THIS is where rock will revive, not in some stadium. Garage bands have always been the source of real rock, because the bands are obviously not in it for the money (yet) because there IS no money.
The ultimate symbol of the death of rock as a mass movement is the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. It's indicative of the mindset of people who grew up with rock as an outsider music, rebel music, now wanting to be part of the Establishment. Once rock went from music your parents didn't like you to listen to and became the music your parents listened to it became Pop.
In order to thrive once again, rock has to stop being comfortable music. I don't mean it has to be thrash or punk but it DOES have to be rock 'n' roll, not this stuff with nothing lyrics, PC politics, and completely unadventurous music. The Stones used to be "devil music," now they're this Vegas act that performs on the Superbowl! THAT's "rock 'n' roll"?
Rap has that dangerous quality to some extent (not really, as the rappers are praised in all the "right" magazines and Entertainment Tonight shows because they are easily-used props to show how "hip" the 'entertainment journalists' are), but the reason has nothing to do with artistry in the music or lyrics, only on the need to push SOME black culture in order to show 'multicultural sensitivity'. Rap, IMHO, has the completely opposite problem rock has--it's ONLY shock, without the musical excitement or creativity. It is almost anti-rock in its sensibility in that the songs seem completely calculated TO shock, whereas rock's greatness was its lack of uselfconsciousness. A great song isn't calculated to shock someone, it just DOES sometimes (though not all).
So again, thanks for posting these, I will definitely check them out.
I also listen to rock and roll from the 1950s and 1960s that is considered "noise" and "too loud" for oldies radio (Link Wray, the Sonics...).
The castrated sounds are illegitimate. The Ramones and the Saints and the Dictators lurked under the radar in the mid-1970s. And the Saints had horns on some cuts so don't I hope that FReepers don't typify "punk" as british/LA hardcore. The Standells' Dirty Water was a punk song. Iggy Pop was punk. The Ramones were punk. The Dictators had their album out on Epic in 1974 AND they covered the then contemporary Sonny & Cher "I got you babe".
I find it "funny" that the Mass Media pushes rap and hip hop and divas as the only voice of black entertainers (past or present). James Brown isn't dead yet. Mick Collins has led bands including The Gories, Blacktop, The Dirtbombs, and some side projects. The lead singer of the Bellrays is a black woman (Lisa, I can never remember her last name) .
Where are the clips of black rock and rollers like Roy Brown, Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, the Chamber Brothers, and the above acts on BET? What about the recently deceased R.L. Burnside? T-Model Ford? Older clips of Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, T-Bone Walker and others?
Gang bangers and pimps are no musical movement. They are in it for cash and celebrity. Thugs for life. Don't believe the hype. I hated Kiss as a kid too (they absolutely refused to be seen without their makeup).