Defining Today’s Rock Music and Where It Could be Headed

Defining rock music has never been a simple proposition. In its infancy, rock and roll was the culmination of a dozen different genres thrown into a mixer and given a good shake. Utilizing everything from the guitar mastery of Chuck Berry to the rhythm and blues of Johnny Otis, rock and roll was the catalyst for everything we know today as popular music.

When New Genres Attack
However, with such an eclectic history and so much potential in the core of its sound, it wouldn’t take long for rock and roll to splinter in a hundred different genres. Today, when you say “rock music” you could be referring to almost anything. Every year, it seems like a new brand of rock music arrives and the industry isn’t quite sure how to handle it.
In 1989, when the first ever Grammy award for Heavy Metal music was awarded, everyone stared in disbelief as Jethro Tull, led by flute player Ian Anderson, won the award. It took a year before the industry figured out what Metal music actually was and handed the next award to Metallica.
While the 1990s were largely devoted to the pop sounds of Sheryl Crow and the vamped up return of the Rolling Stones, The last six years have shown the growth of the industry as bands that have long been innovating and pushing the boundaries of Rock Music come away with the “Best Rock” album and song honors. U2, Foo Fighters, Green Day, The White Stripes, and this last year The Red Hot Chili Peppers have all been recognized as the best in the business.

Recognizing Their Influence
While it’s true that at any given time the top of the charts will be home to the MTV blessed offerings of Maroon 5 and Linkin Park, things are changing. With the influx of internet word of mouth and the innovation of the bands taking home the Grammys, we’re seeing more and more underground and indie bands come out of cyber space and land on the charts.
Last year, Death Cab for Cutie peaked at #4 on the Billboard charts. Just this last March Modest Mouse, another Pacific Northwest Indie offering, debuted at #1. Both bands have only been attached to major labels for a couple of years now despite a decade of independent offerings.
Finding that kind of major success is largely dependent on having the backing of a major label to market your name, your songs and your image. However, these bands are keeping to their original sound and finding a home for it in the national marketplace, showing the evolution of popular rock music once again.

Old Meets New
That doesn’t mean that rock music will change entirely. This isn’t 1992 and Nirvana isn’t standing atop the charts, single handedly defeating a decade of big hair bands and glamour rock. Instead, what we see is fusion in the genre. Bands like Fall Out Boy are taking the underground success they garnered on Myspace and pairing it with the sounds of popular guitar band rock to become an international success on the rock charts.
Other bands are finding ways to dig into other genres and explore styles that rock hadn’t previously displayed. Maroon 5’s soulful, Prince style sounds have been sitting atop the charts for a few weeks now, while Prince’s new album Planet Earth is getting ready to drop in July with a fresh, yet classic sound of his own.
In the end, trying to understand and target the future of the rock genre is like trying to foresee the invention of an entirely new style of music. Ever year, rock bands evolve and utilize the sounds of every other genre on earth to craft a new sound and reach a new audience. Being on top of the Rock charts is a balancing act between energetic, new, and being deferential to your predecessors.