Is the "rock star" dead?

[megamania500]

There was a time when rock musicians could sell out outdoor stadiums, have multiple albums go platinum in a row, and be recognized even by people who didn't listen to their music. Nowadays, you never hear of a new rock act selling out huge stadiums, or selling platinum albums year after year. They come out with one good-selling album, then you never hear from them again. None of them are famous enough to be known by people other than those who listen to them.
I'm talking Elvis famous of the 50's, Beatles famous of the '60s, KISS famous of the 70's, Guns N Roses famous of the 80's, and Blues Traveler famous of the 90's.
Is rock dead, despite good rock music out there? Or does today's rock music suck so much that today's bands can't manage to put out more than 1 or 2 albums that someone will actually buy?

 

[SoKlueles]

for now probably, but it will be back
Hammy and powerslave will know the answer to this

 

[megamania500]

I'm thinking that rock music has just played itself out. Even famous guitar players have stated that all that could be done with a guitar has been done. Sure, it will still have its fans, (and lets not forget the "classic" rock dudes that can STILL fill a stadium). But for the most part, I think that rock music has passed its peak.

 

[Phenom78]

 

[EnderJE]

Chili Peppers

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Rock like that pretty much died after Guns 'n Roses Use Your Illusion tour.

Now practically everything is pop. It's tough to say you're a rock band in today's p.c. age. No longer is rock able to say "fuck it" without having some group reprimand or complain to higher power about them.

 

[silverfish]

Now they get in, make their money, and get out. Smart move for them, not always good for the fans.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Now they get in, make their money, and get out. Smart move for them, not always good for the fans.

"If you reach back in your memory
A little bell might ring
'Bout a time that once existed
When money wasn't king
If you stretch your imagination
I'll tell you all a tale
About a time when everything
Wasn't up for sale

There was this cat named Johnny
Who loved to play and sing
When money wasn't king

We'd all get so excited when
John would give a show
We'd raise the cash between us
And down the road we'd go
To hear him play that music
It spoke right to my soul
Every verse a diamond
Every chorus gold
The sound was my salvation
It was only everything
Before money became king

Well I ain't sure how it happened
And I don't know exactly when
But everything got bigger
And the rules began to bend
And the TV taught the people
How to get their hair to shine
And how sweet life can be
If you keep a tight behind
And they raised the cost of living
And how could we have known
They'd double the price of tickets
To go see Johnny's show

So we hocked all our possessions
And we sold a little dope
And went off to rock and roll

We arrived there early
In time to see rehearsal
And John came out and lip-synched
His new lite beer commercial
And as the crowd arrived
As far as I could see
The faces were all different
There was no one there like me

They sat in golden circles
And waiters served them wine
And talked through all the music
And to John paid little mind
And way up in the nosebleeds
We watched him on the screen
They'd hung between the billboards
So cheaper seats could see

Johnny rock that golden circle
An all those VIP's
And that music that had freed us
Became a tired routine
And I saw his face in close-up
Trying to give it all he had
And sometimes his eyes betrayed him
You could see that he was sad
And I tried to rock on with him
But I slowly became bored
Could that man on stage
With everything
Somehow need some more?

There was no use in pretending
No magic left to hear
All the music gave me
Was a craving for lite beer
As I walked out of the arena
My ears began to ring
And money became king"

-Tom Petty, Money Becomes King

 

[Gaylords_Son]

the thing is, modern youth aren't into rock anymore...hip-hop has changed the landscape

 

[Delinquent]

MTV is to blame for the utter commercialization and outright whoring of music. Use your Illusion tour was in 1993 if I remember. When did MTV start moving from videos to the shit it is now? Right around that time.

 

[PBR]

i think U2 or Aerosmith could easily fill an outdoor stadium to capacity...i hear what youre saying tho.

 

[natty4life]

There was a time when rock musicians could sell out outdoor stadiums, have multiple albums go platinum in a row, and be recognized even by people who didn't listen to their music. Nowadays, you never hear of a new rock act selling out huge stadiums, or selling platinum albums year after year. They come out with one good-selling album, then you never hear from them again. None of them are famous enough to be known by people other than those who listen to them.
I'm talking Elvis famous of the 50's, Beatles famous of the '60s, KISS famous of the 70's, Guns N Roses famous of the 80's, and Blues Traveler famous of the 90's.
Is rock dead, despite good rock music out there? Or does today's rock music suck so much that today's bands can't manage to put out more than 1 or 2 albums that someone will actually buy?

Don't foget hte "Hair Bands" bro (like Poison) and if you make fun of them for wearing a little make-up, - check out your avitar...........lol

 

[Razorguns]

everything goes in cycles.

And today's artists btw sell MORE cds and dvds than ever before. And to sell out stadiums, they tour in packs of 5-10 together. And they get laid like never b4. So not much has changed.

Just their longevity.

 

[Delinquent]

everything goes in cycles.

And today's artists btw sell MORE cds and dvds than ever before. And to sell out stadiums, they tour in packs of 5-10 together. And they get laid like never b4. So not much has changed.

Just their longevity.

I dunno about the filling up of stadiums anymore man. A couple of the summer sanitarium tours that I've been to didn't come close to filling up the stadiums they were in. For a rock group(s) to do it, Gun's N Roses would have to reform and tour with someone like metallica again like they did during the Use your illusion tour. With the exception of some early creed, I really can't name any true rock bands that made it that big in the last 5-10 years. I still think Shinedown is one of the best rock groups out right now.