ALICE COOPER Doesn't Believe That Rock Is Dead, Says He Would Like GENE SIMMONS To Do His Taxes

Blabbermouth ^ | March 3, 2021 | N/A

[DoodleBob]

Alice Cooper has dismissed the notion that rock is dead, saying that "rock and roll is where it should be right now."

While rock and roll has been king of the music world for decades, in the past few years, it's been unseated by the growing popularity of hip-hop. This has caused many pundits to proclaim the genre "dead" from an industry perspective, noting that it has been eclipsed in all measures by pop, hip-hop, and EDM.

A few years ago, KISS bassist/vocalist Simmons told Esquire magazine that "rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won't because it's that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it."

A number of hard rock and heavy metal musicians have weighed in on the topic in a variety of interviews over the last several years, with some digging a little deeper into Simmons's full remarks and others just glossing over the headline.

Cooper, who is promoting his new album, "Detroit Stories", spoke about rock's supposed diminishing status during a recent interview with NME. Addressing the whole "rock is dead" debate, Alice said (see video below): "Gene Simmons — I would like him to do my taxes, 'cause he's a businessman, and business-wise, [his claim that rock is dead is] valid. But I guarantee you right now, in London somewhere, in garages, they're learning AEROSMITH, they're learning GUNS N' ROSES — a bunch of 18-year-kids are in there with guitars and drums, and they are learning hard rock. It's the same with the United States — there's all these young bands that wanna resurge that whole area of hard rock and outlaws. So, in some ways, rock and roll is where it should be right now. We're not in the Grammys; we're not in the mainstream. Rock and roll is outside looking in now, and I think that gives us that outlaw attitude. And I think that's very good for rock and roll, 'cause that's how rock and roll started; we were all outlaws at the time, and then we became mainstream. But now, hey, FOO FIGHTERS, GREEN DAY — a lot of great hard rock bands out there."

He continued: "The one [kind of] music, if you think of it, that started and never ended was hard rock. Because it went to punk, it went to disco, it went to hip-hop, it went to grunge — it did all these things — but the one thing that went right to the middle of it was hard rock. THE ROLLING STONES were still THE ROLLING STONES; AEROSMITH was still AEROSMITH; Alice Cooper was still Alice Cooper. We survived those things because guitar-driven hard rock is the only thing that will still be going 30 years from now, 40 years from now. And I think music will go all over the place, but you're gonna find those hard rock bands still there."

The "rock is dead" argument has popped up again and again throughout the years, including in 2018 after MAROON 5 lead singer Adam Levine told Variety magazine that "rock music is nowhere, really. I don't know where it is," he said. "If it's around, no one's invited me to the party. All of the innovation and the incredible things happening in music are in hip-hop. It's better than everything else. Hip-hop is weird and avant-garde and flawed and real, and that's why people love it."

[DoodleBob]

a lot of great hard rock bands out there

Alice is right. There are any number of good, even great unsigned bands in your town or within a 100-mile drive. They play at a bar nearby with 4 other bands, asking only a $10 cover charge, a two drink minimum (when there isn't a pandemic), and for an open ear to receive innovation and entrepreneurship. Some will suck, but others will renew your faith in capitalism and music.

If you are old and can't be bothered to leave your couch, find new music online.

[rbg81]

It’s been over a decade since I heard a new song I actually liked. The last “rock” band whose stuff I really liked was The Rosewood Thieves and they disbanded around 2010 or so.

I would definitely say that the Rock I knew in my youth is dead and probably never coming back. The demographics just don’t support it.

Luckily, there is enough good music made from the 1950s to the 2000s that I will never lack for it. If I had to put a year on rock’s decline, it would be 1987, when the song “I want your sex” (by George Michael) was a hit. When I heard that, I knew rock was in trouble.

[W.]

There’s a bar here, Howard’s Club H, always has bands. Some have been good. Ya never know...

[ClearCase_guy]

I’m not part of their target demographic. Too old. When I turn on the radio, I mostly hear a boring, throbbing beat. Nothing of interest musically. The emphasis seems to be on the singer and her strong vocal pyrotechnics. Gets old very fast, for me. I think Whitney Huston was a bad influence — impressive voice, but absolutely nothing else of interest going on. Then American Idol came along and seems to have convinced people that that’s all music should ever be.

But I think the public wants a throbbing background score to their daily lives. They don’t seem to “listen” to the music. They just want it to be “there”.

[IYAS9YAS]

While my son isn’t learning instruments (poor kid inherited too much of my lack of coordination), he is discovering the good music from my youth. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. So I got the exposure to 50s and 60s music from my folks and we listened to the 70s and 80s as I grew up. Great time.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Alice Cooper has dismissed the notion that rock is dead, saying that "rock and roll is where it should be right now."

Yeah, he's kidding himself. This is like Frank Sinatra around 1990 telling us that crooning was not dead and it was right where it should be. Rock is now a marginal music category, catering to an aging and dwindling group of people. Sad but true.

[discostu]

Then you’re just not looking in the right places. Rock is still kicking butt.

[moodyskeptic]

I also agree with Mr Cooper, the visceral excitement of a power chord will never leave the young at heart. As a musician, I can guarantee you that if you think any good music is dead you are merely not finding it. It surrounds you, but there are no record companies with giant budgets to promote it to your favorite radio station. In some ways, this is better, because bands with something to offer aren’t shaken down by the big “independent promoters” being paid by the record companies. That entire house of cards crumbled. To find good music (there is a flood of it out there)it pays to ask the intelligent young adults what they have found. Write down the artists names, check them out on youtube and start discovering hidden gems. Don’t resort to Rolling Stone, they are clueless.

[discostu]

Nope not true at all. Yeah it’s not ruling the charts anymore. But honestly there was a brief window when it was. And even then pop and schmaltz were bigger, we’ve just forgotten because those songs get forgotten. There’s new awesome rock and roll being made all the time. Especially in Europe, Germanic countries are really carrying the torch these days. Get away from the radio, go on the hunt.

[Robert DeLong]

Tenacious D - Rock Is Dead

[setter]

I have made an attempt to listen to the new rock groups over the last few years.

They all sound the same, nothing that really catches you the first time like Dream On or Enter Sandman. It’s all so generic and blah.

[DoodleBob]

I have no financial interest in what follows.

I encourage you to check out:

rewardmusic.com - this is a new platform co-launched by Dweezil Zappa (yes, Frank's son) that puts all the dollars and control into the musician's pocket and not into FB or some big tech reach-limiting algorithm. There is an Artist's page where you can find artists on this platform that you've likely never heard.

https://bandcamp.com - this site lets you sample and buy music from unsigned artists. You can search by genre and format.

http://www.unsignedbandweb.com - here is a plethora of free new music that doesn't always suck.

Also, if you have XM, stop listening to Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind and listen to Underground Garage.

Don't be a Democrat and wait for the MSM to tell you what to like, simply surrender. Be a Deplorable and work for it.

[Salamander]

I'm down with the apocalypse

[iacovatx]

A lot of good and optimistic comments here—and they, and Alice Cooper, are right.

Here are examples of where the demographics support great new rock music. Billions of people love rock music and it is getting to more and more people every day.

High energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyvVyqujOCY

Marshall Amp and power chords—classic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0l7mjTfDgg

Strat and Marshall—pop rock song, really catchy — harder style live
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw1Awul1818

For the harder metal fans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_yATzyi-3g

And that is just one country—female led bands. There are lots more examples in a lot of places.

Interesting thread. Thanks for this topic.

[discostu]

Cool stuff. People who think nothing good is happening just aren’t looking. It’s like staying in your house and then bemoaning how you never find money on the sidewalk, you gotta get to the sidewalk to find money on it. To find good stuff you gotta listen to something other than the classic rock channels. Heck even the old “legacy” bands are doing great stuff, which you won’t find if you don’t look. Find a good podcast, youtube channel, learn to seed Spotify. Or read articles. I found a ton of great music from this article:
https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-best-rock-albums-of-the-decade

[OKSooner]

Rock and roll is dead, it was poisoned by Hollywood.

Punk, which actually was fun for a brief time, was it’s death rattle.

Postmillennial trash, along with “Pop-country” which the late Tom Petty described as “bad rock with a fiddle”, are the products of choice for the money brokers now.

“Prove me wrong.”

[KevinB]

The last “rock” band whose stuff I really liked was The Rosewood Thieves and they disbanded around 2010 or so.

Thanks for the referral of The Rosewood Thieves. I had somehow missed them in my musical exploration. I like them quite a bit. (So much so that I have purchased and downloaded three of their albums.) I would probably characterize their style more as Americana than Rock, though. There is a tremendous amount of excellent music in their style still being made, but one has to go looking for it.

[vpintheak]

A lot of the newer rock is just whiney, the singers just sound like teenagers throwing hissy-fits and yelling during the chorus. I can’t stand it.
There are some newer rock, and I lean toward metal, groups out there that get me fired up yet.

[rbg81]

So much so that I have purchased and downloaded three of their albums.

---

You mean just since I mentioned them this morning? Wow.

I got to see them live back in 2008 or so. My favorite of theirs is a tune called “Honey Stay a while”. There used to be a really good video for that song on YouTube, but it disappeared a few years ago.

[MarDav]

The title of this article may be Alice’s way of being a bit, if you’ll excuse the pun, cryptic. After all...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpKGfFw8FEA