Why Is Rock Still Dead?

Some of the basslines arent half bad Theprodu. 80s rock structures, with very little of the over/under style indicative of traditional or southern redneck country. Hang on, ill post an example . And really, its for that reason that I really even agreed to play these bro country covers in the first place. ?.That and the money. Lol

 

http://youtu.be/ve8sNTqrzCw

I know youll recognise this rock chord progression.lol

 

Oh fuck, now I know I'm living in bizzarro world! Dear lord, the iconography! :bomb:

 

I dunno. Maybe I'm the kind of shallow person that needs lyrics and needs someone to relate to so overwhelmingly that instrumental music doesn't really cut it for me. At least not rock. The crunch of the electric guitar simply does not convey the whimsy required to create the complexity of an opera.

I guess what I don't get is why it's so hard for bands these days to write killer pop songs. There's nothing classic coming out these days. Not even close. These bands act like they're God's gift to guitars, and yet they cannot for the life of them write a pop song that means something.

Some may say it's impossible to write a pop song that means something. But hell, "Iron Man" by Sabbath is a pop song, technically. Technically, it's one of the best songs ever. And these guys who are so much more developed than Sabbath can't write anything that comes even close.

 

Black Sabbath was not exactly embraced by many critics in their day nor do I think "Iron Man" even crack the Top 40. I think there is some stuff that is 'classic' that has come out post milleninum. The nature of the internet, radio and the music industry in general has changed somewhat though, so defining classic may vary somewhat but I'm sure there were a lot of people who did not embrace Black Sabbath when they were releasing these records.

I mean take it or leave it but an example may be "Seven Nature Army" by the White Stripes as being every bit of 'classic' as "Iron Man" in regards to it being an anthemic riff and used for like sporting events and what not. I know a lot of people who do not like that song though, perhaps in general rock fans in the internet age are just harder to satisfy for whatever reason.

 

Yeah I guess you're right. Everything is so sleek now, I guess something of the grittiness of rock is lost on me. I thought it was supposed to be somewhat abrasive and not just pleasant to listen to.

 

*raises hand*

I was like maybe 12 and I thought they were cartoonish and infantile. Devil rock, come on. {{rolleyes}}

 

She completely avoided Nashville and everybody in it during the peak years of her career. You know who she was married to, right?

If you listen closely to some of her lyrics, she's making fun of the people who used to buy her records and go to her concerts. As a child, her parents used to take her to a local country music club, where she sat around and listened in on conversations all around her, because nobody was talking to her. She thought those people were shallow, superficial morons who made terrible life decisions. All that comes through in her lyrics. People think she just has a good sense of humor. Yeah, rednecks, but she's laughing at you, not with you. There's a huge difference. It goes right over the heads of most country fans. She's been laughing all the way to the bank.


As an example, take a close look at the words to "What A Girl Wants". How many country fans would buy it if they fully understood it? A more honest title would be "What A Crazy Bitch Wants".

I tend to agree with her social commentary, which leans strongly to no nonsense feminism that is not particularly radical.

That started when several major record companies closed their Memphis studios and combined operations with existing Nashville facilities. The executives looked at a map and thought, why do we need duplicate studios so close together? Apparently they weren't bright enough to understand that socially and creatively, Memphis and Nashville may as well be on opposite sides of the planet. On Beale Street, you won't hear one note of country music.

Unfortunately, everywhere that rock is recorded these days (except for the somewhat new option of home studios), it's the second or third most important creative thing going on in that city. I think there's a negative impact on the music.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame surely doesn't help clarify the line between rock and country when they induct people like Johnny Cash (in 2012). That was absurd.

 

I actually think Johnny Cash is pretty damn rock n roll, if not purely by sound than by spirit at least.

but I think it is its easier to recognize him as such in this day and age when there is such a blending of genres all around. If Johnny Cash was a new artist putting his music out today he would get more attention from independent college stations, and radio shows like the world cafe on NPR than he would from the country music industry.

 

I dont think that because you prefer the lyrics, it makes you shallow Neon. Thats just the way you enjoy music. Everyone has their own way of connecting with music.Yours is through lyrics.

 

Another thing in response to this. If I recall, most if not all the musicians in Sabbath were influenced by and played jazz and blues before Sabbath, so they were fairly proficient musicians to begin with.

I know a lot of their songs lock into riffs and have a rather sludgy, looming sound but they also have some fairly dynamic changes as well on many songs, "Iron Man" being no exception. The jazz influence is definitely noticeable on their first album, checkout this track with that in mind.

http://youtu.be/KbZ53d3k1cQ

 

They started as a blues cover band.

 

Actually I didn't, but I do now...Holy shit, 'Mutt' Lange the rock producer? Then he fucked over their 14 yr marriage by having an affair with her best friend, Marie-Anne, Shania hooks up with BF's ex and the whole thing eventually caused her a bout of disphonia.
She obviously got her voice back, but wow, bummer. I guess they didn't call him Mutt for nothing, what a dog!

 

Mister AC-DC himself. A few times, he did harmony vocals with an extremely exaggerated Southern accent. I can see the two of them laughing over it at the end of the day, enjoying a beer, as he says "Those fucking idiots have no idea we're making fun of them!" In spirit, I was laughing with them.

In straight-laced Nashville, the only places they would fit in socially would be in the blues and rock clubs and bars on Second Avenue and Printer's Alley. The clubs on Broadway and all the record company executives love, love, love the Republican Party.


The hard thing to understand about Mutt is that the woman he cheated with is ugly. This part of the male mind is something I'll never get. But during his time with Shania... they were partners in crime, so to speak, so I get the connection they had.

This thread has got me thinking a lot about what exactly makes country country, and I have to say it's the vocal, more than anything else. If you try to sing like you live in a trailer park and have an IQ of 85, it's country. If you sound like Glenn Frey but the background music is exactly the same, it's called country-rock or some other hyphenated thing. If you're singing in French, it's Creole music or traditional French folk music.

If you go to southern Louisiana, you'll find clubs where Creole has been performed pretty much the same way for the last 300 years, ever since they brought it with them from France. Instrumentally, it's almost identical to 1940's through 60's mainstream American country. Yet, there is no trailer trash country vibe. The difference is not instrumental.

 

There is some overlap as both country and rock have influence from blues and folk. I don't listen to much country but from what I have heard of 'classic country' and 'classic rock' I think Meliai makes a good point here.

He definitely seemed to exhibit a rock n roll spirit at times, which I have not heard from many of his contemporaries. How natural Social Distortion's covers are of his song and Cash's covers of Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden speak to this for me.


That being said, I do notice some difference in typical instrumental style techniques associated with the respective genres, if we are to generalize. For instance, with guitar, I typically associate rock with power chords, heavy distortion and lots of bends in guitar solos. With country, I typically associate it with steady travis picking such as isolating or emphasizing the bass note from the rest of the chord and 'chickin pickin' technique of abruptly damping notes in the lead guitar work.


As I said, I don't listen to much country, classic or modern, so that could be a surface comparison or a distinction that has faded with newer country.

 

Johnny Cashs very first albums were already 'contaminated' with rock n roll influences

 

I discovered Sabbath around age 13 (those legendary albums were already out for a decade though) and they blew me away. Now, other bands blew me away too around that age and many of them i don't really care for anymore but Black Sabbath still stands! Legendary sound, killer songs and riffs. They're one of those bands that redefined (hard) rock, not just by bringing a new sound and coming into existence at the right time but also simply because of the quality and originality of their songs. Even after decades their songs still stand out in their genre and many new kids that are into rock get massively inspired by them.

 

Shania being from Canada, was a big thing here. So was Mutt. I didn't follow AC/DC, but he brought Def Leopard to fame, they were big here too and our own Bryan Adams, and of course Shania, whose career really took off when he got involved. She was feeling pretty alienated from the Nashville scene and Mutt showed up at the right time. It was almost a storybook romance with them and a lot of people felt Shania's pain when they broke up. No one expected it. I never cared for Shania's voice, but she's a good songwriter and a smart businesswoman.

Didn't you hear, Karen? It's a myth! :-D

The Myth of the Attractive Mistress
[SIZE=10pt]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samara-oshea/the-myth-of-the-attractiv_b_1178996.html[/SIZE]

 

Wow is this still going on ?
We used to laugh at sabbath for being a pop band
The Groundhogs , SAHB , Uriah heep ( early days ) Wishbone ash
That was real music, Zeppelin and floyd ruled from on high
Rock's not dead Its just having a bit of a rest ( we are all gerrin Fucking old for one thing )

Music Is the Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rQ6BBc8f6Y&feature=youtu.be

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWF3S9OgQho&feature=youtu.be