Rock Is Dead, They Don't Say

An article by entertainment writer Shirley Halperin of the Hollywood Reporter caught my eye recently. Halperin noted that overall album sales were up in 2011 for the first time in seven years, with digital album sales up by 20 percent (as opposed to digital sales of individual tracks). Compact disc sales had a smaller sales decline than in previous years - 5 percent - suggesting that the downward spiral for sales of tangible recordings has at least been checked for now.

Halperin noted that this sales surge was largely due to the success of female artists -specifically, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adele. They, along with Katy Perry, were credited for putting across strong personas, touring extensively, and/or appearing on television as often as possible, which produced several radio hits that drove sales. Even Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears - veterans by today's standards - had success. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj were singled out by Halperin for creating alter egos with their music, which appealed to their mostly female fan bases, while Adele scored with direct realism; both trends suggest a golden age for "girl power."

But here's the thing. What Halperin didn't point out, and quite frankly didn't need to point out, was, with the possible exception of Perry, none of these performers are rockers. They mostly represented soul, disco, and pure pop. Not a Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, or Stevie Nicks among them - and certainly no one who could draw comparisons to Ann or Nancy Wilson of Heart.

I think it's taken for granted that rock and roll, if not extinct, is irrelevant outside the college indie radio station circuit. And such stations, which broadcast at the low end of the FM dial, probably have more megahertz in their frequencies than they have listeners. Halperin's article gave barely a mention of Foster the People, a rock band that got a modicum of attention in 2011 with "Pumped Up Kicks," and albums from bands such as Iron and Wine, the Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, and Florence and the Machine obviously didn't get mentioned at all. If you love these bands and the LPs they put out in 2011, fine. But they're not going to define their generations or any other. Adele is pretty much the only mainstream artist with indie appeal - or is that the other way around? - and she's an exception either way.

So who were the top male artists of 2011? According to Halperin, they were a slew of rappers - Li'l Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, DJ Khaled, and a Canadian rapper named Drake - all extolling the virtues of making lots of money and spending lots of money, which doesn't exactly jibe with rock's egalitarian, communal, set-my-spirit-free message. Even if white suburban male teenagers can't participate in hip-hop, they still relate to the current crop of rappers more than to whiny leftie guitar groups like the Decemberists, who probably remind them too much of the early-seventies bands their fathers love.

I've heard a lot of talk about retrograde rock bands, groups who try to bring back a sound from the past without realizing how redundant the term "retro rock" is - all rock is retro. And even rock's greatest heroes don't seem to captivate people's imaginations like they once did.

Today is Elvis Presley's birthday anniversary. For decades after his death in 1977, Elvis was like Bogart - someone who remained as relevant a cultural figure in death as he was in life. Does Elvis still matter? Well, I looked in my local TV listings today for any Elvis movies or documentaries that might have been on. I didn't find any. Maybe Elvis fans now spend their time watching their idol on YouTube and communicating on Facebook, but that only shows how the King is no longer a mass media hero. Like rock and roll itself, he's just another cult favorite now. :-(