Why is rock music so dead today?

Dance pop and rap dominate the radio, barely ever hear any rock anymore. When I do its some one hit wonder emo/punk trash. What happened to hard rock? Seems like rock died with the breakup of Guns n Roses, ever since its been down hill.

Maybe you should try a rock station rather than top 40 shit....

What do you consider rock? There are so many subgenres. I tend to favor danceable rock bands. (Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, ect) and there are some good ones these days. If you want Dad-rock or butt rock like Guns/Roses, then you're out of luck. There has been a big new wave revival in rock music the past 10 years. If disco/new wave rock bands are your thing, then there is a lot to choose from. Even some Post-punk/garage rock stuff like The Strokes, or Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines, The Vaccines...

The modern indie rock scene has been pretty kind to me. But i'm a sucker for disco/post-punk things, so I'm in heaven.

Buy an AUX cord for you car, download iTunes, Google Music (if that's what it's called), Spotify, Pandora, iHeart Radio, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Rdio, Slacker or get Sirius XM etc and stop listening to the radio. Problem solved.

Because Linkin Park's new album won't be out until 2016.

U2 just released an album, cant be that dead.

@i_return: I hadn't listened to those guys in years, but they had a show relatively close to my town and I managed to get tickets for a good price, so I went and checked them out, and they killed it. I'd go see them again in a heartbeat.

I feel a lot of it has to do with music becoming more feminine.

Rock isn't dead, it just isn't considered "popular" anymore.

Try listening outside the mainstream for once and you'll likely find some good shit.

Rock has been surpassed in popularity ages ago. Genres such as Disco(70's) Nu Wave(80's) Rap, Hip Hop, R&B present. And I being generous as I can argue the Motown sound in the 60's wasn't classified as rock and therefore was popular.

Rock isn't dead, it just smells funny.

b/c they were sooooo 80s...

Nah, Rock/Metal fans despised hair metal and power ballads. lol

There are still some great rock/hard rock/metal bands still out there.AC/DC,Megadeth,Ozzy Osbourne,etc......But no new bands have made any major impact on the music industry.In my opinion.

Depends on which genre of rock....

Whilst the genre doesn't have a great presence on the top 40/mainstream radio, you'll still see rock artists landing the top spot on UK album charts.

And in the media....really I don't know how anyone can say rock is dead with a straight face.

The hipster in me prefers things the way things are right now.

**** you and **** vampire weekend

you guys destroyed new york

Rock music isnt dead. Chart radio stations play the top ten on repeat to cater to the bulk of their audience....commuters in cars travelling short distances. Listen to rock radio stations. Spotify is amazing for finding new bands. I love girls in skinny jeans and a leather jacket if rock was the music of the moment and every girl dressed that way it wouldnt be special :P

Exactly - the genre has just evolved.

because music labels began to promote and invest in pretty people that look good on camera over talented people.

when the only way you will ever get laid is by writing a great song you perform.

when you can phone it in and still get laid you phone it in.

listen to Alter Bridge man, they're awesome.

Rock ruled the 1960's.....led by the "British Invasion", as popular as Motown was, it takes a backseat there. Motown formula singles were often big hits, but they can't compare to the album sales of rock bands.

Soul and singer-songwriter (influenced by Dylan) genre was more popular than Rock in the 70's though Rock (Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Queen, Genesis, Yes, The Who) was still strong. Disco lasted only 5 years (about '75 - '79) so its fall was as quick as its rise. The 70's were pretty mellow, until the rise of punk in 1976.

New Wave is a subgenre of Rock, so rock can claim that part. But 80's was dominated by techno-pop, hair-bands (these are Rock bands)Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, and Bruce Springsteen (who is Rock). But probably the best music of the 80's (not the most popular) was the alternative underground scene and college music scene led by groups like REM, Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, New Order, Husker Du and The Replacements.

Through all the peaks and valleys of other genres Rock music has survived, although it has taken new forms.

Can I argue that Motown performers were black and therefore may haven't really reach its potential in sales? Whites has always been the main source of revenue sales. Also, there were too many artist on the label. For example, The Supremes at the time was Berry Gordy's number 1 act. Many feel other acts like Martha And the Vandellas could of been bigger.

Disco was probably a fad, but you can't deny its role in crippling rock popularity.

No you cant count New Wave as a Rock Genre. I think the TC wants to know what happen to Rock/Metal music. But what I meant by New Wave were bands like A'ha, Thompson Twins, Flock of Seagulls etc. You know those band that used synthesizers. Pretty much these pops song along with Hair metal bands were more popular.

Because mainstream trendy society likes that mindless garbage, tells you something about how smart they are. There is still so many stations that play Rock, Heavy/Extreme Metal.

Also real rap such as Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks and other underground artist with story and message dont get played on mainstream radio. Its just those tools like lil wayne or jay-z.... its so simple and stupid its scary, no musicianship or skill.

Man one beyonce song takes few writers and producers and there is Freddy Mercury writing masterpieces on his own (RIP). So many one man bands out there, they play all the instruments, write all the music and lyrics, make some amazing music.

But hey kids these days like to twerk and sing about cupcakes. Generation of balll-less morons around us.

So edgy.

@GreySeal9: Bro im feeling the chill today, some beer, not even close to edgy :D

But serious, compare the mainstream music from early 2000's to now compared to 90's and before

I know for a fact that mainstream music in the 90's and 80's sucked donkey dick because I was there. On the way to school in the mornings it was bullshit like this that was on Top 40 radio.

If you were lucky they'd throw in a RHCP song or that one and only song from Jane's Addiction that got airplay. Yeah, you know the one.

It lives,just stop listening to crappy radios.

Disco came and went in a short span and rock still was dominant. New Wave actually is a rock genre. It's alternative rock. You know progressive rock such as Yes, ELP, and PInk Floyd used synthesizers don't you?

Your problem is....you don't know what rock is.

The thing with the 90's is there was way more great rock on the radio. I would also argue that there was a lot more acceptable pop going around in the 90's as well. Pop music these days is just empty and lifeless. There was still some life in the pop genre in the 90's.

ANYWAYS, as for the topic there are still good rock bands that are getting play on radio stations. It may not be as good as it once was (even my good rock stations seem to not have as much good new rock as they once did) there is still good rock being played on the radio.

Examples:

Royal Blood-Out of the Black

Cage the Elephant-Come a Little Closer

Linkin Park-Guilty All the Same (their new album is their best with a more pure rock sound)

Jack White-Lazeretto

Big Data-Dangerous

Guns N Roses were AWFUL. Thank god they and the rest of the hair metal/rock poser bands, are dead.

I've consistently enjoyed Korn, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Shinedown, and a few others. A lot of bands appear to have 1-hit wonders because that's all they play on the radio, but if you dig a little deeper, they have good stuff that just isn't played. I enjoyed Cage The Elephant's first album, even though Ain't No Rest For The Wicked was really the only song aired. A7X's newest album is solid, although I feel like they took the safe route and didn't go out there and create a fantastic song like they usually do. I loved Linkin Park's first two albums, Meteora and Hybrid Theory, but I haven't been impressed with anything released after that except for a song or two. The rock genre is so large now that it is difficult for just one line of it to continuously dominate the market and spread like it first did.

dont know about feminen rock genre but punks are surely dead and they wont come back since there wasnt any good punk band for last 20+ years. Glad there are badass desert metal bands

No style. That's what's killed it. 80's bands had style. Not just the way they dressed but the sound they carved out. Grunge came out and while some of it was good, the musicianship of those bands was mostly a lower level. But still, it had style. After grunge faded out (thank god), nothing really replaced it. There's no signature style anymore. Today most everything that comes out seems to sound similar to Nickelback. It's been that way for a decade now.

What I mean was is that hardcore Rock fans didn't like new wave.

Then they can listen to hardcore rock. It still exists. Though that doesn't mean new wave wasn't rock.

@LJS9502_basic:

So this is New Wave?

My God that soundtrack brings back memories (since I had my 20's in the 1980's). Wow, still remember that video to Frankie Goes to Hollywoods "Two Tribes" which kicks that off. But that is mostly Techno-pop, as I had said before that was a dominant trend in the 1980's along with hair bands. New Wave is a very vague term that meant different things to different people, the Brits saw it is more punky, Americans not necessarily as much, but in any event it tended to be more experimental. Some people see The Cars as a New Wave Band, others see it as more classic rock. Same with The Pretenders. Believe it or not, those bands seemed like something new when they came out in the late 70's. Elvis Costello, The Police, and The Talking Heads as well.

I don't have an hour to listen to his link. However....New Wave did have ties to punk.....nonetheless the reason I wanted to quote you was your use of classic rock. That is not a genre. It's a radio label and as time goes on more and more music will be added. When classic rock first came about it was 60s and 70s. Now some 80s music is played along with those decades on specific radio stations that identify themselves as classic rock. But really it means nothing in regard to music genres. All those bands you listed are New Wave bands. That is their "genre".

But you just said New Wave is Rock?

@ps4hasnogames: it's not dead as long you dont get stuck with your VEVO and MTV culture

@PSP107: Come again? It is rock....

Look at this list. Dominated by 70's and 80's artists. I'd toss Vedder out in favor of Paul Rogers (Bad Company). Not sure Marvin belongs on that list since he was more R&B, soul style. I can't argue with the list much though. Another thing that's killing rock is the reality talent shows. There's not many rockers on there. Until that list gets populated with some more recent vocalists, it will be an uphill battle for rock.

And if its Sunday, is Meet the Press.

Is this a joke? The internet has basically made every genre of music out there freely available and popular.. To this day I am discovering new artists, sub genres, etc etc that I never knew existed thanks to this.. If anything it is getting more popular because artists are more easily able to share their material..