But the topic I want to talk about this week is the never-ending argument about what is rock versus what is pop. During the past week, it was announced that a new compilation album in the "NOW!" series, "Now That's What I Call Rock" will be released shortly. It's just one of the many, many albums in this series that launched in 1998 with the "Now That's What I Call Music" CD, and continues to this day with the "Now 57" to be released next week. The premise is to take recent pop hits and sprinkle them with the best from other popular genres, including alternative, hip hop and others. In addition, there have been special "Now" sets for Christmas, country music, classic rock, Latin music and many others. Even editions have been produced for power ballads, 1980's songs, love songs, Motown classics and other subgenres.
Finally there will be a new release called "Now That's What I Call Rock", focusing on recent rock and alternative-oriented hits. You'd swear there has been one before, but it hasn't; it's the first one with current music. And therein lies the problem. "Rock" is such a broad term, it has many sub-genres and mutations. The rockabilly and doo wop of the 1950's contrasts with the arena rock of the 70's and in turn with 90's grunge, for example. And looking at Facebook posts which generally trashed this compilation, the consensus is that the songs on it aren't considered "rock".
The problem is, many people see the word "rock" and they harken back to "their era". Classic rock artists, whatever that means. Where is the metal, for example? They mention bands that haven't put anything of note out in decades should be on the compilation. Like the regular "NOW" issues, this release contains recent rock songs, be it alternative, indie or other songs that would be classified part of the genre, mid 2010's style. All but about five or six of the tracks have made the SNS 100 list over the past year. They include my #1 "S.O.B" by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, and other huge blog hits like "Electric Love" (BORNS), "Ship to Wreck" (Florence + the Machine); "Renegades" (X Ambassadors); "Ex's and Oh's" (Elle King), "Mess Around" (Cage the Elephant) which is currently climbing my SNS top 20, and my current #2, Coldplay's "Adventure of a Lifetime".
One of the biggest gripes of the set is that, as mentioned earlier, many do not consider it "rock". Well then, what do you call it? The biggest answer is "pop". Let's face it, much of the music I listen to is classified as "indie pop" or "indie rock", very frequently the former. In other words, they are pop songs, not rock. Oh, and "Ex's and Oh's" was mentioned as a "girly song". Funny, that was Billboard's #1 rock song of 2015, played on rock stations, so go figure.
Welcome to the 2010's, everybody, where music has evolved and doesn't necessarily have to sound loud and distorted....While I often gripe that what passes for rock these days doesn't get the airplay, except for a token song every few months (the current one being Twenty-one Pilots), there is a lot out there to listen to. Problem is, that the purists call many of this, pop music.
Which brings us back to that question. Yes, much of that is indie pop; in fact I used that term frequently a few weeks back when I counted down my year-end top 100 of 2015. But I need to say a few things here.
"Pop" traditionally stands for "popular", in other words, music that sells very well, gets a lot of radio airplay. rather commercial in nature, and appeals to the average (usually young) music fan. With a few exceptions, much of the music on that CD, as well as on my lists, weren't big hits on top 40 radio; some couldn't even crack the Billboard Hot 100, but were hits on the Alternative chart. Yes, maybe David Bowie and Glenn Frey would be rolling over in their newly buried graves, but you can't please everyone, especially when it comes to rock music. Yes, much of the new stuff is indeed "commercial" , and like the saying about trees falling in the woods making a sound when no one is around, if a alternative song has a commercial sound, but no top 40 listener hears it, is it "pop"?
And pop has, indeed been a part of rock. "Power Pop" is a common subgenre of rock; in fact, if you Wikipedia it, it's defined as a sound that "draws inspiration from 1960's British and American rock music". There you have it. Exponents of power-pop going back to the 1970's include The Raspberries, Cheap Trick, Sweet, and even extending into new-wave acts like Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe. "My Sharona" by The Knack is a perfect example of power pop; it was both Billboard's and my #1 song from 1979 and is often credited as the song which hastened disco's demise.
In the 1980's, bands such as New Jersey's own Smitereens, Detroit's The Romantics, and others, carried the torch. The golden era of alternative in the 1990's, included The Posies, Gin Blossoms, Weezer, and several others, and the and several others carried that banner into the new millennium. So you mean to tell me those bands aren't rock?
And then there's Elton John. He was the hottest artist alive in the first half of the 1970's; having produced a long string of hit singles and albums. He transcended genres, from singer/songwriter to glam, to yes, power pop. He was so popular by 1975 that myself, my brother Dave and his friend John Lorence would debate whether Elton's music was rock or pop. He was a rock artist, but with many of his songs big hits on pop radio and very accessible for human consumption, was he, in fact a pop artist? "Philadelphia Freedom", "Island Girl" were probably just two examples that could solidify Elton as a pop artist. But, forty years later, he's considered a rock artist through and through.
But okay, back to the present. Go and Wikipedia "indie pop", and again, it's defined as a "subgenre" of alternative rock. That term goes back to 1980's British artists like The Smiths, for example and continued into the 1990's with bands like Dinosaur Jr and Jesus and Mary Chain. Bands like this never crossed over with a big pop hit, and in the grand scheme of things all of them, as well as all the current bands are rock through and through as well. Check out the link here for a list of artists considered "indie pop" here and you'll see some very familiar names that I feature here. In my opinion, they're the rock music of the 2010's.
Just because a band doesn't sound like Led Zeppelin or Metallica, doesn't make it not rock. But, you can talk to twenty different rock fans, and they can give you twenty different opinions. Which is fine. I listen to what I want, and others can do the same.
WHAT"S NOW, BABY?: Florence + the Machine, one of those "indie pop" bands on the list, still reign at the top for a fifth week. It appears that radio won't be on board this song at all, as they have jumped on the follow-up, "Delilah", which I will add within the next couple of weeks. Elle King's follow-up to "Ex's and Oh's", "Under the Influence" jumps from #26 to #9, and Adele's follow to "Hello", "When We Were Young" moves from #30 to #18.
Once again, bands previously heard on SNS rule the debuts, with Foals leading the way with "Give It All", the follow-up to the SNS top 10 "Mountain At My Gates". Again, this band does show off yet another side to them, this one a bit slower and more soulful and sentimental. A song you could definitely get lost in. It's the second single from What Went Down and should be another top 20 on my blog. I also add the fifth song by Hozier, "Jackie and Wilson" from his debut, the follow to the #1 "Someone New", Thomas Rhett's follow to his #2 "Crash and Burn", this one titled '"Die a Happy Man", is more of a straight-ahead country song than the retro-ness of his previous hit. Saint Motel, St. Lucia, The 1975 also return with new songs, and one band new to SNS, Avid Dancer, debut with the catchy "I Feel It".
Finally, Fitz & the Tantrums, a band dissed in the Facebook discussion of the NOW rock set I mentioned above (and on the "indie pop" list I referred to above), last week broke their own longevity record on my list, as "6 AM" broke "Out of My League"'s most weeks on list with its 64th. Week 65 still sees the song on the list as it hangs in at #87. It's still on the list as it was played at a new sports bar that myself and a few friends watched the football playoffs at.
FINAL NOTES: My annual ski weekend with friends will be February 4-7 up near Gore Mountain in New York's Adirondacks; the trip has been a breeding ground for new music in the past and I don't expect it to be any different this go-round........The Grammy's will take place on February 15....look for an analysis of pertinent categories in the next week or so......Local artist Paul Czekaj, after a bit of a layoff is back making music again. A couple months back, he released a new video "That Old New Jersey" about landmarks and fave places in the state that no longer exists, and he's just released a video for his new song, "Up in the Sky" which takes on a more serious tone. The former has close to a quarter of a million views already! Paul has decided not to release either song for download until completion of his new album, at which time I'll add them, either one at a time, or simultaneously.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
January 24,
2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"Queen of Peace"
Album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
(5 weeks at #1)
|
13 |
| 2 | 5 | Coldplay - Adventure of A Lifetime | 8 |
| 3 | 4 | The Dreamers - Wolves (You Got Me) | 11 |
| 4 | 8 | Smash Palace - Haddontown | 12 |
| 5 | 3 | Leila Hegazy - Maybe If We Try | 10 |
| 6 | 7 | Gwen Stefani - Used to Love You | 10 |
| 7 | 12 | Iration - 867 | 9 |
| 8 | 2 | Thomas Rhett - Crash and Burn | 14 |
| 9 | 26 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"Under the
Influence"
Album: Love Stuff
|
3 |
| 10 | 10 | Zac Brown Band - Loving You Easy | 13 |
| 11 | 15 | Mutemath - Monument | 9 |
| 12 | 6 | Selena Gomez - Same Old Love | 13 |
| 13 | 11 | St. Paul & the Broken Bones - Broken Bones & Pocket Change | 17 |
| 14 | 9 | Adele - Hello | 12 |
| 15 | 16 | Cage the Elephant - Mess Around | 12 |
| 16 | 14 | Brick + Mortar - Train | 9 |
| 17 | 13 | The Decemberists - Philomena | 13 |
| 18 | 30 | MOVER OF THE WEEK:
"When We Were Young"
Album: 25
|
3 |
| 19 | 17 | The Revivalists - Keep Going | 11 |
| 20 | 18 | Alison Iraheta & Halo Circus - Do You Believe In Shame | 14 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 