Are there any current stars for the generations?

[Jeff Leites]

Yesterday I noticed a kid who looked about 14 or 15 wearing a Hendrix tee-shirt. I got to thinking, Hendrix has been dead more than twice as long as this kid has been alive. Hendrix became popular when I was in college, and as much as I had to admit it, since I think of myself as perpetually 19, this kid was young enough to be my grand kid (it hurts to see that in black and white!). So I was wondering, who will the future grand kids of today

[Frantag]

It's a much different musical world now. That time period I believe was one of the most exciting. In rural Wyoming, where I grew up, we had one radio station that played everything. At night we could pick up some of the powerful border stations and KOMA in Oklahoma City. Those times were ones in which there was a lot of experimentation. The rules hadn't been set and the lines between R&B, Rock and Roll, and Pop were pretty fuzzy. There were maybe a total of 10 musical genres that were being exposed to nearly everyone. There also wasn't the primary emphasis on commerciality. Record Companies were willing to take risks. They were also more open to different artistic statements.

 

Now we've got niches in music that are subtly defined and each one has it's channels of exposure and distribution. In major labels, radio and TV there is a primary empasis on commerciality that doesn't allow creative risk taking. There is also a level of mediocrity that the general public has come to expect in terms of content and production. Everything needs to fit the formula that the focus group determines. Creativity isn't rewarded or encouraged. Popularity and celebrity is.

 

Within these niches there are stars. Dr. Dre, Moby, Madonna, Dave Matthews, Nirvana, Kanye West, Dashboard Confessional, eminem, Keith Urban, etc. Their staying power across generations remains to be seen. But the cross generational appeal will likely be within niches. The hopefulness that I find is in services like ITunes, Rhapsody and the new Napster. This is the new way of being exposed to music in many different styles and genres. It's like having a record store in your own home. On the indie front, there are even more options. The biggest difficulty is deciding what to listen to. The sorting process still has some bugs.

[Deef]

The Hendrix image is a cultural icon. So a Jimi t-shirt is a desired item in and of itself and the wearer might not own a single piece of Hendrix music. Bob Marley, James Dean, Marylin Monroe, etc.

 

Being dead helps the marketers peddle your image. Your catalog is complete, you are a package. It helps if your silhouette is distinct enough to be turned into a logo.

 

Some artists have made the mistake of outliving their marketability. Of those recent artists who have successfully died, I can't think of any who created a distinct visual style that can easily be iconized. Maybe Dimebag Darrell. It's up to his exploiters now to expand the appeal of his image.

 

Deef

[UstadKhanAli]

One of them will probably be Kurt Cobain. I already see lots of kids who were barely born when Cobain died wearing these shirts.

 

Those of you who are around kids all the time will know that there are so many kids wearing old T-shirts of Hendrix, Zeppelin, The Doors, AC/DC, The Smiths, The Cure, Marley and others. I met a 7th grader who is a Steve Ray Vaughn devotee.

 

This is not unusual.

 

There are so many kids who are genuinely interested in musicians who are much older, and that's why I am always arguing that it is totally criminal to sell the younger generations short (writing them off or dismissing them, stopping music programs in public schools, on and on...).

[Jotown]

Ashlee Simpson?

[UstadKhanAli]

Originally posted by Jotown Ashlee Simpson?

 

Lindsay Lohan?

[amplayer]

Well deef, you have succesfully become the most cynical poster around. I thought I was the worst, but that post takes the cake.

[arellspencer]

Stars? uh I dunno about stars but i'd wear a jeffleites tee and tell folkes he's a boss guitarist that can do surf music proud.

JEFF LEITES Surfs up!

 

Seriously folkes, i try to copy you jeffy me ladd and you just too damn goode.. you tight as a tick in june. and you got that tone ezzackly right..

so I consoled myself by learning as much (goode)surf music and its ilk as I could. you are great jeff, man.

playing that music is really cool.

I know where a lot of PUNK music or speed metal came from.

[valkyriesound]

Bjork

[franknputer]

Originally posted by valkyriesound Bjork

:thu:

[Jeff Leites]

Originally posted by arellspencer Stars? uh I dunno about stars but i'd wear a jeffleites tee and tell folkes he's a boss guitarist that can do surf music proud. JEFF LEITES Surfs up! Seriously folkes, i try to copy you jeffy me ladd and you just too damn goode.. you tight as a tick in june. and you got that tone ezzackly right.. so I consoled myself by learning as much (goode)surf music and its ilk as I could. you are great jeff, man. playing that music is really cool. I know where a lot of PUNK music or speed metal came from.

 

LoL!! Yeah, I just recorded another old surf tune, "Penetration", orginally by the Pyramids, and covered by every surf band on the planet. I'm working on the final mix, and will have it up soon.

[tedjamwell]

Jeff, that's a helluva question. I was going to high school during the early eighties. It scares me every time I hear U2 or Dire Straits being played on the "classic rock" station (I like the bands, just not the fact that they are now "classic"). What scares me even more is hearing the eighties "hair bands" being featured on "back to the eighties" type shows. Is this really what I want my generation to be remembered by? Funny thing is, I never thought about which bands would become classics.

 

For some reason however, a lot of todays kids are being attracted to older bands, My eighteen year old daughter is a huge fan of early Aerosmith, Jethro Tull, and Jimi.

 

Modern classics: Certainly Nirvana will be part of the list, but at this point they aren't even current generation. Pearl Jam, to stay within genre is likely to hold a place. I won't even pretend to guess who will become an icon in some of the other genres. Run DMC? Grandmaster Flash? Tool? System of a Down? Snoop?

 

Time, cultural factors, political climate, who knows.

[Johnny Storm]

 

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli One of them will probably be Kurt Cobain.

 

While I agree with you about Kurt's iconic status, he's hardly a "current star," having died over eleven years ago. Cobain would have to go on the same list as Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. You're right, though, about kids loving older music - I know I did when I was a kid, and now my kids do, too.

 

 

Originally posted by valkyriesound Bjork

 

Great answer, as well as a personal favorite of mine.

 

There are several current bands and artists who, like Bjork, gained widespread popularity in the '90s, and who continue to build on their iconic status. Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Outkast, and Green Day come immediately to mind.

[Deef]

Originally posted by amplayer Well deef, you have succesfully become the most cynical poster around. I thought I was the worst, but that post takes the cake.

 

Moi?

 

Tongue-mostly-in-cheek for that post, but think about it. Where's the market for Charlie Christian t-shirts? Didn't he revolutionize the guitar more than Hendrix? But promotional t-shirts weren't invented until the sixties, when a bold new graphic style exploded and Jimi became not just an aural icon, but also a visual one. And, tragically, he kicked at the top of his game. Leaving a hungry market that could be fed by roving bands of marketers. And lo, his silhouette became a product in itself.

 

You know, Charlie Christian died young, too. But in the forties, death meant the end of your career. The only things printed on shirts were "Camp Muskatoon" and the Notre Dame football coat of arms.

 

Regarding Kurt Cobain, the marketers shrug apologetically. His presentation style was so anti-iconic (although the Nevermind cover gained some visual fame). You couldn't pick him out of a line-up of half a dozen grunge guitarists.

 

My guess is that in twenty years kids will still be wearing Hendrix t-shirts and Kurt Cobain will be sitting with Charlie Christian on a cloud going: "Shoulda put beads in my hair."

[phaeton]

Interesting discussion. I was thinking about starting a thread about all the kids I see wearing Iron Maiden shirts at this one mall. It's as if there was once a fire sale on them and everyone that ever goes there has one now.

 

You can't usually judge people by appearances, but if there is any time when you can it is when they are a pre-teen to teenager. Most of these kids are squeaky-clean looking pre-teens. A few teenagers. But what's baffling is that typically the albums they endorse on their shirts are the oldschool Maiden- some with Paul D'Anno and some with Dickinson.

 

I love Maiden like you just don't know, but I'm a pretty eccentric person, and I remember that even among general metalheads back in the heyday Iron Maiden was a bit of a niche- either you loved them or you couldn't stand them.

 

There isn't really any reason for them to be popular right now.

 

I can see Zepplin, or Pink Floyd, even Sabbath or maybe even the likes of Cream or Jethro Tull having a current crop of fans, but Iron Maiden?

 

How about Alice Cooper? Twisted Sister? Poison? The hair metal bands are so freakin' irrelevant in today's world it's not even funny. There are plenty of real metal acts from the 80s that I would expect to see a resurgence of popularity. There are so many fine examples: Slayer, Old Metallica, Megadeth, Venom, Testament, Overkill, et al.... Iron Maiden isn't a hairmetal band or really thrashmetal but dammit if they don't seem 100x more popular now than when I went to high school in the 80s.

 

Makes me wonder if "Retro for retro sake" is just the current fad and while none of these kids really dig these bands, they aren't 'cool' lest they wear the shirts.

[Hanshananigan]

RS has decided that the Beach Boys will persevere, although no one ever buys their shwag and most humans besides possessive fans (like Manilow fans) and RS editors don't give a damn.

 

VH1 and RS have decided Aerosmith will persevere, regardless of the fact they stopped making important music 20ish years ago.

 

Several country acts will be memorable, but none will be as culturally relevant as "8".

 

Iggy taught us that sticking to our animal instincts can make us Outsiders. And sexy.

 

The Cure and D'Mode proved that Outsiders can be sexy. Regardless or inspite of how long you spend on your hair.

 

Why is Andre the Giant's image more popular right now in punk/speedmetal circles than Henry Rollins' name?

 

There was only one cultural revolution. Herman's Hermits was for those who went to rallies but weren't really involved. Therefore, they didn't make it in Father Time's rolladex.

 

People will always appreciate music you can dance to that makes you feel good. However, it is the music that is appreciated- less so the artist- no matter how good ABBA looks on a t-shirt.

 

I believe that techno/ambient/rave has been able to touch some emotion that music had rarely been able to reach previously. A subset of music will continue to refine itself toward immaculate emotional perfection. Bad music in the genre will continue to kill the buzz.

 

I believe that the blues will continue to be relevant at a very deep and human level. I don't know why. Look for John Mayer to popularize it in the next 10 years, and old records to really, really, show people what it is.

[Billster]

It just occurred to me ( took two days ) that what you see here is the music business having evolved away from anything resembling career development.

 

For instance, the Who made a big splash with "My Generation", but the next few albums were less well received, and the band was really struggling until "Tommy" came out. In today's business, they would have been dropped like last week's moldy bread before they could have achieved the breakthrough that Tommy was.

 

Acts today are pushed hard on debut albums, and then if the second album doesn't meet or exceed the sales push of the first, the act is buried in the cutout bin forever.

[jackcheez]

Tool. I don't know if they really are one for the ages. The reason they come to mind is I've been to a couple of Tool shows and it kind of reminded me of being at Pink Floyd shows back in the day. It's an experience for the fans. More than just a rock show.

[UstadKhanAli]

 

Originally posted by Johnny Storm While I agree with you about Kurt's iconic status, he's hardly a "current star," having died over eleven years ago. Cobain would have to go on the same list as Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. You're right, though, about kids loving older music - I know I did when I was a kid, and now my kids do, too.

 

 

Yes, you're quite right about him not being a current star.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Bjork is a good answer and I think Tool may be as well. Who else? I'm sure there's a few obvious ones that I can't think of right now. And Phaeton, I see a lot of kids with Maiden shirts as well. And I definitely like them. I think Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are simply timeless.

 

Ozzy. Maybe Zakk Wylde, too.

[Kiwiburger]

What's the defination of "current star"? Presumably "not dead yet".

 

I think every generation has their stars. But there does seem to be some street cred in being dead.

 

Anyway - the thing that I miss is the apparant lack of instrumental virtuosos. Plenty of packaged pop songs, but the focus has moved away from guitar hero's or keyboard hero's.

 

Not that that was an issue with Elvis or Bob Marley.

 

But I think there is a special magic when an artist can write songs and play an instrument or two exceedingly well. Add a great vocal style and good looks and you have a Star.

[eh steve]

jack black

[Jeff Leites]

 

Originally posted by Kiwiburger What's the defination of "current star"? Presumably "not dead yet".

 

 

 

I should have been more clear. I was thinking in terms of someone in their 20's, since the Stones can still be considered "current".