by Lee Abrams
There has always been music… but in 1955, it all changed, there was Rock n Roll which went far beyond “music.” Here in 2008, there has always been news/information and some form of technology, but the opportunity is to do to information and technology what Rock n Roll did to Music is what’s moving the meter. It’s all been happening for awhile now. But from a brainpower and innovation viewpoint, Rock n Roll looks backwards. The vision is on information and technology. And it’s probable that Rock n Roll’s inventive/world changing days are behind. Now, that doesn’t mean its 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.
People in the music business are usually hopeful that it’s all about “new music”. It was, but the magic now is 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. Music will impact people forever and there’ll be other forms of it that engage the world, but my point is that that “Rock n Roll thing” is more about the past than the future (and that’s fine and can be/is extremely lucrative). Of course, that is not a pleasant thing for a business that is focused on breaking new acts…but a pretty good time for the miners. If I were in the music business, I’d focus on mining and technology instead of the old school trying finding the next big hit and getting it played a lot. Vegas has better odds.
Rock n Roll is a universal term. Everyone from 7 to 70 knows what it means and pretty much everybody was touched by it. It is plain un-American to not like Rock n Roll. In 1956 it meant teens, but now, it’s demographically universal. Hell, Obama’s song is by U2 and Huckabee is using Skynyrd! Rock n Roll is an attitude that resonates around the world, but it can be and is being applied to non musical initiatives.
In its purest sense Rock n Roll 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 is like:
DYLAN
BEATLES
PINK FLOYD
U2
ERIC CLAPTON
JIMI HENDRIX
(Lasting … integrity …quality …in touch with the soul of the Nation)
Those above mentioned points and artists are the same points that will and are defining the new “Rock n Roll”—Information & Technology.
Today’s information merchants can and often do also go cheesy, manufactured, short lived, soul-less….say… that sounds like a lot of today’s “pop” music!
I would classify Naomi Campbell interviewing Hugo Chavez as not exactly life changing. Too bad she wasn’t a Pop figure in the ‘70s – we could have had her interview Idi Amin. In many ways, information delivery is where music was in the ‘50s. Poised for something new and something new is happening before our eyes. Just the fact that you are reading this blog is new. Where music was once the definer, now it’s often an add-on or something that makes technology a richer experience – kind of like a video game with amazing music.
The music business ate itself… 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 gaming and 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
LADEN IN MONEY, INFLUENCE AND POWER
I don’t blame the music business…it was all inevitable.
Information and technology is the new Rock n Roll. I love music, as most people do, but the pulse of the nation is information and technology based. That’s the buzz. That’s where the excitement is and where the action is.
Looking back is fine and enjoyable – 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. Without Elvis and The Beatles, Patty Page would be voted the most important artist of the 20th Century.
Originally posted by Lee Abrams at http://leeabrams.blogspot.com/.
