What happened to Rockstars?

Everyone knows I am a huge fan of music. Mostly rock music but it crosses all the genres of rock such as punk, metal, classic, new wave etc. I hate it when people stick to just one genre and that’s it. But one thing that I have always loved is the Rockstar. This is something that does not exist anymore and it really bothers me.

Jim Morrison, Mick Jaggar, Keith Richards, David Bowie, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Gene Simmons, Tommy Lee, Eric Clapton, Bono, Steven Tyler, Axl Rose, Slash, Sid Vicious and on and on…..these guys are or were Rockstars. Some of them are obviously still around and even on tour. But they are the last. Ten years from now most or all of these guys will be out of the spotlight for good or even dead and then the era of the Rockstar will be over, forever.

Around 1992 tthe whole Seattle grunge/alternative scene blossomed and suddenly we were expected to hate Rockstars. Alternative took over and pushed metal out of the way and making it completely “uncool” to either be or even like a Rockstar. I enjoyed much of the music that came from that era. But I always hated that when I would tell some people that I was still into G n’ R or Motley Crue they would just give a look like, ugh, what shallow music. F*ck you. Who wants to sit around and listen to how shitty life is all the time and how we are all the same as the the guys in the band. F*ck that. I like most people use music to escape from how shitty life can be sometimes. I don’t want to be just like the guys in the band who are just “regular guys.” I love the theatre and entertainment that a massive rock band provides. If you have ever been in a crowd of 30,000 people during a kick ass rock concert you know what I mean. One word, fun. I have seen the Seattle bands and their counterparts many times. I like the tunes. But the shows do not compare to seeing a Crue show or a Floyd show. You get your moneys worth and it’s not depressing at all. It’s just all out fun. Sure, some of the tunes may not be as meaningful or deep as a Pearl Jam song but I would rather pump my fist to “Same ol Situation” instead of staring at the stage half awake listening to “Daughter.”

That brings me to the kids today. Their version of a Rockstar is some shit bag rap group from Atlanta or Memphis with platinum teeth, gaudy clothes and even worse tunes. All the songs sound the same and all the “artists” look the same. I have been to rap shows and 9 out of 10 times it is just a bunch a dudes running around on stage screaming over each other waving towels and there is so much bass you can’t understand the music let alone the words. Awful. Let me take you idiots that enjoy that crap to a Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd or Eric Clapton concert. There you will see talented musicians performing songs THEY wrote and THEY played as opposed to some producer that wrote all the music for you. Not to mention the music they write it is usually just a bunch of stolen bastardized riffs anyway so to use the word “write” is almost a joke.

I have been to more concerts than I can count and it’s pretty much my favorite thing to do in the world. There have been so many times where myself and all the people around me were in one of those moments. The kind where you get goosebumps on your arms because of the music you are hearing at that moment hits you so hard. I am pretty sure nobody ever had that happen listening to “Ay Bay Bay” or whatever that dogshit is. There is a lot to be said about watching 3 to 5 guys on stage playing guitars, drums, bass and vocals creating and playing live. Watching some moron in a throwback jersey spitting terrible rhymes over a pre recorded track just does’t work the same. I actually enjoy some older hip hop music but it’s far and few between and nothing in the last 6 or 7 years. Pop music today is at an all time low.

I gotta go back to the alternative movement of the early 90’s again. When they made it uncool to be a Rockstar and even more uncool to like them a lot of people abandoned rock music and went over to the world of Hip Hop and Rap. As I said before people want to have fun and they want to use music as an escape from their shitty lives. They don’t want to go to a party and listen to Kurt Cobain tell us how awful everything is. The guys want to freak out and chase girls and the girls want to shake their ass to fun upbeat music. So right then and there was the deathblow to rock n roll maybe forever. Sure there are still plenty of bands out there on tour doing what they always did. But again, 10-15 years from now it’s over for them and who is left? Are any of these crappy emo bands going to sell out 40,000 seats on a reunion tour. Are we going to see Nickleback and Limp Bizkit inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame next to the Stones, Beatles and Ramones. The thought of that makes me ill, it really does. A 45 year old and 300 lb Fred Durst accepting his HOF statue and then performing “Rollin” live. Common…no way. I feel bad for the youth today. This is their last chance to see real Rockstars do it the it’s supposed to be done and then it’s over. The days of the sold out world tour are almost over. Once the Stones and U2 retire the days of football stadium size shows are over. Most won’t take advantage of these final days. They will keep listening to whatever horrible new rap song is on TRL or the “rock” kids will sit and a corner and cry to Dashboard Confessional records. Sounds awesome. Can’t wait. I feel so fortunate to have seen so many great, legendary musicians. I was born just in the nick of time. These poor bastards today will never know. But I guess the only good thing is when you have never been there you don’t know what you are missing.

This is your last chance and I highly suggest you take advantge because pretty soon VH1 Classic is going only place you see any of it.