Good Music Making a Comeback???

Could it Be?? Is good rock music making a comeback?!?! There are many positive indicators that this may in fact be true. Rock music has been stuck in a limbo for the last decade in which the majority of the “mainstream” bands that have been popular have been from the shitty post-grunge era…Nickelback, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin…I’m talking to you! There have been very few new bands that have really broken out with the exception of a few like The Strokes, The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, and more recently Kings of Leon. Luckily some of the now veteran rock acts like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Metallica, and Weezer have carried us through the dark period.

The 90’s is far and away my favorite musical period because almost every genre of music got some sort of radio play and labels were looking for the newest band to get out to the masses. Now in the era where MTV is obsolete and no longer about music, Clear Channel runs terrestrial radio, and internet downloading is king (see Mike’s post), great music is usually overshadowed by top 40 hits, and recycled rock garbage. There are still outlets to great music but you either have to shell out some money for it (Sirius satellite radio), or really dig online to find it.

There is a seemingly bright light on the horizon. I think people are starting to realize that the music they get on the radio is sounding more and more like the same and they are clamoring for something new….or something old. Recently many bands from the heyday of the 90’s have gotten back together for tours or to make new albums. Pearl Jam was the only band to stay together through the 90’s and they have remained popular and influential and Backspacer, which was released last fall, has gotten great reviews and significant airplay. Alice in Chains, sans-Layne Staley, made a great album that has netted them a few number one rock singles, and while the new material can’t stand up to their old work, it is way better than most of the stuff out now. Rage Against the Machine and Jane’s Addiction are back together and touring. Stone Temple Pilots have a new album coming out in May, and the first single has already shot to number one.

Finally, to complete everything, hell has frozen over and Soundgarden has reunited and are going on tour this summer, capping it off with a headlining gig at Lollapalooza. They performed at a secret show in Seattle April 17th and from the few YouTube clips and tons of reviews, the band was as tight as ever and Chris Cornell’s voice is sounding better than it has in years.

All of this coupled with great recent releases from Them Crooked Vultures, Phoenix, Weezer, and Muse as well as future releases by The Strokes and Kings of Leon, the music industry might just be in for a rock revival. I can only hope that their will be a day where the radio is Nickelback- free, and however unlikely that is, a boy can dream.