“We the real rock stars, and I’m the biggest of all of them. I’m the No.1 rock star on the planet.” This quote is by Kanye West. It truly saddens me just reading it, and knowing who it is from. Kanye West, who could not know him? That’s exactly why he thinks he’s the newest rock star, because of the attention and love he receives. He thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips…In 2021, many have considered rock to be a deceased culture. It isn’t. It’s just close to extinction, so it’s rare, not dead. But we cannot let it just die out so suddenly! Rock and roll is such a unique piece of musical culture. It’s motivational, upbeat, and gets the blood pumping when you listen. The lyrics mean something, too. In 2014, Gene Simmons expressed in an interview that rock was “finally dead.” The bassist from one of the most profound rock bands in history said that rock is dead. Do you know how sad that is? 

Rap, Hip-Hop, and Bro-Country have become the new horrifying pieces of our culture. I mean, I only like a few rap songs that are good, which were by Coolio, and that was in the 90s. I can make an exception to 90s rap, but 2000s rap is horrid. Bro-Country is just a genre of a million songs about girls, clubs, and pick-up trucks. Rock and Roll had meaning. Lots of them were amazing love songs! They were songs you could truly sing along to when you were having fun.

Musicians worked so hard to build their skills, practicing for hours on end to succeed. Becoming famous was tough. You needed to have true, raw talent. All you need to become famous now is a TikTok and the knowledge of a popular dance routine. Autotune is used in lots of music nowadays too. You just have to rhyme words to a certain beat without singing to get a platinum record! You can talk for three minutes, put it on iTunes, and you will receive an award for entertainer of the year. The term ‘famous’ is an overused word, due to not ever having to try if you want to be popular on the internet. It has a completely different meaning now. Want to be “famous”? Post a video on TikTok of you doing the renegade dance trend. It’s too easy. You don’t have to put forth effort anymore, but rock stars did. 

Recently, I have noticed that songs like ‘Starships’ by Nicki Minaj took six writers, while ‘A Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ was written by just Freddie Mercury himself, while he was in the bathtub. Repetitive rap songs like Nicki’s take six writers? The lyrics are the same words over and over, with no effort, but it took six people… Freddie was able to write many songs, like Bohemian Rhapsody, by himself. That song is six minutes long, people. 

All the groundbreaking musicians, Randy Rhoads, Jimi Hendrix, Slash, and Stevie Nicks, they worked hard. Jimi Hendrix, named ‘The Greatest Guitarist of All Time’ must have practiced for hours each day, working hard to gain that reward! Randy Rhoads worked hard too! Even as just a kid, he played guitar so well that his teacher could no longer give him lessons, as Randy’s skills exceeded his own! These people earned it by working hard. They put breathtaking music out there for us to listen to, and they no longer get credit or recognition, because everyone listens to Lil Wayne and Florida Georgia Line. It’s so disappointing. 

I know there are still artists out there that want to change the world, and still love the music from the good old days. It can be hard to find them, but I have seen a few. There are artists that want to make an impact, a difference. And I know there are some rap artists that are great and do have pretty good songs, with meanings. The Gorillaz and Post Malone, I’ll admit, are good. My dad introduced me to the Gorillaz, and I love them! But I’m just saying, the majority of rap is disappointing. I appreciate Post Malone because he thought to include the rock legend Ozzy Osbourne in one of his songs. I have respect for that. 

Please, to keep this wonderful piece of culture alive, listen to a little rock, metal, or grunge. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! When you work out, listen to Def Leppard! It gets you hyped up for sure. If you need something subtle but powerful, listen to “Love Song” by Tesla. You’ll enjoy it I’m sure.