“Rock n roll is not about happy, happy, happy, everything’s okay” Alice Cooper. In this YouTube video, filmed last year – the icon himself explains that today’s generation of rock fans and rock industries are missing something. Perhaps it’s the lack of meat in their diet says Alice, as if this that prevents their ability to “get the blood pumping”.  Have new bands that are being qualified and labeled as “rock n roll” anemic?

What’s at stake here is categorization. Mr. Cooper uses Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers as prime examples of today’s rock and roll misfits. Simply put- he asks why the industry has labeled these bands as Rock and roll artists and that’s a question worth contemplating but take note, it’s not a criticism of the bands’ songwriting abilities and musicianship.

From an historical consumer point of view, the pop music condition has always seemed to me to have  been one of extremes.  Either you follow the pack in terms of ‘what’s popular’ and listen to what’s on the hit list or you’re a lone wolf and seek out new bands and artists that are not as popular as the industry-promoted talent.

To categorize listeners like this today however would be a mistake because the World Wide Web and digital technologies have rewritten the rules. Access to all types of music has never been more available and an offshoot of this is a vast, untamed sea of variety and choice. YouTube further strengthens the notion of schizophrenic listening and lifestyle because nothing is really ‘in’ anymore. Everything that has been labeled as ‘good’ or ‘cool’ in the past is still considered ‘good’ or ‘cool’ in the now- there does not appear to be mainstream rebellion against former generations music. I think this is the point that Alice Cooper is also making. He is old enough and wise enough to understand the phrase “not your father’s music”.

Let’s think about the qualitative issue of seeking out music.  Before the internet, you had to seek out – borrow, beg and steal music that was more than a few years old. Major music department stores were in effect cultural libraries. Rural teenagers might have planned a trip to Toronto’s Sam the Record Man [RIP]  for months in excited anticipation of finding records that mattered to them; records that were spoken of in hushed tones or discovered on late night distant radio. We’re talking about an experience. Today  you only need to wait for the computer search to deliver the goods. As long as you have access to the internet you can purchase anything.

Back to Alice- Perhaps then it’s this sea change that has nauseated the old stage troubadour. Alice Cooper really has a grievance for categorization. It’s not that he doesn’t like Mumford and Sons and it’s not that he doesn’t acknowledge their posits, it’s just…..he can’t understand why they are considered a Rock and Roll band. He has a good point. Perhaps the reason why bands like Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers are now fit into those spots is that the industry has said so.  After all, they control the distribution and marketing and they want to grow their product and if we consider contemporary rock and roll bands that have the rebelliousness and the anti-socialism that energized the previous generations of rock- there aren’t many. Those that are left, perhaps a throwback to the 1990’s or beyond are aging quickly and if it’s hard to imagine who  today’s generation of rockers are, what can we expect in another twenty years?

Comments-

Nathaniel A. Walrus Alice makes some great points here, recognizing the talent of some of these dainty acoustic rock bands… But they don’t have the spirit of rock and roll. The Edge radio played pearl jams new tune today, and it was the first new song in months that doesnt feature a synthesizer. What is happening to rock and roll? Hopefully Dead End Sessions can be a part of the salvation.

Rob Lamothe He’s sure got a lot of rules for what a ‘rocker’ is supposed to be. I love Alice. Saw him in a restaurant once in Los Angeles. He was there with his Mom, which I thought was cool. But the coolest thing ever is when Alice tells Wayne and Garth about the history of Milwaukee. Classic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FT3IGXtAk   Wayne’s World (8/10) Movie CLIP – Alice’s History Lesson (1992) HD

Adam Platsko We’re not Worthy!!!! We’re not Worthy!!!!

Nathaniel A. Walrus Does this guy know how to party or what!  via mobile