Classic rock -- anyone else here hate it?

[Fiesta Red]

I think I'm the only person on TDPRI who loves Eliminator. And I'm perfectly alright with that.

I like/love Eliminator as well…ZZ Top is in my top three favorite bands of all time, but I’m honest about their various albums.

I understand the criticism of Eliminator, but don’t agree with it…even Afterburner had some good tunes on it (even though it’s my least favorite album by them).

Rio Grande Mud is still my favorite, however…

 

[GAS Giant]

OK... "hate" is a strong word... and no, I don't hate every single classic rock song. But man... the 50-100 songs they play OVER and OVER and OVER on your typical classic rock station? Kill me now.

If I never hear "Old Time Rock n Roll" "Born to be Wild" "Sharp Dressed Man" "Takin Care of Business" and "China Grove" again ever in my life? "What a Wonderful World" it would be for this girl

Getting older now...I grew up on a steady diet of rock (that later became "classic" for want of a marketing hook). My first thought is that whatever emotional response to those songs that I once had, the grooves are so worn now that I almost never feel the need to revisit. The same holds for most of my favorite movies...There are definite instances of songs that were not played to death on the radio that I still want to hear (I still enjoy hearing Bon Scott or Ray Davies). I seek out classic rock tracks that lingered at the edge of my memory (was that song even real???) like Bob Welch or David Werner - that's fun to find. The other part of my distaste for certain styles is that we had to endure the time-honored tradition of labels going to the well too often and releasing 2nd (ok) and 3rd waves (usually awful) of retreads. The classic rock era for me ends in about 1978 or could arguably be extended until 1982 or so. There was some hot garbage from cynical labels and coked-up artists (everyone, actually) trying to beat a dead horse. It continued to smooth out and was awful by the mid-80s. My interest shifted to new styles then, which I have also grown mostly tired of. There is always something pretty good out there, including new takes on older styles. I pulled up a webcast version of my childhood favorite radio station...late 70s independently owned and programmed stations that had local hits (The Kings, for example). The broadcasts mixed in some early 90s stuff (that I am also pretty tired of - no need to ever hear "Jeremy" again), but on the whole, it felt very much like my childhood, following the pacing of the radio, with no a la carte control of the material. After about an hour, I got tired of it and have not revisited since. Most of that stuff is reserved for vinyl records a few times per year.

 

[ElJay370]

It's not the bands themselves that I'm sick of...there's plenty of great music to be had from all of them. It's the station's programming that sucks.

Before I had satellite/Apple Music/Spotify access in my car I'd toggle through all the various radio stations in my area until I found something I could....tolerate. ("Paranoid"? Again? Ok sure, I guess...)

One day, on my drive home from work, "Hotel California" was playing on all 3 of the "Classic Rock' radio stations. Simultaneously. I'd rather listen to static.

It's no different on the "Modern Rock" or "Alternative" radio stations. It's Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and one hit wonder bands from 1996 that nobody cares about over and over and over.

I always find it amusing when these stations do "All Request Weekends!!!" It's obviously bulls**t. As if anyone has ever said "Y'know what I'd really like to hear right now? That Tom Petty song I heard at the grocery store the other day. Let's call 'em up!"

Ugh....

 

[telemnemonics]

Nice post. I can’t tell if it is honesty or satire, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Is there a word for that?

Tragisatirhonesty?

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.

After the world wars and great depression sort of molded America, and we got the GI bill, Dads were super happy to earn enough to buy a house and raise some kids while Moms were super happy to raise some kids in their home while breadwinner Dad paid for it all.

But that happiness was something of a front, better for economic growth than for every American who might or might not actually love that life.
We seem to now be learning of a huge amount of abuse that was hidden from view while the nice clean nuclear family ideal was a projected image of a land of plenty.

The irony of the coalminer who wants nothing more in life than a dark hole full of toxic gas and deadly accidents to crawl into?

Classic Rock might be a soothing balm for those who had the hope of youth turn into the disappointment of the American Way.
Not that the American Way is always the same outcome, but it's at least a conformity and a drudgery for most who choose a career in their teens while listening to teen tunes and hoping for their first kiss.

 

[howardlo]

Never have liked it. It is what drove me away from rock and roll back then, that all that followed. Once OD and distortion became the norm I was done with it. Went to country and acoustic singer/songwriter stuff.

 

[Matt Sarad]

Is Grateful Dead considered classic rock?
There are more Dead Tributes coast to coast than any other band.

 

[SuprHtr]

Commercial radio is not intended for active listeners. If you listen actively, you will be disappointed frequently.

 

[Wound_Up]

Nope. I prefer classic rock over almost anything that's been published in the last 15 years.

 

[pi]

the 50-100 songs they play OVER and OVER and OVER on your typical classic rock station?

I share your frustration.

I like classic rock, and in my car when I can't be bothered with bluetooth connection + phone music app (which is almost all the time) I default to the classic rock stations.

Here we have 2 classic rock stations. And both play the SAME set of 50 songs (and its surprising how often they play the same song within minutes of each other--as I often flip between them due to commercials).

One thing I've noticed is that when I travel to another city, their classic rock station plays a different set of 50 songs... and it's such a relief to hear it.

I really don't get it though... there's so much body of work to pull from but they limit it to such a narrow slice. I suspect it's all about licensing costs or something.

 

[westies]

OK... "hate" is a strong word... and no, I don't hate every single classic rock song. But man... the 50-100 songs they play OVER and OVER and OVER on your typical classic rock station? Kill me now.

If I never hear "Old Time Rock n Roll" "Born to be Wild" "Sharp Dressed Man" "Takin Care of Business" and "China Grove" again ever in my life? "What a Wonderful World" it would be for this girl

I'd say for most of us, the music you grew up with in your teens and twenties is your favorite music; the late 60's & early 70's were a huge social transition and the explosion in popular music came with it. Note that TV was 3 networks and ALL PG; I'm 68 and there was nothing on TV that long hairs and college kids wanted to see until SNL came along in 1975. So we listened to music and smoked weed instead. That era and vibe led to a lot of very good music that has stood the test of time. That being said, those 50-100 songs have been played to death, and no wonder people are tired of hearing them. I never got Frank Sinatra or the big band music my grandparents loved, and I don't get rap and hip hop either. I should be happy that I don't have to listen to 50-100 of those songs all day. I get it.
I will add that back in the 70's, music fans bought ALBUMS and spent their time listening to each track in sequence as opposed to binge watching Game of Thrones. They anxiously awaited their favorite artist's next album, the best of which may have been worked on for months, with a great deal of time in the studio with musicians playing instruments instead of computers.
It remains a far different experience quietly listening to an album as the artist intended instead of hearing the #1 radio track from it over and over ad nauseum. I think a lot of this angst comes from the way music is delivered and heard these days as opposed to it's quality, which is subjective. I'm not sure most listeners now more accustomed to 30 sec sound bites and pictures on snapchat have any desire to spend 40 minutes quietly absorbing 10 new songs.

 

[DekeDog]

Yup. '70s rock was the pits, for the most part...and it only gets worse with age, and widespread corporate radio airplay.

To me, "classic rock" ought to be '50s and '60s stuff – i.e. the truly great stuff, that defined the genre, that is, the "class." The stuff they play on so-called "classic rock" stations mostly ought to be called "'70s and '80s mainstream rock."

I get what you're saying, but the idea that '70s mainstream rock isn't classic rock is basically a problem of semantics. IMO, much of New Wave rock (now considered "classic rock") was just a more modern, and somewhat more sophisticated, revival of '50s and '60s Rock... a problem related to assigning songs to specific genres. Like Jazz, Rock is evolved to the point where it is hardly recognizable within its class, and barely distinguishable from its country and pop cousins. "Fusion" is a general term that further blurs the lines between the genres being fused. Even the different forms of Rap are lumped into the Rock categorization. Modern "Rock" is virtually indistinguishable from many other genres, and the term exists only to put it into a different category from other more extreme or elemental examples of other musical classifications.

 

[telemnemonics]

How’s the convent?

My decade in the convent of Trane ended circa 1993 IIRC, moved through the dark underbelly then to the homeless shelter for a while, then did time in a few rehabs, followed by a couple of decades in the trades, and now I guess I'm looking for my next phase?
Gettin' old ain't a phase is it?

 

[Viejo]

I definitely think the formats radio stations buy are way to top 40 oriented. They don't capture the classic rock times well at all. It was a time when radio stations went deeper in albums with their playlists. When DJs often attempted to educate listeners and expose them to varied forms of music. The spirit lamented in Tom Petty's song the Last DJ

 

[Rustbucket]

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.

Classic Rock might be a soothing balm for those who had the hope of youth turn into the disappointment of the American Way.
Not that the American Way is always the same outcome, but it's at least a conformity and a drudgery for most who choose a career in their teens while listening to teen tunes and hoping for their first kiss.

Interesting perspective. Your post makes me think of my dad and some of his friends who are not only content with life but also with listening to the same songs and classic radio station they have since I was a kid. I'm happy that it works for them, but that's not enough for me personally. I consider myself pleased, but not satisfied with many aspects of life, including music. Maybe it's coincidence that I'm not satisfied with the same ol', same ol' familiar songs on radio or even what's in my own music collection.

Regarding the American Way and the typical career path that goes with it, that can be both a golden carrot or golden handcuffs if you let it, depending on how one manages their finances. That “dream” is well sold in our consumer debt-driven economy. It trickles down through our schools and parenting from our father's and grandparent's generations. There are better ways and many avenues to choose in life, but that requires desire and self discipline.

Ironically, it is the same consumer driven economy that drives the ad revenue and song selection on FM radio.

 

[Toto'sDad]

I find it humorous seeing old ladies wearing clothes they should have stopped wearing forty years ago, and geezers with bald heads and gray ponytails rocking out to tunes that became irrelevant before the turn of the century. Having some experience at looking more than a little ridiculous myself, I say go right ahead, but you might not want to do it around your grandkids.

 

[sloppychops]

OK... "hate" is a strong word... and no, I don't hate every single classic rock song. But man... the 50-100 songs they play OVER and OVER and OVER on your typical classic rock station? Kill me now.

If I never hear "Old Time Rock n Roll" "Born to be Wild" "Sharp Dressed Man" "Takin Care of Business" and "China Grove" again ever in my life? "What a Wonderful World" it would be for this girl

Why are you listening to a classic rock station, then? For that matter, why are you even listening to a radio station? Approximately 98% of them are crap.

 

[loopfinding]

Thank God, yes.

The instrument this site is based around was designed for several different genres that aren't rock.
Genres that aren't rock is my favorite kind of music.

same, my taste in music for the last 15 years has pretty much been mostly things before 1965 and mostly things after 1980.

one of the reasons i gravitated towards the tele instead of a les paul or a strat is because it has a much stronger "pre-rock" or "non-rock" vibe to me.

 

[aeyeq]

Before classic rock it was oldies. I remember hearing Wolfman Jack, DJ during the rock and roll period and tv host, on an interview talking about oldies programming.

His point was during the original rock and roll period there were about 5000 top forty hits but the oldies stations only played a few hundred as determined by consultants wanting the most instantly recognizable songs on the rotations.

Seems to be the same mindset on the classic rock programming.

Lots of great stuff ignored. Which is why I use an iPod.

 

[Whatizitman]

Thing is, I’m only just now figuring out the licks . . . .

YES. Thank you. Someone had to say it.

Just glad I'm not alone in this.

 

[Whatizitman]

Don't you hate people, OK, "hate" is a strong word, that complain about Classic Rock being all over the radio when all they have to do is get Spotify, or any other free listening method where they can listen to exactly what they'd like to hear? And even be exposed to new music? Or, just change the radio station. Who listens to radio any more anyway?

It's great to want to discover and listen to new music. But do we have to trash one of the greatest era's in music to get there?
I'm kinda tired of it too. And new country leaves me flat.
You don't have to like it, but Classic Rock exists because a lot of people do. And still enjoy it at times. For many of us, it's the sound track of our past.

45 years ago, I was standing on a roadside with my hippie girlfriend hitchhiking. All of a sudden a huge rain storm came up the road. Just as it reached us, a car pulled over. We jumped in and slammed the door at the exact moment the pouring rain consumed the car. Torrential! "Tiny Dancer" was playing on the radio. Every time that song plays now, I am immediately time-warped back to that moment and the incredible day we had before the rain came down. There are so many other memories brought on by song, and I'm glad these songs come up randomly on whatever listening service I use.

Great stuff!

Yes to everything above.

It's in our blood. It's easy to forget why.