Hip-hop, pop, and Country may rule the charts but Rock n Roll has a new relevancy and it’s in the spirit more than the music.
It’s 1955 and Rock n Roll emerges. Energizing and electrifying the good times of post-war America. Now it’s 2024 and the world is having a nervous breakdown. Same Country, different eras. Maybe it is the time we’re in, but the opportunity is to embrace information, media, and technology in ways Rock n Roll Music did in its glory years. That is what’s in sync with the modern culture. It’s all been happening for a while now. From a brainpower and innovation viewpoint, The Rock n Roll movement looks backward. There are new emerging music styles, but the big forward vision is on information, media, and technology. And it’s likely that Rock n Roll’s inventive/world-changing mass appeal days are behind. NOW—That doesn’t mean it’s dead—in fact, it’s very much alive, but I think the magic of Rock n Roll in the 21st century is all about immersing ourselves in its deep and unbelievably rich history that touched so many in their musically formative years. People in the music business are usually hopeful that it’s all about “new music” and it is— in other genres, but there’s also a new magic now in mining the history, which only a thin layer of it has been touched. Mining can mean DISCOVERING what’s out there or seeing amazing bands perform their history at the well-honed level of today, not to mention sister genres. Music will impact people forever and there’ll be other forms of it that engage the world, but my point is that the “Rock n Roll thing” is more focused on the past (and that’s fine and can be/is extremely lucrative) than the future…a pretty good time for the miners.
BUT—- information, media, and technology are the new Rock n Roll in terms of what’s driving mainstream culture. Rock n roll is a timeless attitude that resonates around the World–-it’s more than a sound—-it’s an M.O. and can be and can be applied to non musical initiatives.
In its purest sense Rock n Roll thinking arguably means:
INNOVATION
ATTITUDE
SWAGGER
NEWNESS
BIG—MASS APPEAL
RE-INVENTION
CREATES FANS NOT USERS
POWERFUL
CHANGING
ARTFUL
REBELLIOUS
INTELLIGENT…IN A MASS APPEAL WAY
LADEN IN MONEY, INFLUENCE AND POWER
Done right it’s like:
DYLAN
STONES
HENDRIX
CHUCK BERRY
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
BEATLES
etc…..
(Lasting … integrity …quality …in touch with the soul of the Nation)
Those above mentioned points and the respective artists are the same points that will and are defining the NEW “Rock n Roll”–INFORMATION, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
In many ways media is where music was in the early 50’s. POISED for something new. And something new IS happening before our eyes.
And where music was once the Cultural definer, now it’s often an add-on…something that makes technology a richer experience…kinda like a video game …with amazing music. Or a movie that’s elevated by sound. Or an environment to chill in. An experience enhancer.
Some in the Music Business ate themselves. A lot of why music ate itself is because those controlling it, forgot they were in the ROCK N ROLL business and got absorbed by the bullshit and forgot:
INNOVATION
ATTITUDE
SWAGGER
NEWNESS
BIG—MASS APPEAL
RE-INVENTION
CREATES FANS NOT USERS
POWERFUL
CHANGING
ARTFUL
REBELLIOUS
INTELLIGENT…IN A MASS APPEAL WAY
…I don’t blame the music business…it was all inevitable as it evolved from the streets to the board room
INFORMATION, MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY IS THE NEW ROCK N ROLL!
I love music and am as passionate as ever (!) as most people, but the pulse of the Nation is information, media and technology based. THAT’S the buzz. That’s where the excitement and blank canvas is…where the action is. It’s more about your screen than your stereo….arguments more about politics than songs….
Looking back is great and enjoyable and a rich business on its own—There’s SO much there. But looking forward—the excitement will more likely be information and technology based discovery than a hot new artist that has the lasting impact of a Dylan, Beatles, Pink Floyd or Zeppelin. Oh–and for those who say that they were special cases—Yes they were, but imagine the state of music without the driving influence they had on other artists.
Rock n roll music is rich and deep and historic. Rock n roll THINKING is potent and timeless and what will power the future.
