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Modern Rock Goes Back to the Future
In the beginning man created measures, and in their image created all manner of music.
Perhaps that means everything that came after was somehow derivative, that the evolution of music was more like a series of building blocks, that the Beatles were absolutely right: There’s nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
But rock music has a long and storied past, and there have been several patches of genius along the way; moments when someone (or a group of someones) has managed to reinvent—or at the very least delineate from—the genre at large. That constant reinvention has allowed rock ‘n’ roll to spiral out into shades of folk-rock, punk, grunge, electronic, emo, and the like.
But none of those subgenres would (or could) exist without the initial birth of rock ‘n’ roll. And, in a reciprocal sense, rock’s ability to reinvent itself time and again has a lot to do with its long-standing relevance as an art form.
During those periods of reinvention, there generally seems to be a desire for artists to distance themselves from what came before, to be acknowledged for expanding the musical palate as opposed to simply drawing from it.
But these are not those times.
In fact, one could argue that we’re living in mostly uninspired (and uninspiring) times. And because of that (or maybe in spite of it) there’s a movement afoot in pop music to tip the cap to those that came before; to not only endorse, but embrace past traditions and channel them as a means of moving things forward.
Take the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn. Lyrically speaking, Finn is the latest in a long line of great American storytellers. And to his credit, Finn openly credits his influences, both musical and literary, at every given opportunity.
Finn also realizes how his heroes’ contributions have helped inform not only his songwriting, but the craft in general.
“It’s difficult to even have this conversation without first mentioning Bob Dylan,” Finn confesses. “If the real definition of a ballad is that of a story, then I think the way Dylan can unfold things in many ways in a song like ‘Tangled Up in Blue’, which is taken from two different perspectives, is really unique. In rock music, we’ve gotten into this really vague, sort of catch-all songwriting. There’s also this whole other thing that may have sprung up from the hip-hop tradition that’s more about being tricky just for
the sake of being tricky. That makes a lot of lyric writing seem more acrobatic than anything else.”
If Dylan represents the logical jumping-off point for Finn, taking the early folk tradition of Woody Guthrie and Jack Elliot and electrifying it for a whole new audience, then Springsteen represents the next viable link in that chain—amplifying the songwriting process to create a more anthemic, cinematic sound.
“I’ve always wondered whether Springsteen sees himself as the first real songwriter who was strongly influenced by film,” Finn says. “His songs play out like they exist on a big screen in your head. I think that’s one of the interesting things about him. Even today people assume that if you’re singing something, it’s meant to be first person; if you’re telling a story, it’s your story. But with Bruce, he’s able to make it seem like he may or may not know his characters. Even in shorter songs like ‘Meeting Across the River’ you can tell it’s not about him, but you can also imagine that he might know those guys. In those early Springsteen songs there’s a lot of movement and the idea that this is who these people were, but then one night it all changed for them. And a lot of his early songs are about exploring that one night.”
Perhaps the quintessential difference between Finn and his contemporaries is that, thus far, his lyrics have focused primarily upon post-adolescence, lyrics ripe with references to pill-popping and party-hopping, boys and girls wrapped up in intense psychodrama at an age when they’re still struggling to develop their own sense of self.
10 Comments
Well, unforntunately the third page is not loading for me. Perhaps if I try back later it will come up. Anyway, as far as musicians, great musicians, go…I believe that they write the majority of the time from within. Writing what they know, writing what drives them, writing what gives them passion. Unforntunately though, great musicians don’t often realize that they have started or developed a genre that is powerful and captivating as have some of the greats that were mentioned in the article. It’s something that is developed over time. Now I’m sure these young artist may be on the path to something great…but to put them in a list with such greats as Dylan or Marvellettes is perhaps premature to say the least. Or I could be way off base…having not read the third and final page…perhaps the conclusion would change my view. I will have to try back later to find out if I am totally full of Sh@*!!!
Great article. I definitely agree with Finn about Springsteen’s songs being very cinematic. “Meeting Across the River” and “Jungleland” always seemed to me like a North Jersey mini rock-opera that closes Born to Run.
Well I have to say something, since I am a songwriter and all. But I want to say this. Everything is cyclical in the sense that every five years or so, a new artist will emerge doing something influential and brave, that will not only stand the test of time, but eventually reinforce the creative talent of other acts who will by association, mainstream whatever it was that was so cool in the first place thereby rendering the whole thing into a neutered animal. That’s how trends get started. Because after it’s mainstreamed like that, it’s officially a craze, a trend, before, things go that far, all it can be is a movement. An inspirational ideal people drew upon in order to create. It’s when things turn into a trend, a phase-that’s when art becomes dangerous in the hands of advertising executives and nullified in the face of the people who believed in the movement.
The problem with Emo is that it turned into hair metal. This whole decade has felt like a repeat of the 80’s to me. -Big expensive music videos with hot girls and sleazy dive bars. Bands wearing leather and their girlfriend’s jeans, borrowing their sisters makeup kits, teasing their hair. The androgyny of all of it is baiting to teens; boys and girls alike. Who are too young and sheltered to realize these hot topic catalog models aren’t really singing about anything meaningful at all, that it’s all made up.
There were great Emo bands at the start of it all. I’m a huge fan of Mineral for starters. But that’s not what this genre has become, much like Led Zepplin meeting the KISS of death and meta-morphing into an army of forgettable Hair Metal bands; we have Pop Punk-transformed into Emo / Screamo, with the same contrite attempts at anthems.
I don’t speak cliché, so that ruins it for me. And I’m a fond believer in writing songs that tell stories. I hate the traps of genres because I feel like that limits an artist who could be free to create so much more without those bonds and chains.
I’ve probably been obsessed with nothing but songwriting for my whole stupid life now. (That’s 26 long years) And maybe it’s not always healthy. But I won’t put out a song if it’s not going to make you think a little bit.
Eep and that shouldn’t say Anonymous.
I’m Cary Miller Damnit.
(I wrote the post below me.)
Fossil – I was around back in the early 60’s when Dylan was being called “Great” by the press. There were folks like you back then wondering if was was premature to call him great. LOL!
>>>What will that rebirth sound like and where will it come from?
LOL!!! It’s never gone away. Some people just stop listening. There were many great, fun rock albums this year. Bowling for soup, the aggrolites, the fratellis, mcfly, the landon band, and on and on and on. Just gotta keep them ears wide open (and away from the TV and radio!)
maybe these things act as waves(forgive the analogy). we are clearly at the nadir of the latest wave. When I think about it at age 52 in the last 25 years there have been only a small handful of new bands that at least try to continue the traditions established in the 60’s and 70’s. U2, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and honestly that’s about it. To illustrate how bad things have been look to Rolling Stone mag., sorry Crawdaddy. Their best album of the 1980’s was London Calling. trouble is it was released in 1979. That’s how thin it’s been.
Do the Pipettes deserve the ink?
Rock n roll disapeared sometimes around ‘66 or ‘67 to be replaced by the thing we call simply “rock”. At around that time, the music became self-referential, self-aware and self-conscious (the Beatles and Stones leading the way here, of course) and by the time of the outdoor rock festival (Woodstock, etc.) simply became a vast new revenue source for recording industry, which is only now adjusting to a changing reality. What does the new Eagles album prove except that Walmart wil give them a greatr marketing deal and a lot of money for some not-so-terrific songs? And what becoms of new young bands such as Paramore which struggle to find an audinece as they swim thru the morass of emo and pop-punk bands out there? Ah, timeless questions..there niow is just this thing called Rock, covering numerous genres, and performed by middle, upper-middle and upper class kids who don’t have distinctive sounds, are all indulged by doting parents who think that their kid may be the next Clapton or whomever if they can just sign them up for the next School of Rock class. It is music that soeaks tio few, has little life experience or musical virtuosity behind it,and exists merely to kepe the teens and college kids busy ( and their wallets open).
It’s interesting what Penate says about Joy in rock music. The only places I have found it are in Latin American pop-rock, and also of course in my favorite band the Grateful Dead. I agree with the other commenters, I am really tired of all the “pain” and grunge and emo and sad and angry rock music, I think today’s artists need to have some courage, go against the fashion, and try to express real happiness in their music.