Define Classic Rock

brianlux said:

I'm kind of biased against the term "Classic Rock" because, as much as I like a lot of the music, I get the sense that it is a two-word definition for this concept:  "Popular songs from albums that get played on radio while all the other music made by the artist is ignored".  For example, "Purple Haze", a great Hendrix song, would get plenty of air play, but I've never heard his marvelous "One Rainy Wish" aired.  Or Jefferson's "White Rabbit" is played millions of times, but never "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds".   So I guess I think of "Classic Rock" as a limited, "hits only" kind of music.

HughFreakingDillon said:

brianlux said:

I'm kind of biased against the term "Classic Rock" because, as much as I like a lot of the music, I get the sense that it is a two-word definition for this concept:  "Popular songs from albums that get played on radio while all the other music made by the artist is ignored".  For example, "Purple Haze", a great Hendrix song, would get plenty of air play, but I've never heard his marvelous "One Rainy Wish" aired.  Or Jefferson's "White Rabbit" is played millions of times, but never "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds".   So I guess I think of "Classic Rock" as a limited, "hits only" kind of music.

interesting....I don't consider classic rock to only contain the hits of that era....if it fits that sound, even whether it's from that particular time period or not, it's classic rock. Take The Sheepdogs for example. newer band. Total classic rock sound. So that's how I explain them to people. 

kind of like "classical" isn't only from a certain time period. people still make classical music. i think classic rock is only called "classic rock" because of a lack of imagination of what to actually name it. lol

And that last sentence is funny!  But then, I don't have a better term for "classic rock" myself, lol!.

tempo_n_groove said:

brianlux said:

I'm kind of biased against the term "Classic Rock" because, as much as I like a lot of the music, I get the sense that it is a two-word definition for this concept:  "Popular songs from albums that get played on radio while all the other music made by the artist is ignored".  For example, "Purple Haze", a great Hendrix song, would get plenty of air play, but I've never heard his marvelous "One Rainy Wish" aired.  Or Jefferson's "White Rabbit" is played millions of times, but never "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds".   So I guess I think of "Classic Rock" as a limited, "hits only" kind of music.

That is radio spoon feeding you the music because they have the math figured out on what people generally want to hear.

You think I want to hear friggin Jeremy and Black all the time?  No, play all those yesterdays and Of the Girl.

Also I would like to add that one day whilst driving I heard these awesome guitar riffs on the radio.  Was wondering what 90's Seattle band this was.  DJ gets on and says that was Jimmi Hendrix and this show is "so you think you know Jimmi?"

No idea what song it was but they played things I never knew existed because I never really listened to Hendrix.  I was blown away.

Time to brush up on your Jimi, my friend!   I'm really curious as to what song that was the DJ played.  Hum us a bit, would ya? 

LB260405 said:

Let’s look at it from a different angle — is all rock-adjacent music from the 60s/70s considered classic rock?

Folk:

Simon and Garfunkel

Crosby, Stills and Nash

The Mamas and the Papas

The Byrds

The Hollies

Singer/Songwriters:

Bob Dylan

Joni Mitchell

Nick Drake

Van Morrison

Cat Stevens

James Taylor

Elton John

If they do fit into the “classic rock” category, is it “classic folk rock”? As someone suggested earlier, classical is always classical. Unless there is a classic classical genre that I’m unaware of.

What about ABBA? The Bee Gees? They are played on classic rock stations, but they are certainly not rock and roll. If we put them into a separate “pop” category, would The Beatles and The Rolling Stones be taken out of the classic rock category and put in with the pop bands?

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

brianlux said:

Though we're mostly talking about classic rock here, we seem to touch on something that comes up often: What is in store for the future for music?  I think about this a lot and mostly out of frustration because I am of a generation that lucked out and lived through several huge transitions in pop and rock music- from very early rock and roll and pop, to early 60's folk explosion, to 60's rock, blues rock, hard rock, psychedelia, prog, jazz/rock fusion, disco, New York CBGB scene, early punk, punk, new wave,  hardcore, metal, paisley underground, indi/college rock, grunge, rap (and whatever else I've missed)- not all favorite genres, but all adding something to the stew that has been popular music for the last several decades.
What I question though is, are we (or am I) expecting too much in wanting to see yet another big change in music?  Music never evolved this quickly until the modern era.  It followed the same trajectory as rapid development of technology and population.  Add to that our world-wide rapid communications with so much information being shared so quickly and broadly, it becomes very difficult to come up with new formulas.

Think about it- when is the last time a truly new form of popular (or even not-so-popular) music evolved?  Have we possibly hit a wall, mined all the possibilities, run out of new ideas?  What would it take to create a truly new form of music?  Newly created musical instruments?  New ways to alter sound waves? Finding new sounds never heard before?  Increasing the ability of humans to hear a broader spectrum of sound waves?  New drugs?  I really don't have a clue, but seeing how little the needle has moved in the last two decades compared to the last half of the 20th  century, I don't hold out much hope anymore for seeing anything truly new to coming to music.
And I sincerely hope I am wrong.

New drugs... we definitely need new drugs. 

Huey Lewis has been screaming about that shit for years...

We did get fentanyl.  Does that count?

HughFreakingDillon said:

mrussel1 said:

JOEJOEJOE said:

Is classic rock a genre or an era??

To me, it's an era.  66-late 70's. 

listen to The Sheepdogs. or Greta Van Fleet. it's a genre that was born out of an era.