Music critics are not always the most innovative bunch. With nothing better to talk about, the "experts" have recently adopted the rallying cry that Rock is dead.
And, to the casual observer, they would seem to be correct.
In today's rapidly changing music scene, radio stations usher songs and bands in and out of existence faster than you can say "Kid Rock."
Popularity today revolves not around quality and musical talent but with staying power and radio play.
In short, you better be catchy and appeal to the masses -- like the aforementioned Kid Rock -- or you can kiss your musical career goodbye.
And, for these reasons, it appears on the surface that Rock is, in fact, dead.
But that's only true for the lazy, for those who procure their music knowledge solely from MTV and their local radio stations. By digging below the surface and looking past Korn and Limp Bizkit as the sole entries in a vacuous marketplace, listeners can unearth a vibrant, thriving rock scene.
While shouting "Rock is dead," people have neglected to look at evidence that suggests otherwise.
The Billboard Top 100 -- the essential measure of an album's success -- shows a total of 22 rock albums on the chart. There are, of course, the big names with Korn's "Follow the Leader" appearing at No. 70 and Limp Bizkit's "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all" and "Significant Other" appearing at No. 5 and No. 100, respectively. Beyond the big hitters, there are smaller bands that are achieving financial success while not necessarily being known to the music-listening public. Powerman 5000, for example, is slowly climbing the charts and, as of this week, has peaked at No. 31.
Although rock albums constitute almost a quarter of the Top 100, only four songs of the Billboard Top 50 singles are rock-based. This suggests that album sales are strong without the support of the consistent radio play of rap and bubblegum rock.
But that's all in the past. Music fans want to know what rock has done for them lately. One only has to look at the release schedule for the remainder of the year to see an amazingly strong number of prominent rock bands issuing albums. In what can only be described as a musical D-Day, three high profile albums are being released Sept. 21.
After a 5-year hiatus, the much-anticipated Nine Inch Nails release, "Fragile" joins Tori Amos' "to venus and back" and Ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell's "Euphoria Morning." Beyond that, expect releases soon from Primus, Incubus, Korn, Bush and Rage against the Machine.
To an even greater extent, the live rock scene is flourishing. Ozzfest and the Family Values Tour consistently sell out and stand out as the predominant musical tours of the year. Just last weekend the FM99 Lunatic Luau in the Virginia Beach Ampitheatre -- which featured Kid Rock, Sevendust, Powerman 5000 and Orange 9mm -- sold out with an astonishing 22,000 people.
The point? If you look at the genre as a whole, rock sales have not gone down. Rock has been a huge seller for 40 years -- something that sets it apart from all other forms of music. The difference between now and five years ago is that the coverage surrounding rock has diminished.
Rock is not dead. Hopefully, it's just lying low until MTV gets the Backstreet Boys out of its system.
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