First post. Whoo~ I've been lurking for a while at this board. I feel I should start contributing to the discussion. :) I apologize for the wordiness, linkiness, and sidetracki-ness, but I have a lot to say. I appreciate the patience of those who decide to read my little book. This is a perspective of an 18 year old girl.

In my opinion, rock probably will never be prominent again. And if it is, it would probably be for the wrong reasons. Looking at the top songs, the majority (though not all) of them are about degradation, rebellion, consumerism, and other various (mostly) undesirable things. Yeah. Consumerism. In a society where money influences the majority of people, it only makes sense that they would want anything and everything in the media to push a product or way of thinking. "Oh, that guy's wearing really cool shoes. Instead of buying ones that look exactly the same for way cheaper, I'm going to buy the exact same brand." I would really hate if rock became commercialized (again). Don't get me wrong, I would love for rock to be popular, but I'm afraid that it would get too... saturated and meaningless. On the note of nice shoes, here's a nice song rising in popularity to counter materialism and the broken family structure (the song is in the perspective of the kid who does the shooting, he blames how he was raised plus the society he lives in). They're great eye candy for girls, too. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTZ7iX4vTQ

There is one thing I have come to realize. Most people use the Internet now (I know, what a realization!). We choose what to listen to. If they actually played rock music in the top hits stations, you better believe that it would be popular. Why is that? Many people, ESPECIALLY teens who are trying to discover themselves, want to fit in and have friends. They listen to what they think is what everyone likes and refer to the "popular" hits (which in turn makes "everyone" like it... peer pressure o.O makes me wonder if anyone actually liked mullets) I can almost guarantee you that a lot of people who like the music in the top hits only do partly because their friends do. That isn't to say that most people don't like the top hits right now (I like some of the songs up there as well), but in my opinion I think it's a lot less people than you think. It's not like we have a choice in what the radios decide to put on for us to listen to, unless it's an independent radio station that works by request. Try requesting a song by Lady Gaga that wasn't a single on the charts. They won't do it. I'm sure it won't even matter how many people you get to do it, if that radio works under Clear Channel, they will NOT do it. They play what they think will sell, the singles on their playlist.

In the end, with the age of mass Internet usage, the "mainstream" is actually the counterculture with niches. There is a lot of good music out there. The depressing fact for me is not that the masses would/wouldn't enjoy it, but that I would not ever discover many great acts of our time simply due to lack of exposure. Fortunately there are more and more niche online/satellite radio stations that appeal to specific tastes.

As for those of you who feel hopeless like I once did in finding new music, I have found a few resources to find new and great music of all sorts:

Best Ever Albums: http://www.besteveralbums.com/
The Needle Drop, reviews albums. I don't always agree with him, but I think he's a respectable guy. I mainly go to his channel/website to find new bands.: http://theneedledrop.com/
His Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/theneedledrop
Billboard's Heatseekers, Independent Albums, Alternative Albums, Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Rock, etc: http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts While there are many albums/bands/songs that follow pop/hip-hop/post-grunge/etc trends, there are still some gems to be found.
Pandora Radio http://www.pandora.com/ Not always the best source, but if you're feeling lazy it can be a nice alternative.
And many more, found through random searches...

So what's the current trend in rock music? There's a fork in the genre. Raw 90's vibes and glossy indie rock with synthesizers.

90's rock is coming back? Well, it probably never left but it got overshadowed by mediocre post-grunge. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great post-grunge out there, but it's getting old, guys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5GYOsKLp6o

I think this should have been Cage the Elephant's next single:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Y9BNgwk4o

Though, while I love the 90's rock coming back, I think the bigger movement is indie rock. The more I look at it, the 90's sound was more in 2010. Cage the Elephant is the only major band I know that still holds this sound and they released their album in January 2011. Will it be enough to influence/discover other bands of similar flavor? I still think so.

Indie rock (broad term, but how are we supposed to keep up with all the subgenres?). While not the most prominent sound just yet, I am almost certain it will continue to rise in popularity. Is it really rock? Some may consider it so and others not. Guitars are still used, although not as pronounced. When they are used, it is wonderful in my opinion. Sometimes less is more. In my opinion it still has a rock feel to it, however it's just different... in a good way. Though, given the broad term, there are many indie bands out there who use lots of guitar as well. I just think that this decade will consider that rock music is not all about the guitar anymore.

This song is almost impossible not to dance to. I have a feeling that Foster the People will be one of the most influential bands of 2011. :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04TXoFI6CSM

Find it kind of funny/sad that this song has a similar beat to the one above it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YuSg4mts9E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59bLUwYONEI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYpF2pCkLI

Another song by the same band just for the sake that I'm incredibly biased and in love with this band right now... it's an acquired taste, I guess.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBgbsDAdq9M

Some of the music I posted will probably never reach mainstream-mainstream ears. It's theory-crafting. Of course I can't predict the future. This is an opinion. However... all of the bands I mentioned have been on the Billboard charts.

Thanks again for taking the time to read my post. So... what do you guys think?

Yeah basically.

I don't care if rock isn't "mainstream" anymore. Its an alternative subculture again, which is what it started out as.

Rather than having a bunch of mediocre artists jumping on the bandwagon for money, you have a select few artists who are actually passionate. Really, its not a bad thing.

Also, indie rock is THE future of rock, right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_viH3FchWI
Now that's rock.

Being more conservative, I'm still holding to post-grunge and classic rock.
Since its creation in the 50s, rock music has always been mainstream...it feels so strange not to be anymore. We may be at the very end of the rock era (I hope not).
I'm 22 years old and I feel like an old man listening to traditional rock, but I just can't get into that indie stuff. Well, I do like Kings of Leon, The Killers, Coldplay and Owl City (if that counts).
And post-grunge is still strong (yeah, like hair metal in 1991). This year we have new releases from Foo Fighters, 3 Doors Down, David Cook, Seether, Scott Stapp (of Creed), Staind, Limp Bizkit (Nu Metal, but still rock).
I agree there are some generic songs, but there are many great ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_viH3FchWI
Now that's rock.

Being more conservative, I'm still holding to post-grunge and classic rock.
Since its creation in the 50s, rock music has always been mainstream...it feels so strange not to be anymore. We may be at the very end of the rock era (I hope not).
I'm 22 years old and I feel like an old man listening to traditional rock, but I just can't get into that indie stuff. Well, I do like Kings of Leon, The Killers, Coldplay and Owl City (if that counts).
And post-grunge is still strong (yeah, like hair metal in 1991). This year we have new releases from Foo Fighters, 3 Doors Down, David Cook, Seether, Scott Stapp (of Creed), Staind, Limp Bizkit (Nu Metal, but still rock).
I agree there are some generic songs, but there are many great ones.


Listen to The Arctic Monkeys, creeder. They're an indie band you could probably get into. They're more straightfoward-rock compared to most indie.

And like I said, learn to enjoy rock in its subculture state. I see it as rock getting back to its roots.

Last night I went to Rockfest here in Kansas City, which has been billed as the largest one-day music event in America. An estimated 55,000 people showed up, the majority of whom were under 30.  The lineup was as follows: Halestorm, Hinder, Sevendust, Alter Bridge, Papa Roach, Stone Sour, and Disturbed. So while it's not exactly considered "mainstream" anymore, I still believe that rock is alive and well.

And really, why is it so important whether or not rock is "mainstream" anyway? Who is this "mainstream" that the music industry targets but preppy, trendy teenagers and twenty-somethings? Does it really matter whether or not people who like Justin Bieber and Lady Gag also like the same music as you do?

If anything, hard rock and heavy metal has always had more of an appeal to people who consider themselves to be outsiders and/or non-conformists, and there will always be a sizeable market for that group. Because of that, I believe that rock will always exist in one form or another.

I must add that yesterday was the most fun I've had at a concert in a long, long time.  8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naIT6XfsjAw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx5PcB1t-s8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4Q-2TueEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEn-nTkbEM0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwELajFteTo

Shiv, I knew you were going to post at least once in this thread. I agree with a lot of what you've said in other threads as well as this one.

I really do think there will be a major split in listeners (what is it with me and splitting things?). There will probably be many arguments about what's rock and what isn't. The 90's grunge sound/post-grunge will probably be more popular on the current alternative rock stations while new stations for indie might (though I doubt it) pop up for people more into the indie sound. At least for the alternative rock radio that's in my area (the conservative Midwest), they don't play any indie songs except for "Changing" by The Airborne Toxic Event and "My Body" by Young the Giant, and people even argue that they're not really that "indie" compared to other bands. I think it all comes down to the fact that most people who listen to the radio for rock music are more into post-grunge, metal, grunge, etc. while people who like indie listen to independent stations. It's living up to the meaning and not just the sound of indie I guess. Though, while HIGHLY unlikely, indie might break out like grunge did. But it isn't really edgy enough in my opinion to do something similar to Nirvana.

I suppose that's good news for you, Creeder. :)

And yeah, AL-B further reinforces the point that rock will not just turn into indie. It's just another sound added into the mix, although misplaced and therefore makes me think even more that it will be on its own stations. Edit: Good to hear you had a good time, I wonder if there's any concerts I'll go to this year. :)

In the mid-late 1970s rock wasn't dominating the pop charts (altough there were some crossover rock hits).
Disco was the music for the mainstream people, but rock made its greatest masterpieces back then and had a huge following.
What rock bands of today can create such masterpice albums that will stand the test of time?
And please tell me what are the big four bands of modern day rock so I could try to get into them.


Listen to The Arctic Monkeys, creeder. They're an indie band you could probably get into. They're more straightfoward-rock compared to most indie.

And like I said, learn to enjoy rock in its subculture state. I see it as rock getting back to its roots.

Ok, I will. :)

I really do think there will be a major split in listeners (what is it with me and splitting things?). There will probably be many arguments about what's rock and what isn't. The 90's grunge sound/post-grunge will probably be more popular on the current alternative rock stations while new stations for indie might (though I doubt it) pop up for people more into the indie sound. At least for the alternative rock radio that's in my area (the conservative Midwest), they don't play any indie songs except for "Changing" by The Airborne Toxic Event and "My Body" by Young the Giant, and people even argue that they're not really that "indie" compared to other bands. I think it all comes down to the fact that most people who listen to the radio for rock music are more into post-grunge, metal, grunge, etc. while people who like indie listen to independent stations. It's living up to the meaning and not just the sound of indie I guess. Though, while HIGHLY unlikely, indie might break out like grunge did. But it isn't really edgy enough in my opinion to do something similar to Nirvana.


I remember reading an article that mentioned something like this.  It said that if you look at the rock singles charts, you see all these Hard Rock bands like Shinedown and Godsmack that "have absolutely no play in major cities."  By way of comparison, if you looked at the Billboard album charts, Indie Rock acts like Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend were getting #1 albums and easily outselling the previously mentioned Hard Rock bands by a sizable margin.  Then again, this difference may have been there for some time.  Back in the mid-00s, the Midwest was the area that stuck most with Nu Metal bands like Papa Roach while Emo was getting popular.

On an unrelated note that perhaps only I find interesting, as someone who likes a lot of music from all over the world, one notable feature of the 2010s thus far is that Rock music has faded in prominence across much of the world, not just in the US.  Places like Canada and Britain have also seen Rock music's position on their mainstream charts decline.  Rock still seems to have some amount of presence in Germany (a Rock song hit #1 over there recently), probably the same amount it had in the US circa 2008 or 2009.  Rock's also still surprisingly very prominent in Japan (3 out of the top 10 most popular songs last month were Rock songs), but it's mostly Japanese bands, not Western bands.  Then again, Japan didn't really jump on the Hip-Hop bandwagon of the 00s nor has it latched onto the current Dance-Pop trend (though Lady Gaga does have a sizable following there), so perhaps the country is just a weird exception.

In the mid-late 1970s rock wasn't dominating the pop charts (altough there were some crossover rock hits).
Disco was the music for the mainstream people, but rock made its greatest masterpieces back then and had a huge following.
What rock bands of today can create such masterpice albums that will stand the test of time?
And please tell me what are the big four bands of modern day rock so I could try to get into them.


The problem with trying to name the greatest modern bands is there will be widely differing opinions due to the fact that the music industry has not sensationalized rock bands like they used to. The following bands may not be the "coolest" out there, but their albums in my opinion are timeless. Since the 2010's are still a new decade, I'm listing ones that gained popularity in the 2000's and are still big.

Quick list in no particular order:
Radiohead
The Strokes
Arcade Fire
Arctic Monkeys

Radiohead has been great for two decades and still going. They have rock songs that are very moody and emotional. They are known for being very experimental as shown in their album Kid A (also in their new 2011 album King of Limbs) which was released in 2000, where it was pirated on Napster before its release. Thom Yorke, the lead singer, thought it was a really good thing and encouraged people to share their music, if even for free. If not the biggest rock band ever, you have to give them credit for creativity. Sure, they're overrated to a lot of people, but they are considered one of the best. I suggest listening to all of their albums because one can drastically differ from the other. You've probably heard their song "Creep" from 1993 Pablo Honey before, so here's another one by them from their 2007/2008 album In Rainbows.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVDSdDoD4Sg

A song from their new album King of Limbs, one of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5c9w6uWBOI


The Strokes were a major band in the 2000s as well as now. Their first album Is This It came out in 2001. They were a strong influence on a lot of other garage rock bands in the decade, or at least made it possible for them to be known. I was still pretty young when they first came out, but I do remember hearing their songs EVERYWHERE! I remember this song the most:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8-tXG8KrWs

Their new album Angles also came out this year, here's one of their singles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l09H-3zzgA

Arcade Fire is known for their extravagant live shows and memorable albums. Their best album Funeral was released in 2004. It has been critically acclaimed numerous times and on many top lists for the decade. Probably their most well-known song from that album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNfWC4Sgkcs

The Suburbs came out in 2010, however, it is still very alive in 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Euj9f3gdyM

Arctic Monkeys is a garage/psychedelic rock band that sprung into the scene in 2006 with their album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not which was the fastest selling debut album by any band ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30w8DyEJ__0

Funny song from their current album Suck It And See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zqTI6S-pMI

I remember reading an article that mentioned something like this.  It said that if you look at the rock singles charts, you see all these Hard Rock bands like Shinedown and Godsmack that "have absolutely no play in major cities."  By way of comparison, if you looked at the Billboard album charts, Indie Rock acts like Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend were getting #1 albums and easily outselling the previously mentioned Hard Rock bands by a sizable margin.  Then again, this difference may have been there for some time.  Back in the mid-00s, the Midwest was the area that stuck most with Nu Metal bands like Papa Roach while Emo was getting popular.

Yeah. Indie's going strong, just not on the mass airwaves.

On an unrelated note that perhaps only I find interesting, as someone who likes a lot of music from all over the world, one notable feature of the 2010s thus far is that Rock music has faded in prominence across much of the world, not just in the US.  Places like Canada and Britain have also seen Rock music's position on their mainstream charts decline.  Rock still seems to have some amount of presence in Germany (a Rock song hit #1 over there recently), probably the same amount it had in the US circa 2008 or 2009.  Rock's also still surprisingly very prominent in Japan (3 out of the top 10 most popular songs last month were Rock songs), but it's mostly Japanese bands, not Western bands.  Then again, Japan didn't really jump on the Hip-Hop bandwagon of the 00s nor has it latched onto the current Dance-Pop trend (though Lady Gaga does have a sizable following there), so perhaps the country is just a weird exception.

I noticed that, too. I'm not sure why, either.

I'll say it again. Rock has just followed Jazz music (I'd say Rock's popularity/evolution parallels Jazz's by about 30 years). One problem is that the average age of songs on the "oldies" stations has risen. In the '70s, '80s and early '90s, the average song an oldies station played was about 20 years old. Nowadays, it's more like 35-40 years old (unless if you live in the DC/Baltimore or Houston markets without a proper oldies station on weekdays, where the "variety hits" tends to average around 25 years old). Many songs from the late '80s and early '90s in particular aren't found on such stations, even though they are basically old enough to be considered "oldies", due to some crappy, very timely/dated production at the time, too many sappy ballads, and the rise of rap music which is a big turnoff for Rock/Pop fans. It seems like the future of music is techno/electropop with some life in hip hop (which parallels rock's evolution by about 25-30 years as well). While it appears that the music industry's decline in sales has finally ended in 2011, rock won't ever have the success that it once had with the recent electro sounds. Many people under 30 would rather press buttons on a computer than play a guitar/keyboard, which may reflect the shifts in sounds. Rock n' roll is just coasting off its prior success and is increasingly becoming "old man's music" (pre-80s), and "middle aged music" for the era between Punk and Indie. Even for Indie, the anti-establishment ideas are pretty much gone, and anti-establishment in the 2010s often means technological trends. The human element just keeps getting weaker, and rock music requires a human element, while electro doesn't.

I know how many people on this forum want electropop/dance music to fade out soon but I think by now at least some aspect of electronica will be dominant throughout the 2010s. Traditional guitar rock music is becoming less relevant to the new generation, who grew up with more hip-hop/urban sounds. It is hard for me to imagine rock coming up with a new, innovative sound but I can easily imagine electronic music/even hip-hop still re-inventing itself.

Traditional guitar rock music is becoming less relevant to the new generation, who grew up with more hip-hop/urban sounds. It is hard for me to imagine rock coming up with a new, innovative sound but I can easily imagine electronic music/even hip-hop still re-inventing itself.
Sorry but this is WAY too sweeping a statement!
Just because you don't like or understand rock music doesn't mean that a whole generation doesn't/won't like it either, you can't speak for everyone. It would be just as easy to say that those of us who think hip-hop and urban sounds are crap would find it hard to imagine them coming up with anything new!

Sorry but this is WAY too sweeping a statement!
Just because you don't like or understand rock music doesn't mean that a whole generation doesn't/won't like it either, you can't speak for everyone. It would be just as easy to say that those of us who think hip-hop and urban sounds are crap would find it hard to imagine them coming up with anything new!


Hm, you don't know what my musical tastes are, I never said anything about disliking rock, I'm just observing a trend I see and I agree with what I said, I think rock is going the way of jazz.

Sorry, but Rock is in the worst state it has ever been in. Its biggest bands were the biggest bands in 1998.

I disagree that rock is in its worst state and is going to "go the way of jazz." There is just too much creativity and potential out there for that to be the case. The traditional rock formula is dated, but it's timeless, and there can be many other elements added (thus reinventing) to still make a rock song. Anyone know of any good rock/ambient dubstep? I've been trying to find some but I haven't come across any yet.