Rolling Stone informs us that kids are listening to classic rock again. "According to the market-research firm NPD, kids ages thirteen to seventeen bought twenty percent of all Floyd and Zeppelin albums sold from 2002 to 2005, and seventeen percent of Hendrix and Queen discs but accounted for just three percent of Creedence Clearwater Revival sales, six percent of Rolling Stones sales and a paltry one percent of Cat Stevens sales." (What? Teenagers ain't got no love for CCR?)

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm glad these kids are not listening to rap, slut-pop, or payola rock (Def. Boring, guitar-driven, allegedly rock music that gets played only by the grace of bribes to DJs and the corporations that control them. See Nickelback. See also, Evanescence.) On the other hand, kids wouldn't be reverting to thirty-five-year-old music if rock music were riding a popularity wave today. Do you think that when The Beatles came out, kids were listening to Al Jolson, The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Kantor? Because that's what was popular thirty-five years before The Beatles hit. Kids weren't listening to 1920s music in the 1960s because music at the time was fresh and exciting, not stale and boring.

The Strokes, The Killers, Coldplay, and The Darkness on the radio waves are more welcome to the ears than what (dis)graced the airwaves, say, in 1998. But let's face it: good rock music has punted in recent years. Since Nirvana, it hasn't been cool to be big. Pearl Jam eschews videos. Radiohead refused to make the jump to stadium band. The Smashing Pumpkins started making music with computers and hi-tech gizmos. The Strokes' Julian Casablancas feigns disinterest while mumbling his lyrics. Ryan Adams regularly releases albums-worth of unmarketable B-sides. Rock "stars" even cut their hair to look like normal people.

Where's the screaming banshee who stuffs a sock in his trousers? Where's the lunatic with a mane of bleach-blond hair who does karate kicks on stage? Where's the iconic frontman who wildly swings the microphone around but catches it everytime? In other words, who gave prozac to all the rock stars and made them act like the lead singer of The Cure?

Today's rock stars, unfortunately, rap. That won't do for some kids. But neither will a good rock singer who looks like he could work at the Starbucks down the street, or your local record store. In the age of the anti-rock star, it's no wonder kids crave Robert Plant, David Lee Roth, and Roger Daltrey.

Popular music artists always wear their influences on their sleeves. Without Elvis and Little Richard, there could be no Beatles.
Without Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, there could be no Rolling Stones etc.,etc.

The problem (or Blessing,depending on your point of view)is that today we can listen to anything we want;old or new.I had two choices when I was growing up;Radio and records.(how else could "Chick a Boom" Be one of my favorite songs of all time!)

Thanks to the internet,I've been exposed to more great and terrible music in the last five years than in my previous forty years combined.
I've dicovered bands that I like to listen to, only to find that they dress like zombies or drag queens or Starbucks employees. still...

Good music is good music, no matter how
the artists dress or act onstage.

Sometimes bands have so many infuences that the end result is utterly unique and magical.
Other times you find youself longing for the original article.Why should I listen to Harry Connick Jr.,when I can listen to Sinatra?
Oasis is no substitute for The Beatles, but
hey...

It's only Rock n' roll, but I like it!

The rise of popular TV like That 70s Show attributed to some of the rise of the greatest generation of rock music. Long live Zeppelin!

Also theme songs to TV shows like CSI and CSI: Miami and Adam Sandler movies.

Was listening to David Lee himself the other day and his contention is that today’s musicians don’t experience enough of life necessary to enrich their music and/or lyrics. He commented on how a lot of today’s bands don’t do much when recording and especially when on the road, i.e., don’t go out, pursue interesting places, people or situations. That they are too layed back and thinking more about chillin’ and consider that they have a higher purpose than just making popular music.

Interesting take for someone who certainly got out and about when he was a star.

File this under the heading of Go Figure: an album of 50's tunes has just debuted at No. 1! The artist? The envelope, please - Barry Manilow!

On another musical note (pardon the pun) I was in a restaurant the other day and they were playing all 80's music. Say what you want, but that music is fun and enjoyable! Some people like to say they hate it as it is light on content but it typically gets you foot tapping and humming along as schmaltzy as some of it is. It's nice too that, in your mind, you can match the song with a video from the days when videos were actually as creative as the music.

Rock stars aren't identified with nicknames or "stage names" anymore. Where are the new Bono/Sting(police era)/Diamond Dave/Axel/Weiland/Vedder/Cobains???

There is a true shortage of new "true rock" bands out there. Coldplay is anything but "rock" (piano ballads don't qualify), and although I love "The Killers" recent CD, they are more retro 80's than "rock". The "Foo Fighters" have been the bridge from the late 90s to date, with no signs of slowing down.

Part of the problem is the lack of staying power that "new" rock stars have. With the advent of MP.3 players and ITunes, people rarely buy a record, cassette, 8-track or CD. They just download their choice of singles off the internet.

When Peter Grant was managing Led Zep, their contention was to not let anyone use Zeppelin music for anything...movies, commercials tv shows etc. The pilosophy was that over exposure was bad for business and f*&% off. He died and the remaining members seeing their royalty checks growing smaller decided to do something about it. They went to Hollywood and shopped thier music. So about 5 years ago thier songs appeared in movies ( ALmost Famous and in commercials-Cadilac) and commercials. Their current again and the song rock and roll is the best reason to buy a cadilac. Their How the West Was Won may be second only to the Beatles Anthology as far as those things go. Hopefully they get back for a tour with John Paul Jones and not with Goldie Hawns son in law.

Nickelback.....now ain't that a crap band. Horrific noise.

I completely disagree. While I like a few of the over the top rock stars (the who, Stones etc.) Most of my favorite bands: CCR, Marshall Tucker Band, Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, The Band, Grateful Dead etc. did not try to play some crazy shows. They just played good music.

Similarly if you look at country music, I can't stand the big hat type stadium show bands like Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Big and Rich, and the like who try to make music into some sort of sideshow, but I prefer someone with good fun songs, a few fiddles and a steel guitar.

Maybe the kids are just doing more drugs?

It's time for Spinal Tap to make another comeback!

We've got Armadillos in our trousers. It's really quite frightening.

What's even curiouser is that a lot of the kids are into soft music. Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson even some older stuff like James Taylor. Haven't figured out if this is because of them being a generation raised to be house bound on TV and Internet with all of the modern conveniences so they appear to be more relaxed and comfort oriented or if it's a maturity thing.

dont think i didnt catch that Mr.Gro! you have to admit the page/goldies son in laws band disc kicked some serious ass. at the new years eve show they played ten years gone and wanton song and if you closed your eyes it would have been tough to decifer who was who. well not exactly but damn close.

If you want a good quick Zep fix, some tunes off HTWWW......

http://www.ledzeppelin.com/site_flash/fs_audio.html

The Grateful Dead is truly the worst band in the past 40 years. They make the Black Crowes look like the Beatles and take reader Morris off the hook. The Dead fans are even worse they are ugly, and smell like sh*t.

In general, I like the type of music I can enjoy while on the water, playing horseshoes, or at a backyard Barbecue. Not the soundtrack to a riot or something like that.

While I don't like Nirvana, I don't see anything wrong with being anti rockstar in the sense that the music should be enough, and I could care less about what the artist wears, drugs he does etc.

I think the main reason why kids listen to older music is that it is a lot more accessible than it was back then with more radio stations, internet, etc.

"Maybe the kids are just doing more drugs?

Posted by Homer J. Fong at February 14, 2006 06:33 PM "

Wayyyy too many. Where's my clonopin? Good new music:

1) Wilderness (from Baltimore, Maryland, no less!)
2) The Wrens (kinda old, but they released an album in 2002 or 3 i think)
3)Sufjan Stevens
4)Trail of Dead (kinda)
5)Mogwai

man, this is just depressing me. modern music sucks.

Check out...

Paul Pena
The Mooney Suzuki
The Hives
Atomic Rooster
Bloodrock
Apples In Stereo
Nick Drake
The Donnas
Dropkick Murphies
Clockhammer
Jeff Buckley
Cake
Del Amitri

Guilty Pleasures? Maybe; but these are some of my all time underated favorites!

To be continued...

As Dr. Hook once said:

Well we are big rock singers, we've got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kind of pills to give us all kind of thrills
But the thrill we've never known
Is the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

I've got a freaky old lady name o' Cocaine Katy
Who embroiders on my jeans
I've got my poor old gray-haired Daddy
Drivin' my limousine
Now it's all designed to blow our minds
But our minds won't really be blown
Like the blow that'll get you when you get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

We got a lot of little teenage blue-eyed groupies
Who do anything we say
We got a genuine Indian guru
He's teachin' us a better way
We got all the friends that money can buy
So we never have to be alone
And we keep gettin' richer but we can't get our picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone
Wanna see my picture on the cover
Rolling Stone
Wanna buy five copies for my mother
Rolling Stone
Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone