Thursday 21 October 2010

Why don't teenagers seem to like rock music as much as before?

Teenagers used to love rock music. Now, it seems it's hard to find people who genuinely like it. Of course, there are 'scene' and 'punk' people, who listen to rock music because they seem to think that it makes them look 'cool'. It's more to do with image, and less to do with the music itself, which is what I hate.


Now, there are so many commercial rock bands that sound more like the Jonas Brothers, who try and please the scene market. I'm not sure whether or not to like Paramore, I used to love them but now they seem to be changing to quickly. I'll always love Hayley Williams for the brilliant frontwoman she is, but I honestly don't know what to think of them anymore.

When most people think of real rock music, they think of possessed headbangers, drunkards smashing their guitars and screaming lyrics. Once you get into rock music, you understand why rock music is such a passionate way of expression sometimes the only way to express yourself is to headbang or if you're performing, smash your guitar. And that screaming lyrics is just an extremely passionate way of singing(even though personally, when rock singers scream throughout the whole song it does get a bit annoying. A wail on the chorus is alright, but 'screamo' isn't my thing). From a distance though, all the drama surrounding rock music looks intimidating and scary for many.

Also, rock music generally is so different from other types of music. Listen to hiphop, with it's repetitive beat and simple, understandable  lyrics. Listen to rock music with all the intricate guitar solos, confusing drumming patterns and metaphorical lyrics. Often, rock music is just too different for people. That's why bands like Coldplay, who make their music simple and easy for people to understand, are more successful then bands like Muse, who have very complicated bass lines and guitar solos. When I listen to rock music, I pretend the guitar is singing as well as the singer, and it helps you appreciate what a big part guitars play in rock music.

 Many teenagers also think that if you're going to listen to rock music, you have to abandon all other types of music. But that is not true, and any rock fan who says that is only listening to rock music for the sake of their image. I like rock music, but I also like rap and hiphop (although I am very picky and only like certain songs, as a lot of hiphop has sadly become very manufactured-unlike the good old 90s). I also like blues, jazz, pop and any other song that is good. You shouldn't ever only like one type of music. Just should be free to like what you want.

I think the fact that that teenagers don't like rock music so much is also to do with the media. If people realized how much the media was manipulating them, they would be so, so very surprised. I once watched a programme on channel 4 about the media, and trust me, if people knew how much the media got inside their head,  they would probably go and live in a cave. Teenagers like the songs the media tells them to like and that's that.

This is how I think of it:
The media force feeds you food (songs). You can't tell whether or not you like it, because you've always had it. One day you try a different type of food (rock music). It's so different from the food you usually have, that your body rejects it. Some people, however don't reject it, and realises that it tastes so much better than the food the media forces them to have.

Some people like familiarity. Some people are more willing to try more things. I'm just so sure that if more people were introduced to rock music, they would like it.
Maybe it's just not the right time. Let's be honest, rock music has had it's time.
70s the best rock music
80s the best pop music
90s the best hiphop and rap music
00s manufactured music that is just trying to earn money.
10s well who knows what will happen, we're only one year into this decade. I think music still hasn't decided what it wants to be.

I think it's time for a rock revival...

23 comments:

  1. I think that the pendulum always swings back toward anything that is well crafted and not placed in front of the public by some marketing hack. I was a teen in the 80s and I couldn't stand the popular music of that era (there were some exceptions) It was all 60s/70s stuff that really grabbed me (from many different genres, too). It all really started to go quite wrong around 1983. In the end, taste in music is purely subjective, though. You raise some great points in your post. Keep up the good work.

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  2. Thanks very much for your opinion. I agree with you that the pendulum does swing back eventually to good music that is not shoved in people's faces. I think the 60s/70s did have a lot of the best music, although of course I think each decade has a couple of artists who manage to stand out from the crowd.
    And I agree that taste in music is to do with the person, although sadly I know some teenagers who don't want to like The Rolling Stones or The Beatles, as they think it's not the 'cool' thing to do.
    Again, thank you for commenting, a blog without comments would be like bread without butter, or, dare I be cliche...a guitar without strings.
    :D x

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  3. You raise some interesting points about "manufactured" music-- the stuff the media is spoonfeeding us because it's what is selling the best right now. I liken that music to fast food. Instant gratification but it has no staying power. Every generation and decade has its share of bands like that. We're not as familiar with the "manufactured music" of the 60s, 70s, or 80s because it didn't stand the test of time. It didn't last. It has by and large been forgotten. The good music from any decade and generation-- the stuff that will be remembered is the stuff that stands the test of time. Right now we're "too close" to the music of the 2000s to make a real broad based assessment of it. Some of the music will be swept into the dustbin of history and forgotten, and other material will be remembered and looked back on with twinges of nostalgia as we grow older.

    That being said there is some good music from the past that hasn't stood the test of time. It's largely because that music sounds dated today. The music is complex and interesting but many times the lyrics speak to "the current events" of the era in which they were recorded and the style of music borrows on the styles that were popular in that era and thus plants that music firmly in that era. It's a photograph of that moment in time. It's like saying, "Hey I looked pretty cool in that photo compared to what the other people in the background were wearing, but I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those clothes today."

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  4. Hey, That was really a wonderful post... I completely agree with that... Even in my friends, People have moved over to the Electronica era with all the music being produced electronically, and genres like Trance/pop/RnB are gaining much more audience....

    Even in most of the music award shows, I always die to find even a single Rock band performing live up there... I never even care to watch any award show these days. Rock n Roll started it all, had the Beatles or The rolling stones not been there, we wouldn't know what music is :)

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  5. all i can say, you made a really great point! i wish there's a lot of us out there...i hate the fact that i am embarassed with our generation today..i go to school and i see this kids playing this repetitive beats on their earphones out loud, its so annoying, they don't even listen they just play it so everybody would think their 'cool' like you said..why the hell did this happen?! the friggin media happened...such a shame everyone looks the same, smells the same, act the same..there's no individuality...it seems like creating repetitive sound that's making money is more important now that being creative and artistic...

    i personally prefer the sound of the 60s and 70s..the intricate sounds, the overdubbed guitars, the harmonies, the pianos that can literally rock...and can i just say that the 90s is more like the era of pop and boybands...i was born in the 90s and there's only a few bands that i can be proud of from that era and some are even gone today..

    i hope there's more like Muse today, Rooney kind of like the 60s sounds sometimes...just sayin..

    anyway, this is a very good blog..i'll be coming back..i would say to check out my blog too, but its not being updated that often anymore so just take a peek...

    peace

    P.S. I can not comprehend why other teenagers don't want to listen to the Beatles or the Rolling Stone...i can't stop shaking my head just having the thought...

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  6. Hello Perplexio, I totally agree with you about manufactured music being like fast food. Of course, every decade has it's own 'fast food' music,and that will probably always be the case. I just wish there was not so much fast food music this era

    And I like what you said about how a lot of good music from the past speaks to the current era, and so is not as popular as it deserves to be.The photograph metaphor you used, was spot on.

    And bearockr, I agree, we are now entering the horrible electronica era, where you don't even have to have talent to produce music. Of course, bands have always been producing music with electronic sounds, and have always been lipsinging (particularly in the 80s) but now, it seems that music is absolutely revolving around electronically produced music.
    AND YES, rock and roll DID start it all. The Beatles practically invented rock and pop bands and Mick Jagger made the singer play a much bigger role performance wise than ever before.

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  7. Hi E.T's gravity,
    Yes, unfortunately teenagers usually want to fit in, and to do that they have to listen to the songs played on the radio and wear the clothes the magazines tell them to.
    I agree the 60s and 70s had some of the best music ever created. I could listen to 'Paint It Black' by the Rolling Stones forever without getting bored. I sadly cannot say the same for a lot of the music today, I won't be mean by picking one out though.
    And thanks very much, I'll try and keep my blog as updated as possible, inbetween school and work.

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  8. Step outside the mainstream and there is plenty of great music to be found. It's true now and it was true then. Nobody listened to the Velvet Underground in the Sixties, or bought the first Nirvana album when it came out (well, I did) All that's needed is expose people to interesting music. Mind you, most of them won't get it, but if you can "convert" only a handful, that's enough to keep the good old "word-of-mouth" thing going.

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  9. You raise a good point Hans, and I am constantly trying to persuade my friends to listen to rock songs. I've managed to sort of "convert" one person, and although it's not much at least it's a start.
    There will always be good music hidden behind all the mainstream, and I think that if only people were exposed to it, rock would play a much bigger part than it does now.

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  10. Just wanted to say, you shouldn't dislike a band because of their popularity status or because they sold out.
    Like whatever you want it doesn't matter.
    As long as the musics got heart and a meaning to you it's fine.

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  11. Rock/metal takes talent.

    In today's music industry, all you need is money, looks, and autotune.
    Thanks, America for ruining the music industry.

    Just look at Lil' Wayne. The guy looks like a complete idiot his voice I can't even listen to. Yet he makes millions. it's a shame to artists who work hard.

    I don't mind different music taste, it's their opinions, but being ignorant is stupid

    So yeah keep the oldies in the oldies years alright??? its the new generation.

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  12. Thanks *first anon I agree totally! You shouldn't care what others think and should just go ahead and like what you like :D
    Ironically though, both I have changed since I wrote this post and so had Paramore. They're not my type of music, like a time-travelling ostrich I've stuck my head firmly in the 60s and 70s and discovered the treasures buried underneath are far better than most of today's music :)

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  13. Second anon* Haha I agree with you about Lil' Wayne. You are so right, it's not about pure talent anymore it's more about marketing. Aww well I do happen to like some old music, there are lots of old bands on my blog but I see what you mean. We should try and move forward instead of looking back.

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  14. Because most rock fans are exclusivist snobs who think their type of music is superior to ALL OTHER types of music, and that they are therefore superior to all other music fans.

    Thank God the reign of rock is over, so all the pretentions, my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours rock fans can just crawl into their own little basements and die.

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  15. The 1990s produced a heap of amazing music and not just boy bands. I was a teenager during the early-late 90s and went to TONS of amazing hardcore/punk shows in the NY area. Also, you had Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Tad, Pantera, Rancid, Primus, Temple of the Dog, *early* Weezer, Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, Coolio, the list goes on and on.......now....nothing is original or at least compelling. Emo bands, screamo, metal core, all of these "metal" bands that are just over produced shit and sound alike.....hip hop that sounds more like over glorified dance music... I gave up trying to find a decent new act in the 00's and 10's So, my collection goes from late 70s-mid 90's punk/hardcore, early 80s to mid 90's hip hop and some oddballs like Prodigy and KMFDM

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  16. " Many teenagers also think that if you're going to listen to rock music, you have to abandon all other types of music. But that is not true, and any rock fan who says that is only listening to rock music for the sake of their image. " I've had a lot of my friends who only listen to rock because it relates to them, that's a reason I love rock music, it relates, it doesn't go on about how rich somebody is for the entire chorus. I see rock as a way of somewhat expressing yourself, what you have been through in your life and how it can relate to you when other music doesn't even come close. For example, the song "So Far Away" by Avenged Sevenfold can relate to almost everybody, as sad as it may be, we have all lost loved ones in our lives, and that song relates to us, where A7X lost The Rev (RIP). "my-dick-is-bigger-than-yours rock fans"(Comment) - I've met people like that from every genre. I see that 50x more with rap than I do with any other genre. I'm not even over exaggerating. (Back to my original) You can't understand how disappointed I am when I look on boards such as the "iPod Top 100 Downloads" And see all pop and rap, with the only exception being artists like "Imagine Dragons" Who are somewhat, but not really rock. (They do have some rock songs). Faith in humanity -500

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  17. So true I´m 14 and still love rock music since 2012 and its 2017. Rock has helped me release in so many ways that people think I´m fucking crazy (which I kinda am)and i just let em be so now i have a bigger feel in life and im ok with it and like i say to everyone else fuck it and live your life not a copy of someone else´s.

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  18. I believe that rock has shaped what music is today. People judge younger people for listening to that kind of music. When I see comments on older rock videos and a 14 or 13 year old comments, someone older comments trashing them, because they're young. So the young people hide that they love it, and then they switch to the other side of the board.

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  19. Hip hop has simple and easy to understand lyrics? Maybe you should listen to Eminem

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  20. i miss my chemical romance that was some good sh*t right there

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  21. Unfortunately it's dominated with hip hop rn. Rock started being viewed as a genre for white people (as much as it isn't true) after the 60s, and black people are cool now (I'm actually all for). There are people that remember what rock used to be, but younger people have moved on.

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  22. It's still amazing pop and rap music still dominates the youth of today. In 2005, rock bands such as Green Day and Weezer were popular. Their songs topped the charts and were featured in films. That same year, pop and rap were everywhere: from commercials to family films.

    When I see kids on the streets, they blast hip-hop on their smartphones or speakers. It's rare to find one who like rock or metal. They're still around especially at rock concerts. Sadly, some of them are going through a rebellious phase.

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