Distractions, distractions...

If there is one thing missing in the world of Rock and Roll, it's the mysical aura that has surrounded Rock stars of the past (and to a degree still does for a few). In the '60s, but particularly true of the '70s, Rock stars were on another plane. They didn't just create great music to listen to, but they also set the stage for fashions, for attitudes, and, much more specifically, the music that we would be listening to six months later.

Rock stars were not us. We weren't in their class. They were able to do things that we could not dream of doing. They could throw things out of windows and not catch too much hell for it. They could abuse things - women, drugs, alcohol, laws - things we could only imagine. They vocalized what we WANTED to say, so they became our voices. They WERE what we wanted to be, and so they were our dreams. They did things that would kill us, the mortals that followed and hung on their every guitar strum, their every drum beat, their every word. And we paid to see them Live or for the right to play their songs on a 12" platter that varied in output depending on our ability to piece together a reasonable sound system.

Simply, we viewed the Rock stars of the past as something other than us.

Today, everyone's a capable Rock star. And we get them all. From living room apartment dwellers who use their PCs to craft pop tracks, to bands who can put together the cash to acquire studio time easily enough. The world of Rock has arrived at our level. If we can say anything, it's that we rule the world of Rock music in it's myriad of forms. They look like us. Gone are the days of flamboyant dressing that would identify them easily. The long hair is no longer relevant because it is past the point of shocking. It's no longer a middle finger at the "establishment." The Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" tune would not have been a signpost today because its words are meaningless.

There are VERY few bands that dress against the established acceptable norm today, even if to thumb their noses. This is true because dress is very personable now. It varies by individual and is rarely vanilla. Chalk another off the Rock star difference. Today, there are few that have a diverse background in genres other than Rock so that they could forge a new hybrid Rock sound that would be influential for months. Most coming up in the Rock world now have grown up on their parents' music and is trying to learn those styles in order to replicate them as faithfully as possible. But the real creation process has been squelched in favour of copying a known formulaic hit.

In many ways, we can begin to lay blame at the feet of the '80s, when bands began to shuck the flamboyant ways of the '70s with shorter hair and standard blue jeans. In short, many of the pop bands of the '80s didn't look much different than you or I, hair metal bands excepted. Hair Metal carried the torch for otherworldly Rock bands that were on "the other side of the mirror". The '90s furthered this "like you, like me" style of Rock closing the gap dramatically. By the time we reached the New Millennium, things have changed so much that we can barely get much value from Rock.

Sure, there are great bands still making great, memorable music. But all of the magic has been sucked out of it. We've become distracted. It's not that we don't have targets for our anger. There are still unpopular wars, unpopular politics, with systemic decay occurring on every level of society. Right at this moment, we're firmly entrenched in what is going to be remembered as The Great Recession. With all of this unpopularity STILL at our heels, we have to ask, where is our Who's Next anger, where is our Quadrophenia uncertainty. What has happened to our What's Going On? concerns, and our sing-along solidarities that were sung by Dylan, Young, and many others, songs that we adopted as our feelings? Yeah, there are a few now but so few that I can't mention even one.

We're distracted by the many elements of living. With Rock music not such a new and shiny element anymore, with its easy accessibilty, and its age showing, we have little to want to identify with. Innerviews assessed an interesting statement from noted musician, Bill Laswell, in which he suggested, "It would be helpful to destroy the majority of music that’s existed – people would be forced into new ways of thinking.”

Hmmm...

I've posted a review of the recently released Alice Cooper CD/DVD set called Theatre of Death from Alice Cooper's 2009 Tour of the same name.

Last week, the imp that we all know as Bill Hunt (of The Digital Bits) posed a question amongst friends. It was interesting enough, I passed the question along, getting back some fun results. Since today is, once again, a VERY quiet release news day, I decided to stop my usual meanderings and pose the same question to you. And I want you to send the answers back to me. Now Bill had asked us to respond quickly because he wanted to see what stayed near the surface of our thoughts, which would indicate our true affections. Evil. I'm not going to make you do that. Take your time, think about it and flesh it out. But send us back your favourite 15 Albums.

This is a hard exercise. I'm not kidding. Frankly, it's impossible as 15 isn't enough. But since that is the way I (and Adam, amongs others) were limited, you are too. Besides, it WILL be fun to see what results we get back.

Send your selections to 15 Favorite Albums. [Ends on October 10].

I want to alert TAP readers to the fact that I have finally put together a FaceBook fan page that you can access and join by clicking on the badge below.  What this offers is the exact same thing as my Twitter feeds provide and that is first buzz on upcoming releases and free offered downloads, many announcements  that beat our main post, sometimes by days.  We also provide a Google BUZZ page that expands on most of the Twitter/FB feeds. On Buzz, you can even hear the music stream if a stream is offered.  There are still things that I'm working on in the FB page, like calender notes as well as links to great sites like The Second Disc.  I invite you to join us at our FB page and bookmark it.  Visit it daily and you'll be rewarded with much news and info.  Of course, you'll still want to come to the main MusicTAP page for our noisy commentaries.  Remember, with our Twitter feeds, you can elect to receive the news bursts as text on your mobile phone keeping you effortlessly up to date with stuff.  Lots of choices.  Find one, or two, that fits.

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Reprise Records plan a Josh Groban disc called Illuminations on November 15.

Big 4: Live From Sofia Bulgaria featuring Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax on 2CD and 2BD (Blu-ray) scheduling for November 2. Also, there will be a 5CD/2DVD Deluxe Box Set in release on the same date.

Atlantic Records have Born Free by Kid Rock on the calendar for November 16 with CD and a separately available LP (with bonus CD included). On December 7, Atlantic will release the title (with bonus CD) on 2LP.

Legacy Records will release a Digital version of Belly Up! (1973) from Dr Hook and The Medicine Show. Are we starting to see digital versions of these albums of the past?

I'd like to draw your attention to the news that Gang of Four's new album, called Content, is expected by Yep Roc Records on January 25. But more cool than that is access to a free track from the album. You can grab "Never Pay For the Farm" at the link. Enjoy it, Go4 fans! If you'd just prefer to stream it, click this link. For more Gang of Four info, go to their official site.Rhino Records will release vinyl of the debut Brit alt album, Nowhere (1990) , by Ride. The upcoming reissue is expected to be available on 180g LP on November 16.

Atlantic Records will release a Various Artists 2LP Red-coloured vinyl set for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse OMPS on November 30.

Masterworks Jazz will reissue She Was Too Good To Me (1974) by Chet Baker on October 5 with the 40th Anniversary Edition being made available digitally on the same date.

Live in New York City by The Dave Matthews Band is scheduled for CD on November 9.

Arista Nashville will release 34 Number Ones for Alan Jackson on November 23.

Legacy plans the CD release of The Very Best of Billy Joel on November 9.

Legacy Recordings plan a Double Play series collection for November 16 that feature the following artists: Yolanda Adams, Alabama, John Denver, Fred Hammond, Waylon Jennings, Korn, and Elvis Presley.

LaFace Records will release Greatest Hits...So Far!!! for Pink in PA/Edited CD and a Deluxe Edition on november 16.