I heard today that Rock is dead. It made me pause and think. What would inspire anyone to come to that conclusion? Indeed, we have lost many good rockers in recent years. Some might say we’ve lost all of the original generation of rockers but that is not the point, even when it is true.
Is Classical music dead because all the original Classical composers are long dead? Just because Mozart can not play it for us himself, are his compositions any less brilliant. Which is not to say there are no Neo Classical composers of note. The form is alive and well as far as I can see.
And what about Blues? Is Blues dead as well? All the original Bluesmen are long dead. We are well into the second century of Blues and it seems to me that it is still going strong. B.B. King may be dead but Robert Cray is still belting out the Blues.
Then there is Jazz, Music Hall, Light Opera, Stage Musical, all with their own personality and style. They live on because they still speak to the heart and souls of the people that love them.
These genres have a life of there own. Just because the originators are gone doesn’t diminish the appeal to people of a like mind and spirit. Music transcends time and generational boundaries. It survives cultural evolution and fusion.
As long as teenagers are filled with angst, there will be Rock & Roll. As long as young lovers are convinced that they are unique and no one has ever felt the way they do, there will be Rock & Roll. As long as they feel invincible and immortal, there will be Rock & Roll,
We still have giants of Rock among us. There is Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Paul McCartney. Ian Anderson, Rod Stewart, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Even when these greats die out, their music will live on and inspire generation after generation of Rock musicians to come.
Rock isn’t dead and as one famous lyric proclaims “Rock will never die. Long live Rock!”
Sweet dreams, don’t forget to tell the ones you love that you love them, and most important of all, be kind.