist. Tempo, timing, and feel are supposed to be dictated by the music, not the click. The interaction of players and dynamics that results in an organic flow. How many people that spewed their rage at drum machines now use a DAW? I would guess any classical music conductor or composer would agree that good timing and practice with a metronome are mandatory, but when it comes to performing a piece of music, it's time to turn off the click, and let the music play. We aren't playing music today, we are letting the click play music. Did I have a point? If so, I lost it somewhere. What I did manage to decide is a sense of humor is what we really need. That's what's missing, a sense of humor. Everybody needs to lighten up. Stop taking yourselves so seriously and just rock. Even back in similar circumstances, rock and roll still kept it's sense of humor. Don't get sad, get mad. Rock and Roll. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted April 29, 2007 Members Share Posted April 29, 2007 I think all forms of music (except country western which always lags behind) seem to follow the political and social climate of the day. For example back in the days you're talking about is wasn't such a big deal to go to a concert, smoke some weed, maybe even sneak in a couple beers. Sure it was illegal but you weren't as likely to get hassled and hounded by "the man". These days the local fuzz set-up sting operations at the rest area just outside of town trying to entrap kids coming into town for a concert who'd like to smoke a little weed or drink a couple beers. If you drive two blocks down to the grocery store you'd better have your set belt on or you'll get pulled over. If you get caught smoking some weed while riding a bicycle the DOT will pull your drivers license. If you stop for a couple beers after work there's a real possibility you'll end up in jail if you have a taillight out on the way home. It's become a really uptight country we live in and nobody seems to be cutting any slack. We've got more people in prison, jail or on probation/parole per capita than any nation in the world. The fed and states are morally and financially backrupt. Taxes continue to increase. More and more states are bringing in lotteries and casinos yet still can't keep up with the burgeoning demand for revenue. It will be looked back upon as a dark age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted April 29, 2007 Members Share Posted April 29, 2007 How come bands don't make trad jazz (aka Dixieland) like they used to? Now that was some fine music. But, with regard to a lot of your points, particularly the homogenization of our economic and artistic culture: yeah. The big pop music machine has always been a sausage making meatgrinder... best not watch it work... and if you don't like the sausage that comes out, time to find an alternate food source... With regard to "societal issues" mucking up the music... thank heaven they didn't let THAT happen in the 60s or we might have missed the Monkees and Herman's Hermits entirely... PS... strip away the Spandex and makeup and you'll mostly see a bunch of big, fat white, balding guys... a couple of whom might still play actually some of those deathless riffs... PPS... speaking of the song quoted in the title of the thread: I'd heard about this new young band Van Halen that was making a name for itself on the Strip back in the mid-70s. It was the dawn of the new music era and I'd heard they had "street cred" so I was expecting kids in straight-legged jeans and short hair (the pre-punk crowd in LA) but when I saw them (around '76, IIRC) they came out with long, permed hair and multi-colored spray-on spandex pants... they were absolutely the opposite of what I expected. And I thought they sucked amazingly bad. Just plain SUCKED. I was horrified. Several years later when VH's first album came out and started getting KROQ play I heard the song in question and thought... damn... GREAT SONG... how could those spandex poseurs ever write such a cool song about the streets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted April 29, 2007 Members Share Posted April 29, 2007 Heh... That's sort of puts a new light on the term for the sausage content - - it's all made from "lips & asses" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timrocker Posted April 30, 2007 Members Share Posted April 30, 2007 How come bands don't make rock and roll like they used to? Sad shame that what I think is the pinnacle of rock and roll is usually regarded as some tacky trend that is better forgot. What happen to bands that had fire and reeked of the very essence of what rock and roll is all about? Where are today's AC/DC, Van Halen, Motley Crue/s, etc? Where is the hair? Why is everything subject to the usual cycles except a half a decade worth of killer ... Have I got a resource, for you, the stranger! It's Pandora.com. A friend turned me on to it and I loooove it! It's not a file sharing site-it's better than that. You type in a song or band that you like. Submit it, and Pandora checks to make sure they have it and it's the song or artist that you mean. Then, they pull up song after song that is LIKE that song in some respect, and you can thumbs up or thumbs down each tune so that the next one will be more to your taste. Totally obscure bands that never made, some, and also more mainstream successes. But-point is-there is a lot more music out there than you get through the normal channels. Oh, and I feel ya. I'd really like to hear some heavy music that has craft and isn't weighed down with the bitterness of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted April 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 30, 2007 I'd really like to hear some heavy music that has craft and isn't weighed down with the bitterness of today. Yeah. What he said. /Minus the audio compression schemes. Both kinds. //Data reduction emotional suction and hyper volume intensification. ///I need relaxation, not agitation. RANT, Inc. In The Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted April 30, 2007 Members Share Posted April 30, 2007 How come bands don't make rock and roll like they used to? The short answer is:That was then and this now. As Blue2Blue has said in another reply:"What happened to Dixieland Jazz?" I'd go a bit further and say:What happened to every popular form of music that was tied to an era?It got old and passed on. Rock & Roll & it's bastard son "Rock" is no different.They don't deserve any special treatment.They're no better or worse than music from other eras. The Rock (& Roll) era has passed on and, apart from a few nostalgia acts it is a thing of the past. As I've said before, the Rock Generationturned out to be quite conservative.They tend to resist change and think the music of their era was more important than previous or next eras. IMHO they are sadly mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimmyStewart Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Music sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kurdy Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Where are today's AC/DC, Van Halen, Motley Crue/s, etc? Where is the hair? Why is everything subject to the usual cycles except a half a decade worth of killer jams? Well...we did have "The Darkness". But then they broke up. Seriously, I think any type of music you like is being made somewhere. You just aren't going to find it on the radio. In some regional area out in the Midwest, I'm sure there's some big-haired spandex-wearin' dudes playin' the monster riffs, making all the local kids happy. And they probably have a Myspace page too. Though I lack the interest to go check if my theory is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 1, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 IMHO they are sadly mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 1, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Music sucks. In space, no one can hear you scream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 1, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 The short answer is: That was then and this now. As Blue2Blue has said in another reply: "What happened to Dixieland Jazz?" I'd go a bit further and say: What happened to every popular form of music that was tied to an era? It got old and passed on. Rock & Roll & it's bastard son "Rock" is no different. They don't deserve any special treatment. They're no better or worse than music from other eras. The Rock (& Roll) era has passed on and, apart from a few nostalgia acts it is a thing of the past. As I've said before, the Rock Generation turned out to be quite conservative. They tend to resist change and think the music of their era was more important than previous or next eras. IMHO they are sadly mistaken. Rock and Roll and good music will never die. Forget that got old {censored}. Pass this on and never say never. Good music never dies. It just waits for people like me to find it and raise it's immortal soul once again. Human civilization reached it's apex in the seventies. It's all been downhill since. Show me the culture in anything new. Mankind has no class, taste, or civility what-so-ever anymore. It's a wasteland out there and I can't get a good tune about the streets anymore. Where's the NWA of today? What's all this bubble gum {censored} they are selling as hiphop? No punk band in sight. At least Billy knew how to drool on himself. The rest of those suburban clowns don't know {censored}. And hardcore? I don't even know what to say. It's supposed to be a mosh part, not the whole song, you {censored}ing dweeb. Metal bit the dust in a flaming inferno of self parody. I'm sad to have watched it. Oh dear. And rock and roll isn't some genre or other reductionist classification, it's a way of life. Different genres, but the feeling is the same. Rock and roll is a feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 1, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Van Halen - Atomic Punk I am a victim of the science age, uhA child of the storm, whoa yesI can't remember when I was your ageFor me, it says no more, no moreNobody rules these streets at night like me, the atomic punkWhoa yeah, wowI am the ruler of these nether worldsThe underground, whoa yesOn every wall and place my fearsome name is heardJust look around, whoa yesNobody rules these streets at night like me, the atomic punkOoo, AhhhI am the ruler of these nether worldsThe underground, oh, ohOn every wall and place my fearsome name is heardLook around, whoa yeahNobody rules these streets at night like me, nobody, ahThe atomic punk /// Van Halen-Light Up The Sky Yeah, were all fast breakers comin out of the gatesTakin chances. were the crash and burn.Yeah, there is a way with beauty, but you never gaveA love cross the line where none return.I watch my television; almost lost my mind.It said, open your eyes. leave it all behind.I heard the wind a whisprin,Strong magic comin on!They comin out for sure.Come see your children; yeah, theyre lighting up the skies.Wont recognize them any more.Ooh, mama, see the firelight.Ooh, were comin out tonight.Wolves at my door wised up quick.Turn here and gone from on the go.Seems the old folks who come up short were the prettyLittle kids who didnt want it, no.I had to pay admission when I came tonight.And it said, open my eyes. leave it all behind.I heard the wind a whisprin,Strong magic comin on!They comin out for sure.Come see your children; yeah, theyre lighting up the skies.Wont recognize them any more.Ooh, mama, see the firelight.Ooh, lightin up the sky.Light up the sky.Light up the sky.Light up the sky.Light em up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 1, 2007 Members Share Posted May 1, 2007 Rock and Roll and good music will never die. ......... ....And rock and roll isn't some genre or other reductionist classification, it's a way of life. Different genres, but the feeling is the same. Rock and roll is a feeling. Like I said... Conservative Resistant to change..... Think the music of their era was somehow better than past and future eras... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 2, 2007 It was and is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dougb415 Posted May 4, 2007 Members Share Posted May 4, 2007 Human civilization reached it's apex in the seventies. Now there's a scary thought! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dougb415 Posted May 4, 2007 Members Share Posted May 4, 2007 At least Billy knew how to drool on himself. ....and that's considered an accomplishment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudolf von Hagenwil Posted May 4, 2007 Members Share Posted May 4, 2007 How come bands don't make rock and roll like they used to? Sad shame that what I think is the pinnacle of rock and roll is usually regarded as some tacky trend that is better forgot. What happen to bands that had fire and reeked of the very essence of what rock and roll is all about? Where are today's AC/DC, Van Halen, Motley Crue/s, etc? Where is the hair? Why is everything subject to the usual cycles except a half a decade worth of killer jams? These classic rock stations stop at a certain year and the new rock stations pick up way after that, leaving a whole piece of rock and roll untouched, vilified, and ignored. Not only does the media ignore this segment of rock and roll, nobody seems even half way concerned with bringing back the true essense of rock and roll. Strip away the makeup and the spandex, ignore the petty fashion issues of this era of rock and you will find some killer jams that still haven't been topped. Van Halen II is seriously rawk and roll. Shout At The Devil? Bon {censored}ing Scott. Makes my hair stand on end to this day...even right now as I type this. I'm alone, I'm on the highway....wanted, dead or alive! I just wanna rock. Go figure. All these societal issues mucking up the program. And the same (of course) can be said for hiphop, metal, punk/hardcore?, and most other scenes that sit on the inside or the outside, but never in between the mainstream and the underground. You could also use the old cliche about how I'm getting old. I say rock and roll just doesn't rock like it used to. If it's not loud enough, your not old enough. I always hated Bob Seger and his old time rock and roll propaganda, but I just don't know now. Maybe he was right. I always sided with Billy Joel, in that it's still rock and roll to me. Hip hop to grindcore, it's all rockin'. But, it just doesn't seem like my theory has stood the test of time. I have to scour the past and the dustbins of music in order to find something that moves me. A society that let the advertisers take over the group consciousness. The homogenization of the populace has been a stunning success. I take a vacation and drive from Ohio to Texas. I drove about 4,000 miles over the course of the trip. And excpet for the climate and local environments, nothing changes. Every exit in every city, they all are exactly the same. Same couple of corporate petroleum thieves, same five fast puke chains, Wal-Mart, and the barren wasteland of suburban sprawl. Current production methods that reduce music to a series of phrases. Strapped into the mechanization of the grid. Forced to exist bound in a structure it wasn't meant to exist. Tempo, timing, and feel are supposed to be dictated by the music, not the click. The interaction of players and dynamics that results in an organic flow. How many people that spewed their rage at drum machines now use a DAW? I would guess any classical music conductor or composer would agree that good timing and practice with a metronome are mandatory, but when it comes to performing a piece of music, it's time to turn off the click, and let the music play. We aren't playing music today, we are letting the click play music. Did I have a point? If so, I lost it somewhere. What I did manage to decide is a sense of humor is what we really need. That's what's missing, a sense of humor. Everybody needs to lighten up. Stop taking yourselves so seriously and just rock. Even back in similar circumstances, rock and roll still kept it's sense of humor. Don't get sad, get mad. Rock and Roll. Peace. Mama mia, so young and already a midlife crisis. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cry Logic Posted May 4, 2007 Members Share Posted May 4, 2007 It was and is. For you maybe.... To myself and others it just looks like you froze in time and could not adapt to the new way... Similar to the way we thought our parents couldn't adapt to the rock generation. All eras have their good and bad points. Writing off the new generations' art & culture just makes your attitude seem old and irrelevant. Is that what you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted May 14, 2007 Members Share Posted May 14, 2007 i've got some old benny goodman liveno distorted guitarsbut this {censored} kicks ass as far as a groove is concerned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2007 For you maybe....To myself and others it just looks like you froze in time and could not adapt to the new way...Similar to the way we thought our parents couldn't adapt to the rock generation.All eras have their good and bad points.Writing off the new generations' art & culture just makes your attitude seem old and irrelevant.Is that what you want? I still haven't seen a good example of this art and culture you keep referring to. The mainstream today is a wasteland. Garbage in, garbage out. Murder and sex, and more viosexual entertainment to desensitize us all. Where is the art and culture, besides us few lone souls out here doing our own thing? I seriously believe the apex of art and culture has already occurred. In most part, by the corporate masters of the media. Prove me wrong instead of these repeated stereotypes you keep applying to me. I'm the most hardcore guy you'll ever meet. Seriously. I'm not old or anything of the sort. I'm only getting younger. And I'm always open to new and exiting art and culture. Where can I find some? Why is the mainstream completely devoid? This wasn't always the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2007 ....and that's considered an accomplishment? You're not a punk unless you slobber on yourself. Soory for the lack of clarification. :drool: :drool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted May 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2007 Where is some modern art and culture that is on par with James Brown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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