After feeling like I completely lost interest in music altogether, I've determined that I just lost interest in the idea of the rock band. It seems to me that the only way to be a well received musician in the world of underground music is to do so with a cohesive band or artist image. Any band I can think of which has been successful enough that I've heard them has a coherent band idea or style. It seems like most successful bands have an image and keep their sound as close as possible to that image. In some cases bands that suck musically can be critically aclaimed because of the accuracy with which their name, clothing ect. matches their sound. Does anyone else think the whole concept of a rock band as an artform is played out want to see music discussed in different terms? It seems like rock music is too dependent on rock bands.

Popular music is entertainment, and people who consume entertainment, in general, want it delivered in an entertaining manner by an entertainer.

People who want to be emotionally moved or academically stimulated by music generally don't look in the rock/pop world any longer.

So, in a way, the rock band is dead for the serious music listener, but the band/personality image is mostly necessary for the world of entertainment.

Most people here at EA enjoy both.

Ben Adrian

edit: fixed typos

Does Cheer-Accident count as "rock band"?

scott wrote:Does Cheer-Accident count as "rock band"?

Probably not?

Ben

MisterX wrote:It seems like rock music is too dependent on rock bands.

Depends where you look for the 'art' in rock - is the art (as Steve would have it) the band, or is the art just the music? I think both views have validity, although I'm inclined to agree broadly with what you wrote.

You could always just listen to Wax Mannequin.

Bands are way way way more important than whatever music they are making at the moment. Like miles ahead. I use the term "music" to mean the audible component of the band's aesthetic.

I've been in a band for the last 15 years, and the band is a fucking great ride. Some of the music we've made, meh, I don't know...

Bands win. Who cares about the music.

I have said before that I think music is much more than sound, and this might illustrate what I mean. In this sense, I think the music is inseparable from the band as an entity. The sound -- the part you're probably referring to as "music" -- that's the part that I really don't give much of a damn about.

That's the pinch> Playing in a band should be fun, not a bore or feel like a job. That's why I dumped my band a couple of years back and am only now starting something again. The music is the outcome - you can do that in your bedroom with a notebook/4-track - but for me the fun part is the group activity of being in a band.

steve wrote:Bands are way way way more important than whatever music they are making at the moment. Like miles ahead. I use the term "music" to mean the audible component of the band's aesthetic.

What else comprises their aesthetic than what you hear?

steve wrote:I've been in a band for the last 15 years, and the band is a fucking great ride. Some of the music we've made, meh, I don't know...

For you. I've owned three cd's, one album and several mp3s. Oh, and I drove by a club you were playing kicking myself for missing that show. It's been just ok for me.

steve wrote:Bands win. Who cares about the music.

I do, unless I'm in the band. Then, I really do.

steve wrote:I have said before that I think music is much more than sound, and this might illustrate what I mean. In this sense, I think the music is inseparable from the band as an entity. The sound -- the part you're probably referring to as "music" -- that's the part that I really don't give much of a damn about.

So, if I went back in time and slipped a copy of The Chipmunks Go to the Movies inside the album jacket of the Stooges s/t, it wouldn't make a difference. There would still be the pictures and the stories from people who saw them. They would still be badass rock music.

I mean, in the end, I guess I agree to a point. It should be fun. It has to be fun. I want to hear some good music though. More than that, I want to hear the specific musical language that the people in the band have created. That's what I want. That's why I like a band.

steve wrote:Bands win. Who cares about the music.

How does one 'experience' the artistic value of a band (ignoring the music) without being in the band?

Snazzy leather jackets?