I am 31 years old and been listening to hard rock and heavy metal music for almost 20 years. This morning I just played some tracks from ‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙' album by W.A.S.P and I still love and celebrate the music beginning in my teenage years growing up in the industrial Midwest. Rock on. 🤘🏾
Ive never stopped looking, buying, enjoying new music. Rock is alive and well in our world, people changed with the times☹️. Just glad bands are still doing it
But also I remember buying things when I was younger not knowing if I'd like it. Teenagers don't have to do that, they can just stream what is immediately pleasing and not challenge themselves in the listening of something different. I have 4 kids, I see this daily 🤣
Sadly so many people just stream stuff and have zero interest in buying actual product. They justify it by saying I pay for Spotify....yeah but the artists get pretty much zero. What a sad state of affairs.
One problem contributing to this decline is older fans (those in their 50s, 60s, 70s) not giving newer bands, or even new releases by established bands, a try. I turned 57 this year and still look forward to discovering new music (bands and releases) but the amount of older fans that i encounter that are stuck in the music of yesteryear is astounding. Selfishly, I prefer rock bands to be underground to keep labels from meddling and trying to alter a band's sound to become more popular/commercial. Also, surprised that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon didn't make the year end list.
The problem isn't just with 'young people' into pop hip-hop and country, it's also older people who seem to think nothing good has been released after 1990. I also come across a lot of older people on many music TH-cam channels' comments section who will not give any rock or metal band they have not heard of a chance, they only want to listen to their 1960s, 1970s and 1980s favourites. They will criticise anything released after 1990 even if they have not heard it and given it a proper listen. If there is a problem that is also part of it as well.
@jimmycampbell78 💯. You can't be blown away by something if you're playing it safe only listening to things from the past. There's tons of greatness out there. The spirit has never left
I'm in my 70's and what you say is absolutely true. Almost everyone I know who is in my age group is like that, in fact I think you're a bit generous, I'd say the cutoff is more like 1980. I try to turn them onto new music but they're just not interested. I have a theory, it's not the music that they like, it's the memories that the music triggers that they're into.
Thanks for being my number one source for new music. We used to have the rock magazines to learn about new bands. You definitely do the homework. Much appreciated!!! Happy holidays buddy
New albums aren’t pushed or promoted anymore. After one week new rock albums die. It’s all about the pre album drop now. There’s no mtv to tell kids what to buy and record labels aren’t doing anything to keep up where kids are watching, like TH-cam and TikTok. It’s up to the band to promote themselves these days.
Art and Culture has become a reflection of today's fast-paced and inattentive society. People want things quickly, easily, and then forget about it and move on to the next thing. That's essentially why pop/hip-hop artists release so many singles, and the charts are going to reflect those trends. Rock/Metal has moved underground without compromising the quality of the past. The mass attention is no longer there. I obviously don't want to see newer rock bands struggle financially, but I certainly don't correlate artistic quality to sales charts.
In addition to very good European bands like Ghost (of whom you cover quite a bit at your channel) there's also Denmark's Volbeat - the latter who (in 2016) did a pretty decent cover of the southern rock song "Battleship Chains" (originally recorded by Terry Anderson and The Rugs but made famous by Georgia Satellites on their 1986 S/T debut album.) I think Volbeat covering obscure songs from the past like that is far more interesting than hearing Greta Van Fleet continuing to sound more and more like Zeppelin or Mammoth WVH trying to act like they're the next coming of Eddie and VH, although the song had been covered before in the past.
Maybe it's time we started thinking of Rock as the 21st century equivalent of what Classical music was to the 20th century. The Bachs, and Beethovens, and Mozarts of the past century are now the Beatles, Fleetwood Macs, and Elton Johns of today. I used to manage record stores. Classical music always took a back seat in sales to Rock and Pop and Soul music. Now Rock takes a back seat to rap and hip-hop, and whatever junk most people stream that's new. It doesn't matter in the long run because the Classic Rock bands, and performers - like Bach, and Beethoven and Mozart before them, are dying off, and only the music will remain. And eventually, the audience that has first hand memories of those acts will be gone, too. It's the way of the world. Just forget about the marketplace, and what sells and what doesn't, and just listen to what you like.
Mentioned The Hot Damn!- Dancing on the Milky Way cd a few posts ago. Great cd that should have huge sales. Sad state of affairs that Rival Sons aren't well known too. Thanks Brendon. 💯
Unfortunately, even as a lifelong avid record collector, that batch of new CD's that you highlighted in your video, I have NEVER heard of any of them! The current state of rock music (sales wise) has been dropping for years in the wake of the rise in country and rap. If you want to take a more broad spectrum approach, just look at the sales figures for groups vs solo artists, especially new releases. The demise of the "group" vs "solo" artist is even more staggering.
I think there is still some great rock coming out- Smashing Pumpkins has an awesome new album out, The Cure's new album is fantastic. Jack White's new album is outstanding(quite possibly his best album ever) Pearl jams new album that came out last summer was decent.
This makes total sense. Over the years, particularly with streaming, artists these days are curated by listeners. Most of the artists we grew up with have been distilled to whatever hits they have. So, anyone still into physical media, that hasn't been collecting music since 1980 or whenever, is going to focus in on the hits packages. Think about it. If you wanted to explore the world of jazz or pop from the 1950s and earlier, you would probably focus on either seminal records (jazz) or hits packages (Elvis, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra). This is just happening to rock now. It was our music, just like Elvis was the music of our parents or grandparents. People still play jazz and early rock styles, but they are niche. I am sure over time there will be other bands that mine the fields of artists we love, but will it ever be at the forefront again? You never know what could happen, but it doesn't look to be that way... at least not until 2112.
My #1 album for 2024 is an alternative rock album, The Last Dinner Party's "Prelude To Ecstasy". And my #5 is The Warning's "Keep Me Fed", a power trio of sisters from Mexico. And my #9 album for 2024 is your #1, Deep Purple's "=1". I have a lot of pop music in my Top 10 for 2024, but I haven't forgotten about new rock music. Other newer rock favorites of mine, are the group Skating Polly and female blues rock guitarist Ally Venable.
The mainstream media focuses on Country and Hip Hop. Rock is ignored. Country and Hip Hop have their own televised awards, whereas, Rock doesn’t. Although some movies have Classic Rock, new Rock is overlooked. Yet, Hip Hop is used like crazy in movies. I wouldn’t say Rock is dead, but it could use a kick in the ass and more exposure.
I partially agree with Gene Simmons, rock music is not dead, NEW rock music is dead. "Old" rock is still selling. I have a lot of respect for the younger generation of rock artists and bands who are still following their passion even though they have nearly zero chance of achieving any kind of significant success in today's musical climate.
Problem is too many, the majority of music listeners just follow what is popular in the mainstream. Too many followers, not enough listen to new music and want to live in the past, it's all in the hands of the people and its their fault if new music doesn't succeed. If you just listen to mainstream radio and what's on TV shows, jump on the current trend of the moment, nothing will change
These are - imho - in no particular order, the hurdles that Rock/Metal need to overcome in order to return to the top. 1. Older fans who will not explore anything released beyond the Grunge era. 2. Radio Stations/Labels/Promoters/Advertisers who will not explore anything released beyond the Grunge era. 3. Radio Stations who will not play NEW material by established acts. 4. Bands both new and old being absolutely clueless about how to appeal to younger audiences. 5. The current cultural bias by the mainstream press against the genre. 6. The abandonment of physical media by the Normies. Solve those and we can get there, gentlemen.
It’s so crazy! Here’s my favorite albums list in order that I also purchased and I bet most of you haven’t even heard of # 32 suicide angels- profane prayer #31 sidewinder- talons #30 rev theory- salvation nowhere #29 10 years- inner darkness #28 Devilskin- surfacing EP #27 Cassandra’s crossing- garden of earthly delight #26 stone horses- redemption chronicles #25 the warning- keep me fed # 24 the gems - phoenix # 23 return to dust- S/T #22 amberdown- shattered and bagged #21 Texas hippie coalition- gunsmoke #20 mick mars- the other side of mars #19 lift the curse- overtake #18 black smoke trigger- horizons #17 smash atoms- S/T #16 flat black- dark side of the brain #15 April art- rodeo #14 dust bolt- sound and fury # 13 beasto blanco- kinetica #12 Florence black- bed of nails #11 shallow side- reflections #10 cold stares- the southern #9 hearts and hand grenades- where I begin #8 tim Montana- savages #7 amongst liars- of design #6 Scott stapp- higher power #5 Marilyn Manson- one assassination #4 a killers confession- victim 1 #3 dead posey- are you in a cult #2 blooming discord- memories from the future #1 Budderside- white flame
Well there are a lot of things to look at with this and I have been constantly mentioning this to people about the difference also with real sales and streaming, because I still don't consider streaming should count in as sales, I think it should be a totally separate chart. The reason I say this are a few, ONE being you don't have to listen to full songs to count, thirty seconds will do it, also there is a "weight" on the scale for listening, paid memberships as to non payer, and though a certain amount of streams need to be added together to count as ONE sale I don't think it should count as a "sale" at all because you dont own it, its not yours, a digital download purchase is different, but streaming is nothing more than you renting an album just like back in the day BILLBOARD had a "rental" chart and a "sales" chart for movies on VHS/DVD . The reason I also say this is their is a HUGE HUGE difference in streaming of Rock artists especially older ones with new material as opposed to younger pop and hip hop artists and latin artists too. Two examples of this would be the last Bon Jovi album, now the headline was how this album debuted at Number 5 and fell off the charts and everyone said wow what a big joke, HOWEVER it sold close to 50,000 first week and almost all of the sales were physical copies including 8,000 on vinyl their biggest vinyl week since 1991. Also debuted as the number one Top Album sales, which to me tells me more than streams. Even the new Linkin Park, coming at number 2 for week debut sold 98,000 almost 75,000 were physical albums not streaming, so even them who I guess you can say are an older band still I feel the Rock Genre is a physical selling one more. ALSO a great thing to look at is that there are no bands anymore in the mainstream meaning that labels are not signing bands and bands are not getting paid. A writer in the UK pointed this out to Rick and he took a chart and found that out of the global chart there were three bands and one was the Beatles, one was a reggaeton group and the other was Coldplay. The main reason for this is $$$ , with signing or dealing with a band you have to circulate the money, solo artists dont have that issue except the mainstream pop/hip hop ones that use a ton of writers and producers supplied to them by the labels so basically the labels are cirulcating their own money back and forth. So this is another reason Rock is not getting its "light" because it's more of a band genre be it new or old you don't see too many new Rock solo artists out there. I'm not taking anything away from those getting streams but to me listening to 30 seconds or pieces of an album counting the same even if you need many to equal a sale, to me no amount should equal a sale because nothing was sold.
Rock music of the 70s, 80s and even 90s was the apex of music of all time. It’s sad to watch it go. There are still gems to be found but it is few and far between
I was happy with *Pearl Jam's Dark Matter* album. As good as the last one Gigaton & better than the previous 2, Lightning Bolt & Backspacer which sucked. I was happy with *Coldplay's Moon Music* album. It was better than their last 5 albums & reminded me of their early albums like Parachutes & Viva La Vida. I was happy with *The Cure's Songs Of A Lost World* album. It was genuinely one of the best albums released in the last decade & their personal best since Disintegration.
I have seen some great tours this year including W.A.S.P , Creed , and King Diamond. Had good big crowds. It has been underground for a long time. As long as i have all my good music to listen to. I am fine with it.
Of course, if you're talking mainstream charts, rock hasn't really ruled the charts since the late 90s. It's not selling because as a whole the younger generations have moved on, most of the music you cover, is now niche. Nothing wrong with that, I love all forms of rock, but i'm under no illusion of it's popularity.
Is any of this surprising? The wider culture ignores rock music, so there isn't any massive voice pushing rock to people who don't already listen to it. Streaming is only a part of the issue; the major thing is that no one who isn't scouring TH-cam channels and small review sites has ever heard of any of these bands. To me, the biggest thing with rock right now is that there isn't a 'current' sound. The majority of bands I come across are blatantly trying to sound like they're forty years old, or they're in the generic post-grunge mold. They're both tired, old, and competing with the 'classics' who already sound like that. Young people cos-playing as a time when they weren't even alive isn't going to be massively popular.
Female-fronted heavy rock bands from the modern era like Halestorm (feat. Lzzy Hale) and The Pretty Reckless (feat. Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame) are the ones that are trying to carry the rock and roll torch for the female side of rock, even though they're the only women in their respective bands. Both are heavily influenced by Heart, The Runaways and even the 80s glam metal scene. And that Japanese vocal metal band Babymetal is a huge joke, imo.
Harem Scarem "United" Unleash the Archers "Abyss" Eclipse "Megalomanium I/II" Sunburst "Fragments of Creation " The Defiants "Zokusho" - just 5 terrific recent rock/metal albums that IMO tell me there is nothing wrong with the scene.
You didn’t understand the point of the video then. I wasn’t saying there is a lack of great music. It’s that there is a lack of great music selling and being popular.
Could it be a fallout from the general decline of interest in bands versus soloists? I read this online (regarding the UK chart though). In the first half of the 80s there were 146 weeks when bands were #1. In the first half of the 90s there were 141 weeks when bands were #1. In almost five years of this decade it’s three weeks, just three.
Rock and roll is not dead at all. I go to 2-3 concerts a month of all these bands from the 70's, 80's and 90's. They are selling out mid sized arenas and venues easily. I've seen Styx 4 times in the last two years and they are selling out 8,000 seats on average. They haven't released an album since Crash of the Crown from 2021. So, without new music a lot of bands are still making their mark on tour. It's not dead. Rock is still out there but it's just live shows now.
Just discovered a relatively new American classic rock sounding band called Joyous Wolf. You may or may not have already talked about them before. I don't have a lot of time to watch every one of your vids because I'm too busy doing other things - like my job. Anyway, JW is best known for their 2021 rock radio hit "Fearless." They definitely sounded like a late 80s glam metal band. Kind of reminded me of Thunder with a tinge of 70s Bad Company and UFO. Don't know if they've released anything new as of late (not much information on their discography,) but I'll say this. It's not very common to hear a band that emulates bands like Thunder or UFO. I think that's somewhat unique.
Brendon, "rock" was always my staple. I grew up in the 70s and loved rock of that era, plus I stepped back into the 60s and found that I loved rock from that era as well. The 80s were great, for me, especially the first half. Rock from that point onwards became less & less interesting to me. I always said that I was a "rock" fan over the years but eventually realized that I was buying less & less "rock" especially in this millennium. I am just not hearing much that is interesting to me from rock bands or artists other than Radiohead, Beck, and a few others. It has been a long time since the mostly harder rocking bands songs/albums registered with me when I hear them. For the past 10 years I have started buying lots of new music again (on vinyl), past and present and, sadly or strangely, very little is rock after 1990. The massive amount of rock that I have is from 1960 to 1989. I simply buy whatever triggers my ear and I have found so much great music past & present from so many other genres...especially from artists that refreshingly fuse genres together to make their own thing. I have 5 new vinyl albums under the Christmas tree this year that I bought for myself!! The two rock ones are...PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975) and EXILE ON MAIN STREET (1972). The other three albums are funk, instrumental avant-garde, and electronic soul. No 21st Century rock to be found. It just no longer feels fresh or interesting to me. Based on what you said about what sold in 2024: I listen to both Fleetwood Mac's RUMOURS and Elton John's DIAMONDS (plus other studio albums of theirs) frequently. They still sound great.
I’m not sure we will ever see the glory days again Brendon??? 😢😢 It’s a combination of several things I think. Like you said Streaming, other entertainment options, most people not valuing music like we did 40 years ago. I personally do not Stream & never will, but I know I’m in the minority. 😐😐 It’s all very sad to me!!! 😭😭😭
Heads up my friend, LONG LIVE THE CD! FORMAT...IM LIKE U ,I DONT SUPPORT STREAMING EITHER, THATS OK ,BECAUSE WE FOLLOW our hearts , NOT THE TRENDS, CD'S OFFER US BIOS ,PHOTOS, LINER NOTES, ESSAYS& MORE! & CD U CAN OWN & CHERISH & HOLD IT IN YOUR HANDS & OWN,,, , STREAMING DOESNT COMPARE!
Don't really bothered brendon as long as I can still by rock music, blues, jazz I'm happy 🤟been saying that about rock music since I was a kid in the 70s it's still going 🤟
Rock music already did its job of creating the counterculture, so now corporate America only promotes what appeals to the lowest common denominator. A stark contrast to Europe, where rock and metal are thriving. PS- I highly recommend the book “The Memoirs of Billy Shears”. It’s an eye opener!
Music today is all about the solo artist, no bands or groups are getting promoted, execs want a face/image that sells. Gone are the Berry Gordys, David Geffens, Bill Grahams - people who got behind artists/bands because they knew they were talented.
There's plenty of obvious criticism towards the state of streaming audio. However, the glaring issue to me is that most of these artists just don't give a fuck anymore. They're rich, they've made it and with that comes a certain carelessness to their end product. Soooo many rock albums that came out in 2024 mostly comes off as filler, or just something to appease the studio's. You also have bands who are just banking on their past image, when they don't even have the original members anymore. No one is taking creative risks and they are phoning it in. No one wants to say these things because it's unpopular to judge the artists themselves.
Rock as a cultural currency is pretty much done...It is no longer the dominant musical idiom in the western world..or anywhere in the world, for that matter. The world of kids growing up appreciating loud guitars and drums and sweating in some dingy garage struggling to run through a tune is gone. Rock is going the way of a niche thing.
Its still pretty popular in Europe from what I hear. And while I can’t speak for the entire underground scene their is a pretty decent glam metal scene thats heavily influenced by the 80’s
I don't think Rock/Metal will ever be on the same level as it was these 50 or 40 years ago. But there are still a lot of great newer bands like Venator, Castle Rat, Amethyst and etc. Just give them a chance.
Kira Mac and the Hot Damn are two new bands i have got into this year. There are still talented bands out there getting exposure is the issue. Hobbie dazzle is very good as well.
I think one of the problem is the number of genre available out there and streaming. This is crazy, RYM site shows 269 subgenres of Rock and 72 subgenres of Metal. There is so many different niche and everything is subdivided. From what I can gather in my life around me a lot of younger people don't explore/expand their musical taste. As an example my son, who is 19, listens essentially to metalcore - that's it. Others are hip-hop only. To me I never understood how a band like Rival Sons does not get more attention. The best newer rock band out there for the last decade - Jay Buchanan is the best current rock singer period.
Based on current Album sales for legacy rock bands, i think its safe to assume GNR will concentrate on touring again in 2025, and will not bring out a brand new studio album. Rock may not be as popular as it once was, but it will never die out imo.
It just feels like something in rock died after GnR broke up honestly, like they were the last "rock gods" if you will. That's not to say that *nothing* good has come out since, it just feels like something changed. I enjoy A7X, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Velvet Revolver, etc. But it just feels like the era of the "hedonistic rock star living his best life" kind of died in the mid 90s
I think so much of it was the pop culture collective pre-internet. With access to unlimited music now and everyone in a different phase of discovery, it's so rare to have everyone on the same page for album releases etc. Country is the new rock - even still it's more a "vibe" and less about scoring the latest album. Kinda blows lol
Rock N Roll has been a driving force in the music industry from the 1950s to the 2000s or 2010s and then Rock N Roll has been taking a break from being a worldwide force while Pop Urban Country Folk and other genres have dominated the music space but Rock N Roll was is and always will be loved and appreciated no matter what happens however I gotta ask will Rock N Roll be a part of the mainstream music industry again someday somehow in the future
The death of rock can be attributed to the fact that it is super easy, and probably super cheap, to pluck some person off TH-cam, bring them into the studio armed with autotune and a drum machine and have them sing or rap over it creating generic pop and rap stars that can be heavily marketed through social media. Then the songs appear on the streaming media charts, which is akin to radio play in our day, and voila you have what is popular.
That is why Nic Nocturnal has a metal awards show. The Industry is pushing Rock and Metal music out. I miss my ZRock radio. When Zrock collapsed it all went to hell in a hand basket. I feel that the industry wants rock to go away.
Rock as a mainstream genre has been dead for like 20 years. Kids don't seem to like rock anymore and there's not many newer bands doing things on that higher level that weren't already popular in the 90s or prior. But if you dig deeper into the indie bands there's a ton of interesting things going on still. Rock will never die but it's just not popular to the newer generations anymore.
The rock music scene in the USA sucks, yet it is vibrant and thriving in Europe, Japan and Australia. When I worked in wholesale end of music, everyone lived breathed music, now those who work in that area consider it a job. The only ones in the American music biz are the guys and gals who own these independent record stores, Amazon gutted their music department and anyone who buys the new rock is finding more difficult to obtain. Frontiers is having distribution issues stateside and more European labels are becoming more reticent to do business here because they get a better ROI in the rest of the world than here. Bottom line because the recording industry spends less and makes more $$ on rap, rock will play second and third fiddle. Also the rock audience in this country need to start supporting less renowned but up and coming rock acts in their club and small theater shows rather than being so enamored with bands (that we all love) whose creative peak is in the rear view mirror and have to a myriad of tricks and hacks to perform live. I wish the outlook was not as bleak as it seems, but if we put our money where our mouth is and support newer acts by buying their physical product and buying tickets to shows we can maybe bring some of the magic back. P.S. eschew streaming whenever possible. The artist gets a bigger cut and the sound is better...long live rock and roll.
There are many factors destroying all art and talent. Not just music. Jeez look at the state of movies as well. Corporations want sure things not annoying unpredictable talent. So if you want to hear new music and real bands it’s on you to find them. They will sell you oldies and classics. Young people barely have the attention span for a song much less an album. The phones have destroyed their ability to concentrate on anything longer than a tik tok video. Say 90 seconds. Plus to be an actual musician takes time and work and patience and practice, things the school system have eroded to a joke. Kids are literally taught these things are a waste of time. I saw it first hand. Sad times for the whole world especially here in America the USA.
My top album of 2024 was Judas Priest - Invincible Shield. This album and their previous album, Firepower, are their 2 best albums since Painkiller. Both Deep Purple's and David Gilmour's new albums of 2024 are going to make my top 10 albums of 2024 also. There have been some really good rock and metal albums in 2024, but they all seemed to have gone under the radar. Saxon's and Flotsam And Jetsam's new albums of 2024 are also fantastic. Some old-time fans of some of the legacy acts ignore the newer stuff because the newer stuff by them aren't the "classic stuff" people grew up with. And newer music fans ignore them too because the legacy acts are a bunch of "geezers" that play "geezer rock." So, it is almost a no-win situation for legacy acts to make new music. Hence they go on legacy tours playing the classic era stuff to make their money. Last year, The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds album was freaking fantastic, was my #1 album of 2023, and it is my favorite album by them since either Steel Wheels or Some Girls. I still have Hackney Diamonds in my rotation and am still trying to figure out if I like it better than Steel Wheels or not. If so, then it is definitely my favorite since Some Girls. Though, in the U.S., Hackney Diamonds didn't seem to perform as well on the charts as many other lesser albums by other artists. You also got to wonder how much streaming affects the charts, not to mention illegal downloading. Heck, even legal downloading can affect it. All it takes is for one person to purchase and download legally one album and then share the files with other people. Also, many younger people don't bother purchasing physical copies of albums and are content with streaming and/or downloading. You just can't hardly find any new music in the big retail stores anymore (unless it is something new by Taylor Swift and the like or something from one of the current hot Country artists.) I have to do most of my CD purchasing from Amazon and just have it delivered to my house, like you do. On the rare occasions I buy vinyl (RSD exclusives, special releases, no equivalent CD release, etc.) I go to one of my local record stores in person and pick up the vinyl.
Still alot of great music being made just look at bands from Sweden and Germany all awesome stuff but radio won't play any of it they are verry much to blame for rock being the way it love the classic rock but man play new rock so people can hear it 🤔🐸🇨🇦
We have a “classic rock” radio station in Buffalo that never plays anything that was released after about 1991, not even by Ozzy or The Rolling Stones. It sucks!
Everything eventually passes into time. Dixieland, Polkas, Barbershop, Waltzes, Doo-Wop. Rock has largely done all it’s going to. Not anything left to prove, really. Jazz long ago became little more than a parking lot list for Miles Davis & John Coltrane albums from the 60’s. People just feel they’ve gotten the point with it all.
It is sad to see where rock music is now. I just don't like Pop and Rap music. I just don't identify with it. I don't like the repetitive sound, the lyrical content, or the overall vibe of most music that is popular today. I've lived my life as aContrrarian though. Id love to see a rock resurgence, but it's going to take a band that hits a cultural nerve to do it.
Rock music is associated with boomers and gen X. Therefore, it's uncool. However the reality is that rap, R&B, and dance music, which is no doubt the biggest genres today, dates back to the 70s, back when rock music was in its heyday as well. It's just that with computers and auto tune today it's much easier to generate pop and rap quickly without needing to have full talent, so that's what the record companies go for and promote.
The problem is, that the genre, at its zenith ( '66-'90 ), is NOT seriously studied and the industry does not promote it... obviously. Furthermore, the gyno centrism of "Pop music" , e.g. Taylor Swift, with its artificial instrumentation and diebetic lyrics. Now, add in the live performance, rock music personified in tee shirts and jeans, leather and chrome, garish flamboyant color dress and cotume, stage theatrics and effects, All, ALL are gone. To quote the Who, " Long live Rock , Be it Dead or ALIVE!!"
Most bands are smart enough now not to sell their soul to a record company. Therfore, you never hear about them and they can't afford the promotion and touring. It is mostly a grassroots effort.
Today's alt/indie scene is furthermore killing real rock. Indie is an acquired taste, and I'm not sure why many indie bands are overtaking bands that play real rock music. Paramore seems to be the main offender. They used to play decent guitar driven rock/power pop. Then they got too poppy. And many people hate them for changing their sound.
I didn’t know that linkin parks hybreadthroey is 27 years old now the frist time I saw linkin park was at the excl energy center years ago in 2008 then I saw them again at the minneasota statefair in 2014 that was right before Chester kicked the bucket but I won’t see them now not even if my life depended on it because Mike found a new leadsinger naamed emaliy I’ve seen linkin parks videos on TH-cam but I think mike made the wrong choice to get a girl singer who just dosen’t have that Metallic power in her voice that Chester did you don’t just pick the frist person you see bands like linikinpark need to have addition people frist
let’s face it…. there’s no new/fresh rock band after Nirvana & Guns n Roses… Nirvana died with Kurt’s passing… GnR just exist n not going to be like their great self bk in the day… no more excitement in rock music… Black Crowes n Pearl Jam are good.. bt they are no Nirvana or GnR… me personally love Pearl Jam over Nirvana… bt do accept Nirvana was the one that made 90’s exciting.. what i do now is.. buy reissue albums or old albums that i missed out…. Gene was right i guess.. n even KISS had died long ago…
Why would kids like and create rock music? You and your generation developed your emotional response patterns in a world in which guitar based music was the vernacular - it isn't anymore so how should current generations be expected to be moved enough to make/enjoy it?
Trust me the guitar is till used in all forms of music whether Pop, Country, or Hip-Hop, so to say the guitar was my generation and kids today should not be expected to use the guitar just plain makes no sense.
@ by guitar based music I didn't mean guitar as an instrument being utilized, but as a short cut for saying music that was centered around the guitar (+ bass + drums) or, in other words, rock music
Maybe that’s why Rock music is dying off…because people like you won’t give new bands a chance. There is a lot of good newer bands out there producing music as good as what came out of the classic era of the 70’s and 80’s.
That’s not really true. You think punks and hip-hop music/lyrics are woke? You’re not paying attention then. But I’d say pretty much any artist’s fan base is going to be pretty evenly split between the right and left. Music listeners don’t usually draw a line politically the way other groups do. For example I lean left but still listen to Ted Nugent though I don’t agree with his stance on politics.
Classic rock, power metal, melodic rock will be my passion & ❤/ I refuse to support streaming music, the physical cd format I will always Support & buy!, I personally support unknown obscure rock & metal music, that's some of the best music., I Avoid the trends & monotomy. I will always wear carry the flag for REAL ROCK N' METAL./ American idol, the voice is a joke! Fixed favortism commercial r&b & pop Lol!!! , hip hoppity bass NO , THANKS!!!. senseless rubbish trends.. LONG LIVE REAL ROCK!!!!
You are ragging on Rock when you do little to promote new bands. Everything is not passed the 90s if it is it has a member from a older band. You're wearing a Stones shirt. Spiritbox, Badflower, death lens, urban heat Amyl and sniffers, Powerman 5000. Marilyn Manson and Actors all put out good rock music.
The hell are you talking about? All 10 of the bands that I showed at the end of the video have been heavily promoted by me. If you’re not going to watch all of the content don’t make comments like this that are unjustified. Geez…🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
I agree that what came after hasn’t really intrigued me but Rock music hung on for nearly another decade with popular bands from Nu-Metal, Pop Punk, and more.
Hi. I''m the problem. It's me. I find myself rarely buying new music anymore of any genre. Even new music from artists I used to love like Winger, Foo Fighters, etc... just doesn't do it for me. Almost every CD I purchase now is just re-buying something older that I used to have but lost or never got on CD.
Rock is still alive & thriving, but in a sense you're part of the problem by completely ignoring new rock bands and never giving them a chance. Why don't you talk about bands like Badflower, The Funeral Portrait, Dead Poet Society, just to name a few. Bands like these are playing all the major festivals around the world and you're clueless about them. Instead you choose to only listen to boomer rock bands knowing their time is up and will never top the charts again.
I will always be a rock and metal fan
I am 31 years old and been listening to hard rock and heavy metal music for almost 20 years. This morning I just played some tracks from ‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙' album by W.A.S.P and I still love and celebrate the music beginning in my teenage years growing up in the industrial Midwest. Rock on. 🤘🏾
Ive never stopped looking, buying, enjoying new music. Rock is alive and well in our world, people changed with the times☹️. Just glad bands are still doing it
But also I remember buying things when I was younger not knowing if I'd like it. Teenagers don't have to do that, they can just stream what is immediately pleasing and not challenge themselves in the listening of something different. I have 4 kids, I see this daily 🤣
Never say Never.
Sadly so many people just stream stuff and have zero interest in buying actual product. They justify it by saying I pay for Spotify....yeah but the artists get pretty much zero. What a sad state of affairs.
So cool that you showed Palace „Reckless Heart“. It sure is the record i played the most this year.
One problem contributing to this decline is older fans (those in their 50s, 60s, 70s) not giving newer bands, or even new releases by established bands, a try. I turned 57 this year and still look forward to discovering new music (bands and releases) but the amount of older fans that i encounter that are stuck in the music of yesteryear is astounding.
Selfishly, I prefer rock bands to be underground to keep labels from meddling and trying to alter a band's sound to become more popular/commercial.
Also, surprised that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon didn't make the year end list.
The problem isn't just with 'young people' into pop hip-hop and country, it's also older people who seem to think nothing good has been released after 1990. I also come across a lot of older people on many music TH-cam channels' comments section who will not give any rock or metal band they have not heard of a chance, they only want to listen to their 1960s, 1970s and 1980s favourites. They will criticise anything released after 1990 even if they have not heard it and given it a proper listen. If there is a problem that is also part of it as well.
@jimmycampbell78 💯. You can't be blown away by something if you're playing it safe only listening to things from the past. There's tons of greatness out there. The spirit has never left
I'm in my 70's and what you say is absolutely true. Almost everyone I know who is in my age group is like that, in fact I think you're a bit generous, I'd say the cutoff is more like 1980. I try to turn them onto new music but they're just not interested. I have a theory, it's not the music that they like, it's the memories that the music triggers that they're into.
Thanks for being my number one source for new music. We used to have the rock magazines to learn about new bands. You definitely do the homework. Much appreciated!!! Happy holidays buddy
My pleasure! Happy Holidays!
New albums aren’t pushed or promoted anymore. After one week new rock albums die. It’s all about the pre album drop now. There’s no mtv to tell kids what to buy and record labels aren’t doing anything to keep up where kids are watching, like TH-cam and TikTok. It’s up to the band to promote themselves these days.
🤟🤟🤟Long Live Rock and Roll……
Art and Culture has become a reflection of today's fast-paced and inattentive society. People want things quickly, easily, and then forget about it and move on to the next thing. That's essentially why pop/hip-hop artists release so many singles, and the charts are going to reflect those trends. Rock/Metal has moved underground without compromising the quality of the past. The mass attention is no longer there. I obviously don't want to see newer rock bands struggle financially, but I certainly don't correlate artistic quality to sales charts.
In addition to very good European bands like Ghost (of whom you cover quite a bit at your channel) there's also Denmark's Volbeat - the latter who (in 2016) did a pretty decent cover of the southern rock song "Battleship Chains" (originally recorded by Terry Anderson and The Rugs but made famous by Georgia Satellites on their 1986 S/T debut album.) I think Volbeat covering obscure songs from the past like that is far more interesting than hearing Greta Van Fleet continuing to sound more and more like Zeppelin or Mammoth WVH trying to act like they're the next coming of Eddie and VH, although the song had been covered before in the past.
Maybe it's time we started thinking of Rock as the 21st century equivalent of what Classical music was to the 20th century. The Bachs, and Beethovens, and Mozarts of the past century are now the Beatles, Fleetwood Macs, and Elton Johns of today. I used to manage record stores. Classical music always took a back seat in sales to Rock and Pop and Soul music. Now Rock takes a back seat to rap and hip-hop, and whatever junk most people stream that's new. It doesn't matter in the long run because the Classic Rock bands, and performers - like Bach, and Beethoven and Mozart before them, are dying off, and only the music will remain. And eventually, the audience that has first hand memories of those acts will be gone, too. It's the way of the world. Just forget about the marketplace, and what sells and what doesn't, and just listen to what you like.
Mentioned The Hot Damn!- Dancing on the Milky Way cd a few posts ago.
Great cd that should have huge sales.
Sad state of affairs that Rival Sons aren't well known too.
Thanks Brendon. 💯
Unfortunately, even as a lifelong avid record collector, that batch of new CD's that you highlighted in your video, I have NEVER heard of any of them! The current state of rock music (sales wise) has been dropping for years in the wake of the rise in country and rap. If you want to take a more broad spectrum approach, just look at the sales figures for groups vs solo artists, especially new releases. The demise of the "group" vs "solo" artist is even more staggering.
I think there is still some great rock coming out- Smashing Pumpkins has an awesome new album out, The Cure's new album is fantastic. Jack White's new album is outstanding(quite possibly his best album ever) Pearl jams new album that came out last summer was decent.
This makes total sense. Over the years, particularly with streaming, artists these days are curated by listeners. Most of the artists we grew up with have been distilled to whatever hits they have. So, anyone still into physical media, that hasn't been collecting music since 1980 or whenever, is going to focus in on the hits packages.
Think about it. If you wanted to explore the world of jazz or pop from the 1950s and earlier, you would probably focus on either seminal records (jazz) or hits packages (Elvis, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra). This is just happening to rock now. It was our music, just like Elvis was the music of our parents or grandparents.
People still play jazz and early rock styles, but they are niche. I am sure over time there will be other bands that mine the fields of artists we love, but will it ever be at the forefront again? You never know what could happen, but it doesn't look to be that way... at least not until 2112.
My #1 album for 2024 is an alternative rock album, The Last Dinner Party's "Prelude To Ecstasy". And my #5 is The Warning's "Keep Me Fed", a power trio of sisters from Mexico. And my #9 album for 2024 is your #1, Deep Purple's "=1". I have a lot of pop music in my Top 10 for 2024, but I haven't forgotten about new rock music. Other newer rock favorites of mine, are the group Skating Polly and female blues rock guitarist Ally Venable.
Why Rival Sons are not as Big as they should be is a testament to how much rock music has fallen
Agree 100% buddy and yes, good call. If Rival Sons can't break mainstream, what chance does rock really have..😢
I know living in the past is regressive, but when things like this happen, I pine for the old days.
The mainstream media focuses on Country and Hip Hop. Rock is ignored. Country and Hip Hop have their own televised awards, whereas, Rock doesn’t. Although some movies have Classic Rock, new Rock is overlooked. Yet, Hip Hop is used like crazy in movies. I wouldn’t say Rock is dead, but it could use a kick in the ass and more exposure.
I partially agree with Gene Simmons, rock music is not dead, NEW rock music is dead. "Old" rock is still selling. I have a lot of respect for the younger generation of rock artists and bands who are still following their passion even though they have nearly zero chance of achieving any kind of significant success in today's musical climate.
Problem is too many, the majority of music listeners just follow what is popular in the mainstream. Too many followers, not enough listen to new music and want to live in the past, it's all in the hands of the people and its their fault if new music doesn't succeed. If you just listen to mainstream radio and what's on TV shows, jump on the current trend of the moment, nothing will change
How do you know the total sales of albums released this year? What's the website to lookup those numbers?
These are - imho - in no particular order, the hurdles that Rock/Metal need to overcome in order to return to the top.
1. Older fans who will not explore anything released beyond the Grunge era.
2. Radio Stations/Labels/Promoters/Advertisers who will not explore anything released beyond the Grunge era.
3. Radio Stations who will not play NEW material by established acts.
4. Bands both new and old being absolutely clueless about how to appeal to younger audiences.
5. The current cultural bias by the mainstream press against the genre.
6. The abandonment of physical media by the Normies.
Solve those and we can get there, gentlemen.
Rock and roll is alive and well. It’s just underground, as it should be.
is The Cure with Songs of a lost World not on this list? Or is it not classified as Rock? They must have moved some units witg this one…
It’s so crazy! Here’s my favorite albums list in order that I also purchased and I bet most of you haven’t even heard of
# 32 suicide angels- profane prayer
#31 sidewinder- talons
#30 rev theory- salvation nowhere
#29 10 years- inner darkness
#28 Devilskin- surfacing EP
#27 Cassandra’s crossing- garden of earthly delight
#26 stone horses- redemption chronicles
#25 the warning- keep me fed
# 24 the gems - phoenix
# 23 return to dust- S/T
#22 amberdown- shattered and bagged
#21 Texas hippie coalition- gunsmoke
#20 mick mars- the other side of mars
#19 lift the curse- overtake
#18 black smoke trigger- horizons
#17 smash atoms- S/T
#16 flat black- dark side of the brain
#15 April art- rodeo
#14 dust bolt- sound and fury
# 13 beasto blanco- kinetica
#12 Florence black- bed of nails
#11 shallow side- reflections
#10 cold stares- the southern
#9 hearts and hand grenades- where I begin
#8 tim Montana- savages
#7 amongst liars- of design
#6 Scott stapp- higher power
#5 Marilyn Manson- one assassination
#4 a killers confession- victim 1
#3 dead posey- are you in a cult
#2 blooming discord- memories from the future
#1 Budderside- white flame
I have bought over half of ur list🤘😎
Well there are a lot of things to look at with this and I have been constantly mentioning this to people about the difference also with real sales and streaming, because I still don't consider streaming should count in as sales, I think it should be a totally separate chart. The reason I say this are a few, ONE being you don't have to listen to full songs to count, thirty seconds will do it, also there is a "weight" on the scale for listening, paid memberships as to non payer, and though a certain amount of streams need to be added together to count as ONE sale I don't think it should count as a "sale" at all because you dont own it, its not yours, a digital download purchase is different, but streaming is nothing more than you renting an album just like back in the day BILLBOARD had a "rental" chart and a "sales" chart for movies on VHS/DVD . The reason I also say this is their is a HUGE HUGE difference in streaming of Rock artists especially older ones with new material as opposed to younger pop and hip hop artists and latin artists too. Two examples of this would be the last Bon Jovi album, now the headline was how this album debuted at Number 5 and fell off the charts and everyone said wow what a big joke, HOWEVER it sold close to 50,000 first week and almost all of the sales were physical copies including 8,000 on vinyl their biggest vinyl week since 1991. Also debuted as the number one Top Album sales, which to me tells me more than streams. Even the new Linkin Park, coming at number 2 for week debut sold 98,000 almost 75,000 were physical albums not streaming, so even them who I guess you can say are an older band still I feel the Rock Genre is a physical selling one more. ALSO a great thing to look at is that there are no bands anymore in the mainstream meaning that labels are not signing bands and bands are not getting paid. A writer in the UK pointed this out to Rick and he took a chart and found that out of the global chart there were three bands and one was the Beatles, one was a reggaeton group and the other was Coldplay. The main reason for this is $$$ , with signing or dealing with a band you have to circulate the money, solo artists dont have that issue except the mainstream pop/hip hop ones that use a ton of writers and producers supplied to them by the labels so basically the labels are cirulcating their own money back and forth. So this is another reason Rock is not getting its "light" because it's more of a band genre be it new or old you don't see too many new Rock solo artists out there. I'm not taking anything away from those getting streams but to me listening to 30 seconds or pieces of an album counting the same even if you need many to equal a sale, to me no amount should equal a sale because nothing was sold.
Rock music of the 70s, 80s and even 90s was the apex of music of all time. It’s sad to watch it go. There are still gems to be found but it is few and far between
I was happy with *Pearl Jam's Dark Matter* album. As good as the last one Gigaton & better than the previous 2, Lightning Bolt & Backspacer which sucked.
I was happy with *Coldplay's Moon Music* album. It was better than their last 5 albums & reminded me of their early albums like Parachutes & Viva La Vida.
I was happy with *The Cure's Songs Of A Lost World* album. It was genuinely one of the best albums released in the last decade & their personal best since Disintegration.
I’m surprised there’s not much talk of the George Lynch album Cassandra’s crossing. Very solid album.
I like only a couple tracks from but overall found it very mundane.
I have seen some great tours this year including W.A.S.P , Creed , and King Diamond. Had good big crowds. It has been underground for a long time. As long as i have all my good music to listen to. I am fine with it.
Of course, if you're talking mainstream charts, rock hasn't really ruled the charts since the late 90s. It's not selling because as a whole the younger generations have moved on, most of the music you cover, is now niche. Nothing wrong with that, I love all forms of rock, but i'm under no illusion of it's popularity.
Is any of this surprising? The wider culture ignores rock music, so there isn't any massive voice pushing rock to people who don't already listen to it. Streaming is only a part of the issue; the major thing is that no one who isn't scouring TH-cam channels and small review sites has ever heard of any of these bands.
To me, the biggest thing with rock right now is that there isn't a 'current' sound. The majority of bands I come across are blatantly trying to sound like they're forty years old, or they're in the generic post-grunge mold. They're both tired, old, and competing with the 'classics' who already sound like that. Young people cos-playing as a time when they weren't even alive isn't going to be massively popular.
Seems like bands of all kinds are out of fashion now. The emphasis seems firmly on solo artists and collaborations.
Female-fronted heavy rock bands from the modern era like Halestorm (feat. Lzzy Hale) and The Pretty Reckless (feat. Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame) are the ones that are trying to carry the rock and roll torch for the female side of rock, even though they're the only women in their respective bands. Both are heavily influenced by Heart, The Runaways and even the 80s glam metal scene. And that Japanese vocal metal band Babymetal is a huge joke, imo.
Harem Scarem "United" Unleash the Archers "Abyss" Eclipse "Megalomanium I/II" Sunburst "Fragments of Creation " The Defiants "Zokusho" - just 5 terrific recent rock/metal albums that IMO tell me there is nothing wrong with the scene.
You didn’t understand the point of the video then. I wasn’t saying there is a lack of great music. It’s that there is a lack of great music selling and being popular.
Hello from France brendon 😊. As long time as brendon exists, rock'n'roll will never die😂.
Good bye brendon and long time rock'n'roll 😂
Thank God for Bandcamp. Lots of killer underground bands. As for modern music its not to my taste but who cares I'm old.
Could it be a fallout from the general decline of interest in bands versus soloists? I read this online (regarding the UK chart though). In the first half of the 80s there were 146 weeks when bands were #1. In the first half of the 90s there were 141 weeks when bands were #1. In almost five years of this decade it’s three weeks, just three.
Rock and roll is not dead at all. I go to 2-3 concerts a month of all these bands from the 70's, 80's and 90's. They are selling out mid sized arenas and venues easily. I've seen Styx 4 times in the last two years and they are selling out 8,000 seats on average. They haven't released an album since Crash of the Crown from 2021. So, without new music a lot of bands are still making their mark on tour. It's not dead. Rock is still out there but it's just live shows now.
Hey Brendon, do you know a band called D:A:D? Also dropped a great record this year, Speed of Darkness 🤘🏻
Yes new D-A-D is very good. One of their best albums from the last decade or longer.
Just discovered a relatively new American classic rock sounding band called Joyous Wolf. You may or may not have already talked about them before. I don't have a lot of time to watch every one of your vids because I'm too busy doing other things - like my job. Anyway, JW is best known for their 2021 rock radio hit "Fearless." They definitely sounded like a late 80s glam metal band. Kind of reminded me of Thunder with a tinge of 70s Bad Company and UFO. Don't know if they've released anything new as of late (not much information on their discography,) but I'll say this. It's not very common to hear a band that emulates bands like Thunder or UFO. I think that's somewhat unique.
Brendon, "rock" was always my staple. I grew up in the 70s and loved rock of that era, plus I stepped back into the 60s and found that I loved rock from that era as well. The 80s were great, for me, especially the first half. Rock from that point onwards became less & less interesting to me. I always said that I was a "rock" fan over the years but eventually realized that I was buying less & less "rock" especially in this millennium. I am just not hearing much that is interesting to me from rock bands or artists other than Radiohead, Beck, and a few others. It has been a long time since the mostly harder rocking bands songs/albums registered with me when I hear them. For the past 10 years I have started buying lots of new music again (on vinyl), past and present and, sadly or strangely, very little is rock after 1990. The massive amount of rock that I have is from 1960 to 1989. I simply buy whatever triggers my ear and I have found so much great music past & present from so many other genres...especially from artists that refreshingly fuse genres together to make their own thing. I have 5 new vinyl albums under the Christmas tree this year that I bought for myself!! The two rock ones are...PHYSICAL GRAFFITI (1975) and EXILE ON MAIN STREET (1972). The other three albums are funk, instrumental avant-garde, and electronic soul. No 21st Century rock to be found. It just no longer feels fresh or interesting to me. Based on what you said about what sold in 2024: I listen to both Fleetwood Mac's RUMOURS and Elton John's DIAMONDS (plus other studio albums of theirs) frequently. They still sound great.
I’m not sure we will ever see the glory days again Brendon??? 😢😢 It’s a combination of several things I think. Like you said Streaming, other entertainment options, most people not valuing music like we did 40 years ago. I personally do not Stream & never will, but I know I’m in the minority. 😐😐 It’s all very sad to me!!! 😭😭😭
Heads up my friend, LONG LIVE THE CD! FORMAT...IM LIKE U ,I DONT SUPPORT STREAMING EITHER, THATS OK ,BECAUSE WE FOLLOW our hearts , NOT THE TRENDS, CD'S OFFER US BIOS ,PHOTOS, LINER NOTES, ESSAYS& MORE! & CD U CAN OWN & CHERISH & HOLD IT IN YOUR HANDS & OWN,,, , STREAMING DOESNT COMPARE!
Don't really bothered brendon as long as I can still by rock music, blues, jazz I'm happy 🤟been saying that about rock music since I was a kid in the 70s it's still going 🤟
Rock music already did its job of creating the counterculture, so now corporate America only promotes what appeals to the lowest common denominator. A stark contrast to Europe, where rock and metal are thriving. PS- I highly recommend the book “The Memoirs of Billy Shears”. It’s an eye opener!
Music today is all about the solo artist, no bands or groups are getting promoted, execs want a face/image that sells. Gone are the Berry Gordys, David Geffens, Bill Grahams - people who got behind artists/bands because they knew they were talented.
There's plenty of obvious criticism towards the state of streaming audio. However, the glaring issue to me is that most of these artists just don't give a fuck anymore. They're rich, they've made it and with that comes a certain carelessness to their end product. Soooo many rock albums that came out in 2024 mostly comes off as filler, or just something to appease the studio's. You also have bands who are just banking on their past image, when they don't even have the original members anymore. No one is taking creative risks and they are phoning it in. No one wants to say these things because it's unpopular to judge the artists themselves.
Rock as a cultural currency is pretty much done...It is no longer the dominant musical idiom in the western world..or anywhere in the world, for that matter. The world of kids growing up appreciating loud guitars and drums and sweating in some dingy garage struggling to run through a tune is gone. Rock is going the way of a niche thing.
Its still pretty popular in Europe from what I hear. And while I can’t speak for the entire underground scene their is a pretty decent glam metal scene thats heavily influenced by the 80’s
I don't think Rock/Metal will ever be on the same level as it was these 50 or 40 years ago. But there are still a lot of great newer bands like Venator, Castle Rat, Amethyst and etc. Just give them a chance.
There is more great music being made now than ever in the history of music. The problem is you have to search for it. You will not hear it on radio.
Kira Mac and the Hot Damn are two new bands i have got into this year. There are still talented bands out there getting exposure is the issue. Hobbie dazzle is very good as well.
I think one of the problem is the number of genre available out there and streaming. This is crazy, RYM site shows 269 subgenres of Rock and 72 subgenres of Metal. There is so many different niche and everything is subdivided. From what I can gather in my life around me a lot of younger people don't explore/expand their musical taste. As an example my son, who is 19, listens essentially to metalcore - that's it. Others are hip-hop only. To me I never understood how a band like Rival Sons does not get more attention. The best newer rock band out there for the last decade - Jay Buchanan is the best current rock singer period.
Spotify killed Rock.
Rock music dominates 70 80s and now it's time for a little bit , of course I love rock music and buy music (not digital)
Based on current Album sales for legacy rock bands, i think its safe to assume GNR will concentrate on touring again in 2025, and will not bring out a brand new studio album.
Rock may not be as popular as it once was, but it will never die out imo.
It just feels like something in rock died after GnR broke up honestly, like they were the last "rock gods" if you will. That's not to say that *nothing* good has come out since, it just feels like something changed. I enjoy A7X, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Velvet Revolver, etc. But it just feels like the era of the "hedonistic rock star living his best life" kind of died in the mid 90s
The Times They Are A-Changin'
I think so much of it was the pop culture collective pre-internet. With access to unlimited music now and everyone in a different phase of discovery, it's so rare to have everyone on the same page for album releases etc. Country is the new rock - even still it's more a "vibe" and less about scoring the latest album. Kinda blows lol
Rock N Roll has been a driving force in the music industry from the 1950s to the 2000s or 2010s and then Rock N Roll has been taking a break from being a worldwide force while Pop Urban Country Folk and other genres have dominated the music space but Rock N Roll was is and always will be loved and appreciated no matter what happens however I gotta ask will Rock N Roll be a part of the mainstream music industry again someday somehow in the future
The death of rock can be attributed to the fact that it is super easy, and probably super cheap, to pluck some person off TH-cam, bring them into the studio armed with autotune and a drum machine and have them sing or rap over it creating generic pop and rap stars that can be heavily marketed through social media. Then the songs appear on the streaming media charts, which is akin to radio play in our day, and voila you have what is popular.
That is why Nic Nocturnal has a metal awards show. The Industry is pushing Rock and Metal music out. I miss my ZRock radio. When Zrock collapsed it all went to hell in a hand basket. I feel that the industry wants rock to go away.
"Long Live Rock, Be It Dead or Alive"
Rock as a mainstream genre has been dead for like 20 years. Kids don't seem to like rock anymore and there's not many newer bands doing things on that higher level that weren't already popular in the 90s or prior. But if you dig deeper into the indie bands there's a ton of interesting things going on still. Rock will never die but it's just not popular to the newer generations anymore.
The rock music scene in the USA sucks, yet it is vibrant and thriving in Europe, Japan and Australia.
When I worked in wholesale end of music, everyone lived breathed music, now those who work in that area consider it a job. The only ones in the American music biz are the guys and gals who own these independent record stores,
Amazon gutted their music department and anyone who buys the new rock is finding more difficult to obtain. Frontiers is having distribution issues stateside and more European labels are becoming more reticent to do business here because they get a better ROI in the rest of the world than here.
Bottom line because the recording industry spends less and makes more $$ on rap, rock will play second and third fiddle. Also the rock audience in this country need to start supporting less renowned but up and coming rock acts in their club and small theater shows rather than being so enamored with bands (that we all love) whose creative peak is in the rear view mirror and have to a myriad of tricks and hacks to perform live. I wish the outlook was not as bleak as it seems, but if we put our money where our mouth is and support newer acts by buying their physical product and buying tickets to shows we can maybe bring some of the magic back.
P.S. eschew streaming whenever possible. The artist gets a bigger cut and the sound is better...long live rock and roll.
Surprised there arent some Heavy Metal albums in top 200 sales. Accept, Saxon, and Judas Priest all had huge albums this year
There are many factors destroying all art and talent. Not just music. Jeez look at the state of movies as well.
Corporations want sure things not annoying unpredictable talent. So if you want to hear new music and real bands it’s on you to find them. They will sell you oldies and classics.
Young people barely have the attention span for a song much less an album. The phones have destroyed their ability to concentrate on anything longer than a tik tok video. Say 90 seconds.
Plus to be an actual musician takes time and work and patience and practice, things the school system have eroded to a joke.
Kids are literally taught these things are a waste of time. I saw it first hand.
Sad times for the whole world especially here in America the USA.
😎👍
My top album of 2024 was Judas Priest - Invincible Shield. This album and their previous album, Firepower, are their 2 best albums since Painkiller. Both Deep Purple's and David Gilmour's new albums of 2024 are going to make my top 10 albums of 2024 also. There have been some really good rock and metal albums in 2024, but they all seemed to have gone under the radar. Saxon's and Flotsam And Jetsam's new albums of 2024 are also fantastic. Some old-time fans of some of the legacy acts ignore the newer stuff because the newer stuff by them aren't the "classic stuff" people grew up with. And newer music fans ignore them too because the legacy acts are a bunch of "geezers" that play "geezer rock." So, it is almost a no-win situation for legacy acts to make new music. Hence they go on legacy tours playing the classic era stuff to make their money. Last year, The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds album was freaking fantastic, was my #1 album of 2023, and it is my favorite album by them since either Steel Wheels or Some Girls. I still have Hackney Diamonds in my rotation and am still trying to figure out if I like it better than Steel Wheels or not. If so, then it is definitely my favorite since Some Girls. Though, in the U.S., Hackney Diamonds didn't seem to perform as well on the charts as many other lesser albums by other artists. You also got to wonder how much streaming affects the charts, not to mention illegal downloading. Heck, even legal downloading can affect it. All it takes is for one person to purchase and download legally one album and then share the files with other people. Also, many younger people don't bother purchasing physical copies of albums and are content with streaming and/or downloading.
You just can't hardly find any new music in the big retail stores anymore (unless it is something new by Taylor Swift and the like or something from one of the current hot Country artists.) I have to do most of my CD purchasing from Amazon and just have it delivered to my house, like you do. On the rare occasions I buy vinyl (RSD exclusives, special releases, no equivalent CD release, etc.) I go to one of my local record stores in person and pick up the vinyl.
Still alot of great music being made just look at bands from Sweden and Germany all awesome stuff but radio won't play any of it they are verry much to blame for rock being the way it love the classic rock but man play new rock so people can hear it 🤔🐸🇨🇦
We have a “classic rock” radio station in Buffalo that never plays anything that was released after about 1991, not even by Ozzy or The Rolling Stones. It sucks!
Everything eventually passes into time. Dixieland, Polkas, Barbershop, Waltzes, Doo-Wop. Rock has largely done all it’s going to. Not anything left to prove, really. Jazz long ago became little more than a parking lot list for Miles Davis & John Coltrane albums from the 60’s. People just feel they’ve gotten the point with it all.
Walmart titles, that are always present.
Figures since most music stores, don’t sell these titles as much
wow, you had a shave mate😂
Yea I sure did! 👍
No Radio Play!!! Radio in USA Sucks! Run by Corp. america!
Same in Canada
Check out Jason Isbell. He is our current rock legend
I would not classify him as Rock.
@BrendonSnyder if you classify Tom Petty as rock. He is most differently rock. Thanks for replying!
It is sad to see where rock music is now. I just don't like Pop and Rap music. I just don't identify with it. I don't like the repetitive sound, the lyrical content, or the overall vibe of most music that is popular today. I've lived my life as aContrrarian though. Id love to see a rock resurgence, but it's going to take a band that hits a cultural nerve to do it.
If anybody is looking for a new rock band with an 80’s sound check out wanted and their album late attraction
Rock music is associated with boomers and gen X. Therefore, it's uncool. However the reality is that rap, R&B, and dance music, which is no doubt the biggest genres today, dates back to the 70s, back when rock music was in its heyday as well. It's just that with computers and auto tune today it's much easier to generate pop and rap quickly without needing to have full talent, so that's what the record companies go for and promote.
Nostalgia is a h3ll of a ddrug
The problem is, that the genre, at its zenith ( '66-'90 ), is NOT seriously studied and the industry does not promote it... obviously.
Furthermore, the gyno centrism of "Pop music" , e.g. Taylor Swift, with its artificial instrumentation and diebetic lyrics.
Now, add in the live performance, rock music personified in tee shirts and jeans, leather and chrome, garish flamboyant color dress and cotume, stage theatrics and effects, All, ALL are gone.
To quote the Who, " Long live Rock , Be it Dead or ALIVE!!"
Most bands are smart enough now not to sell their soul to a record company. Therfore, you never hear about them and they can't afford the promotion and touring. It is mostly a grassroots effort.
Yeah I’m surprised Highway to hell isn’t on there more as well
Today's alt/indie scene is furthermore killing real rock. Indie is an acquired taste, and I'm not sure why many indie bands are overtaking bands that play real rock music. Paramore seems to be the main offender. They used to play decent guitar driven rock/power pop. Then they got too poppy. And many people hate them for changing their sound.
Fleetwood Mac rock ? Twisted Sister AC/DC that's Rock
I didn’t know that linkin parks hybreadthroey is 27 years old now the frist time I saw linkin park was at the excl energy center years ago in 2008 then I saw them again at the minneasota statefair in 2014 that was right before Chester kicked the bucket but I won’t see them now not even if my life depended on it because Mike found a new leadsinger naamed emaliy I’ve seen linkin parks videos on TH-cam but I think mike made the wrong choice to get a girl singer who just dosen’t have that Metallic power in her voice that Chester did you don’t just pick the frist person you see bands like linikinpark need to have addition people frist
It’s not, Hybrid Theory came out in 2000, so it’s 24 years old.
You can't improve upon the classics.
😝🤟
let’s face it…. there’s no new/fresh rock band after Nirvana & Guns n Roses… Nirvana died with Kurt’s passing… GnR just exist n not going to be like their great self bk in the day… no more excitement in rock music… Black Crowes n Pearl Jam are good.. bt they are no Nirvana or GnR… me personally love Pearl Jam over Nirvana… bt do accept Nirvana was the one that made 90’s exciting.. what i do now is.. buy reissue albums or old albums that i missed out…. Gene was right i guess.. n even KISS had died long ago…
Why would kids like and create rock music? You and your generation developed your emotional response patterns in a world in which guitar based music was the vernacular - it isn't anymore so how should current generations be expected to be moved enough to make/enjoy it?
Trust me the guitar is till used in all forms of music whether Pop, Country, or Hip-Hop, so to say the guitar was my generation and kids today should not be expected to use the guitar just plain makes no sense.
@ by guitar based music I didn't mean guitar as an instrument being utilized, but as a short cut for saying music that was centered around the guitar (+ bass + drums) or, in other words, rock music
They’re all either retired or dead. I listen to no band formed after 1999.
Maybe that’s why Rock music is dying off…because people like you won’t give new bands a chance. There is a lot of good newer bands out there producing music as good as what came out of the classic era of the 70’s and 80’s.
@@BrendonSnyder the most true statement
pop hipop disco punk is mostly appreciated by woke people.
That’s not really true. You think punks and hip-hop music/lyrics are woke? You’re not paying attention then. But I’d say pretty much any artist’s fan base is going to be pretty evenly split between the right and left. Music listeners don’t usually draw a line politically the way other groups do. For example I lean left but still listen to Ted Nugent though I don’t agree with his stance on politics.
We all miss the 80's.
Classic rock, power metal, melodic rock will be my passion & ❤/ I refuse to support streaming music, the physical cd format I will always Support & buy!, I personally support unknown obscure rock & metal music, that's some of the best music., I Avoid the trends & monotomy. I will always wear carry the flag for REAL ROCK N' METAL./ American idol, the voice is a joke! Fixed favortism commercial r&b & pop Lol!!! , hip hoppity bass NO , THANKS!!!. senseless rubbish trends.. LONG LIVE REAL ROCK!!!!
funny, for me even Rumours is borderline Rock, very close to Pop
You are ragging on Rock when you do little to promote new bands. Everything is not passed the 90s if it is it has a member from a older band. You're wearing a Stones shirt.
Spiritbox, Badflower, death lens, urban heat
Amyl and sniffers, Powerman 5000. Marilyn Manson and Actors all put out good rock music.
The hell are you talking about? All 10 of the bands that I showed at the end of the video have been heavily promoted by me. If you’re not going to watch all of the content don’t make comments like this that are unjustified. Geez…🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Music got pretty bad in 1997 when STP and Soundgarden died off. My opinion.
I agree that what came after hasn’t really intrigued me but Rock music hung on for nearly another decade with popular bands from Nu-Metal, Pop Punk, and more.
Who cares what Gene thinks
Hi. I''m the problem. It's me. I find myself rarely buying new music anymore of any genre. Even new music from artists I used to love like Winger, Foo Fighters, etc... just doesn't do it for me. Almost every CD I purchase now is just re-buying something older that I used to have but lost or never got on CD.
Rock is still alive & thriving, but in a sense you're part of the problem by completely ignoring new rock bands and never giving them a chance. Why don't you talk about bands like Badflower, The Funeral Portrait, Dead Poet Society, just to name a few. Bands like these are playing all the major festivals around the world and you're clueless about them. Instead you choose to only listen to boomer rock bands knowing their time is up and will never top the charts again.