Jessica Bell
Web Editor
Kady Bell
Arts Editor

“And I’d join the movement if there was one I could believe in”—U2

It may only be rock ‘n’ roll, but we like it and live it. Quenching our tuneful thirsts, we stretch our metal heads to capacity with musical knowledge, spin and re-spin records and seek out new artists when stuck in the dreaded “rut.”

Adhering to the Richard Ashcroft credo “music is power,” every album purchased is considered an investment in our future, demonstrative of the phase we are consumed with at any given moment. But after examining recent acquisitions, or even the full extent of our beloved record collection, we found that a majority of the compact friends stacked precariously in vacant spaces around the room far preceded our time.

Call us crazy, musical snobs but the hard truth remains that the millennium has yet to generate a newfangled musical movement worth joining, forcing a continued retreat into the past.

To prove our point, let us school you in the last 50 years of music history. We hope you know your ABCs (“A,” as in all your love should belong to Led Zeppelin, “B,” as in “breakdown,” go ahead and let “the Tom” give it to you, and “C,” as in cryin’ out loud, did you say you don’t own “Cold Roses,” the best album of 2005?)

On with the lesson.

Rock ‘n’ roll, what we deemed the god of all musical genres long ago, has been reinvented countless times since it first shook and rattled its way into the era of the American Dream.

The 1950s were groundbreaking.

Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Elvis collectively inspired sock hoppers to rock around the clock.

The 1960s were provocative.

Beatlemania gave way to the British Invasion and subsequent birth of the Rolling Stones, ensuring rock was not in a hard place. Bob Dylan sang of changing times, preventing knocks on heaven’s door begging for musical emancipation.

The 1970s were thunderous.

Led Zeppelin founded heavy metal, setting the standard for its musical counterparts and carrying fans over the hills and far away. The Clash, Ramones and Sex Pistols spread punk-infused anarchy throughout the land.

The 1980s were decadent.

The Cure, The Smiths, The Police, U2 and a throng of other new wavers guaranteed synchronicity while hair metal welcomed fans to the jungle.

The 1990s were a plaid dream — threadbare, but not musically.

Riding in on a flannel wave, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains reeked of Teen Spirit, producing an even flow of memorable hits. Such radio staples as the Counting Crows, the Goo Goo Dolls, Live and Dishwalla carried on the proverbial flame, marking the “crumbling difference between wrong and right.”

However, little could be said for the current condition of this celebrated hit-or-miss genre.

Rock ‘n’ roll is not dead and, God-willing, never will be, but we fear for its future, which is seemingly in a state of limbo.

Since 2000, emo — the butt-rock of our time — was born, class failures rap-rock and techo experienced revivals and retro resulted from a stale slump of melodic possibilities.

Getting right to the heart of matters, we somehow doubt that any awe-struck youngsters are currently listening to the latest from Evanescence or Jet with candles burning, slowly piecing together the album equivalents of “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Grace,” “Vs.,” or “Shake Your Money Maker” on their Gibson electrics.

Gone are the innovative days of rock’s forefathers, replaced by a noticeable trend to associate with myriad genres, as artists combine styles and sounds into complex nothing-specials.

While indie/electronica/alternative/acoustic/rock bands tour the world spreading confusion and meaningless drivel, musicians that actually possess enough talent to steer rock back on track are snubbed by radio in an age of conglomeration.

Besides crediting the coming culmination of this decade to the revitalization of the singer-songwriter and indie delights such as Interpol, music continues to journey in a downward spiral with emo sadly leading the way.

Every songbook has been read and borrowed from, but we have faith that the tide Bono sings of will turn around. Nowadays the music of rock’s heroes and newcomers Ryan Adams, Amos Lee, Ray LaMontagne and Angela McCluskey flow through our minds, keeping us strong.

Hopefully we will live to see the dawning of a new musical age.

Till then “don’t believe what you hear, don’t believe what you see.” Just close your eyes and feel the melody of what rock ‘n’ roll once was and should be.

Jessica Bell, a senior communications major, is web editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ledjessilin@yahoo.com.

Kady Bell, a senior communications major, is arts editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at rzezna65@yahoo.com.