When you take a retrospective look at popular music after the 1950s, it’s pretty clear that rock music was a consistent driving force.
Bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Nirvana all had a significant influence in their respective decades of heyday fame, among the countless other artists who rose to fame alongside them.
However, when you look at today’s music landscape it seems like there is a serious lack of rock music–or at least when compared to the second half of the 20th century.
Most artists have abandoned the electric guitar in favor of synthesizers and drum loops.
While these instruments have their place in music, it leaves a gap in the industry.
At this point, however, the charts seem to reveal that people don’t really care about rock anymore.
This begs the question: why?
Well, rock music as a whole is moving in an unknown direction. This is interesting because at the turn of the century, it seemed clear where rock was headed.
Eighteen years ago, New York indie band The Strokes released an EP through Rough Trade Records that sparked a bidding war among record labels, the biggest for a rock band that the industry had seen in years.
They were eventually signed by RCA Records, and people awaited the release of their first album.
It truly seemed as though The Strokes would be the saviors of rock ’n’ roll.
Eighteen years later, however, it has become clear that they were definitely not saviors of any kind, the hype surrounding them quickly fizzled out.
However, their music had a ripple effect that can be seen in bands like Arctic Monkeys, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Killers who all claim to have taken major influence from The Strokes.
At the end of the day though, The Strokes have had little to no mainstream radio play after the release of their first album.
With each new release, people have forgotten the impact the band had at the beginning of the millennium.
Nowadays, rock music is nearly absent from the mainstream.
This is not to say there aren’t genuine rock bands around today; there definitely are. One recent example is Greta Van Fleet.
The band made headlines as fans drew numerous parallels between Greta Van Fleet and Led Zeppelin.
Both bands have music rooted in the blues, and lead vocalist Josh Kiszka has a voice that sounds nearly identical to Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant.
The main problem many people have with Greta Van Fleet and bands like them is that they really aren’t bringing anything new to the table.
Their music often sounds as if they’re plagiarizing bands such as Led Zeppelin or Queen instead of creating anything new and exciting.
There are, however, several bands who are putting out fresh ideas in the realm of rock music.
Bands like The Growlers and The Voidz have their own refreshing sounds which have become more popular in the indie-rock scene.
The Growlers strut a lo-fi aesthetic while singing jangly pop songs that make kids in checkered vans and cuffed jeans swoon.
The Voidz have a noisy and gritty sound which toes the line between psychedelic bliss and chaotic punk nonsense.
While both these bands have been pushing the envelope, they’ve pushed it far enough to where a mainstream audience won’t be able to consume their music.
It’s hard to tell where rock music is headed, though it’s clear the genre is heading into some unknown territory.
People are tired of bands rehashing sounds of the past, yet they are also afraid to venture too far into obscurity.
This would lead one to believe there is some sort of sweet spot in the middle that takes inspiration from the past and moves it forward.
Hopefully, there’s a band out there that will hit that sweet spot soon because we need it badly.
