Am going back through articles I haven't read this December and found this K. Sanneh piece that seems to be arguing for more "mainstream" rock acts. Doesn't that seem odd given his anti-hegemonic, anti-rockist writing and general avoidance of the rock beat (which is Jon's domain)? I think it brings up a big question still unanswered about the current meltdown of the music industry – will there be any consensus rock bands in the present? Will any one be popular enough to be a national act? Contemporary rock radio right now is beyond terrible - all post-nu metal and closet Christian grunge, aggro- unbridedled hatred (for women - Buckcherry, or for themselves, or for "society", or even worse - other crappy grunge bands) and, suffice to say, very very few women, who by virtue of their "otherness" are deemed "indie" even when they rock. Anyway, the question is – if we're all headed toward single-serving niches but we still have regional and national media infrastructure, will then that infrastructure only play the artists who want to hang on to the "old" model? Is this why we have Nickelback and the Shop Boyz alike fetishize rock star lifestyle but not really anything about it's musical values? Hmm. Here's K's take...on Daughtry, a generic blank slate of a rock sound who K argues is so inauthentic (doesn't have a band, doesn't have charisma, doesn't work for his audience, doesn't have any vices) that he's an insult to rock audiences - K!
By Kelefa Sanneh
Published: December 6, 2007
...But as his 75-minute performance drew to a close, Mr. Daughtry was starting to seem like the musical equivalent of negative space. His huge popularity says something about the number of people who want their rock songs unhyphenated and unsubgeneric, people left cold by emo and metal and crossover country and jam bands and indie. Call a contractor, or a savvy marketer: There’s a Chris-Daughtry-size hole in the rock ’n’ roll industry.
Also on consensus: Jody Rosen's early love for the 25th anniversary of Thriller:
Thriller sold 40 million copies during its initial run, and
today the worldwide sales stand at 104 million. Those numbers may well
represent the last great moment of pop consensus. At a time of intense
musical fragmentation, it is charming to remember a record that seduced
seemingly everyone: blacks, whites, grade-schoolers, grandparents. Even
metalheads found their thrill on Track 5.
This is less a surprise from our leader of the skeptical poptimists - arguing for weirdness, patience, experimentation, and pluralism of genre as key elements in making great music. Several of my students (born in the late 80s!) this semester really surprised me by playing MJ as the best music they'd ever heard for just these reasons - he brought the noise and made it music.
