Rock 'N' Roll Might Be Over, Says...U2?
It seems inconceivable to many to suggest rock music is going the way of the dodo--but it's even tougher to hear it from U2.
Bono is disappointed in their latest album's sales, lamenting that No Line On The Horizon "didn't pull off the pop songs." However, he also places some of the blame on a marketplace that holds little promise for the dinosaur-like album format.
"We weren't really in that mindset and we felt that the album was a kind of an almost extinct species, and we should approach it in totality and create a mood and a feeling, and a beginning, middle, and an end," Bono told Spinnermusic.co.uk.
"And I suppose we've made a work that is a bit challenging for people who have grown up on a diet of pop stars."
Adam Clayton, U2's bassist, argued that traditional music fans don't exist anymore.
"What is rock 'n 'roll in this changing world? Because, to some extent, the concept of the music fan--the concept of the person who buys music and listens to music for the pleasure of music itself--is an outdated idea," Clayton told the AP.
Clayton sees rock turning into ancient history. He said older music like jazz "was for people who took life a certain way, but it wasn't part of the modern world for me. I worry that the world of rock 'n' roll that I grew up in is destined to end up that way."
Such sentiment makes sense in a time when MTV hardly plays music at all and hip-hop, not rock, is the choice music for teenage rebellion. But is U2 doomed to obsolescence?
Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said: "The biggest danger for a band like U2 is accepting that you've reached a certain age, and, therefore you can just actually sit back. That's not what we signed up to do. We want to make relevant, great music."
There's an as-yet-unheard new U2 record, Songs Of Ascent, coming in 2010. So, is U2 going to go neon? Is Bono going to rap? Let's hope not...
All the scoop is on www.musictoob.com.
"And I suppose we've made a work that is a bit challenging for people who have grown up on a diet of pop stars." That has to be the biggest pile of B.S. that I have heard in a long time..
Larry (the drummer dude) was the only one who said anything close to the truth and that the band members are the ones who need to accept their place... it's not up to the music loving public just because it's a U2 album.
Bono needs to stop blaming the world for all of his shortcomings.
Do I love rock? Hell yeah! Does pop music suck? Sometimes, of course! Does any of this have to do with the sales of U2's last album? No. People just don't want to listen to you whine anymore dude. We've moved on and so should you.
as for the decline of pop music...say hello to the likes of lou perlman, and his cookie cutter boy bands, similar to the motown groups of the 60s, but with one very important motivational difference - motown groups could sing for money, lou perlman (and others like him) pay money for singing...and are rich on the backs of young talent..giving that talen a shelf life before their real lives even start..and causing and epidemic of whiplash because we're all looking for the 'next big thing' .
quick profit mind set rules. For this reason pop music is no longer worth listening to however there will always be great music being made somewhere in the world. The challenge is finding it.
http://www.reverbnation.com/hawkandthehoods
... just my opinion... Rock 'ait dead... its just hard to find sometimes.