quote:
Originally posted by dsoley:
actually, rock and roll died mid to late 80's(thats being kind, most say it happend in the 70's with disco). a brief glimmer of a pulse came back with nirvana, but flatlined when record companys signed too many me too bands. no, i'm not one of those old fogeys with a huge collection of 70's music,just someone who's stopped listning altogether, because coporations killed the rock star, not video, as it was just one tool of the coporations.
I can't totally agree with you there. Disco was a quick fad that couldn't even last a decade. Rock bands were still doing gigantic arena tours even during the height of disco. All it really did was create another niche audience.

As far as the 80's, you still had your U2's, Soundgardens, Guns & Roses, Princes, and the like who kept on rockin'. I'd even say that Grand Master Flash was rockin' it out with his cutting edge rap style. Even through all the crap that was pushed on us, there was still some rockin' & rollin' going on.

The downslide happened in the 90's. Rap had become popular and begun it's downward spiral into the pre-fab pop mold in the late 80's/early 90's. A lot of the bands still rocking began breaking up or changing their styles (Smashing Pumpkins went electric-sappy with Adore). Pearl Jam stopped making videos very early on (even though MTV replaying Jeremy every five minutes is what helped launch them into super-stardom with their first album). Metallica lost their goddamn minds and alienated fans more and more every time they spoke in public.

Personally, I think the rock scene returned to it's early days with many performers perferring smaller, more intimate venues and away from the media hype of videos and record releases. In it's absence, the dance scene emerged and took over. Electronica and techno leaked in from Europe and took the younger generation by storm. Raves started popping up all over the place. And good, ole fashioned drugs like pot and acid were replaced with X.