The Song Remains The Same
Welcome to the 21st Century. The great god internet is all emcompassing. I've almost forgotten what life was like before it, but about a decade ago, I started my writing 'career' [for the want of a word] for an AOR/melodic magazine. You may remember that type of thing - legions of fans, pooling their hard earned cash, to put together cut and paste fanzines - some glossier than others [although I always suspected the most glossy ones were being 'funded' in return for biased 5 star reviews] - for small, but often devoted groups of like minded people.
The mid 90s were great. Melodic rock music seemed to be having a resurgence, as small labels tirelessly [and sometimes for little or no monetary gain] plundered the archives for unreleased albums by bands whom should have received attention around the turn of the decade.
We are here now, a decade later. If I could only tell you things were as great. AOR in the 1980s had been a thing of greatness; it held itself prouldly in the mid-90s, having battled bravely against more popular forms of rock music; if things had ground to a halt then, I'm sure many of us could feel proud. Sadly, AOR as we know it, has limped sorely into the 21st Century, battered and brused, like a manky stray dog. The once great bands appear to be going through the motions [in the case of a couple of the very noteworthy, knocked sideways by the departure of key members]; the other bands who have surfaced in the last few years, for the most part, have no real redeeming features. With many of them, the only way to tell them apart is from the name on the sleeve. It's like they've heard many of the great 80s albums and figured if they follow the pattern of those, it will guarantee a great album. So wrong, so wrong. There is more to a great album than creating, or - in the case of most of these guys - trying to re-create a great sound. There are many other factors to consider, not least of all, the changes in recording techniques. In the case of AOR, though, it was an 80s thing for most...which leaves me bewildered how newer bands can even hope to capture the spirit of those times in the present day?
If you were to ask a typical AOR fan though, they won't mention any of this stuff. They'll probably look at you and swear blindly that the reason for AOR's unpopularity has everything to do with the popularity of grunge. Now, that may well have been true with regard to the mid-90s melodic rock revival, but it's a claim which holds no water here, as we stand upon the threshold of 2005. How can grunge still be to blame for a dying musical form's unpoularity? It's been a decade since the suicide of Kurt Cobain, and as many of you may remember, a great deal of the spirit of those times certainly died with him. Within the following year, Soundgarden and the Screaming Trees had broken up; Pearl Jam seemed to take on a more lo-fi guitar rock vibe... Layne Staley of the mighty Alice In Chains has also since left us. How can these people be blamed for AORs unpopularity in the present day??? [as many of the more open minded among you will note: a lot of these bands who were used - and still get used - unfairly as scapegoats, all had a sound which owed a lot to classic rock - in fact, the self same classic rock bands from the 70s whom are enjoyed by many of the accusatory-fingerpointers. Go figure.]
As I write this, I've long since put down my pen for the AOR fanzines, but have spent the last few years writing for one of the many AOR websites to be found here in internetland. I've been a little disillusioned for a while now. However, the final straw came recently when I gave something a less than complimentary review [and fairly, I might add, as the vocalist wailed like he was having a kidney removed without anaesthetic] and the website head honcho refused to put it on site. An amended review appeared --- the boss had altered my words and added his own paragraph of complimentary comments, without hearing a note of the album. After a few words from me, the amended review was withdrawn...but my original piece is still nowhere to be seen - still remaining unread by the masses. This approach of 'if you can't say something nice then don't say anything' sickens me. I realise by keeping it off-site, it's meant to help keep the negative remarks about a dying form of music to a minimum --- but how is this helping anyone, especially when the music being churned out, hovers somewhere between decidedly average and truly awful?
AOR has had many nails hammered into it's coffin over the past decade. It's now barly hanging in there. Instead of it's many fans pointing the finger of blame at other music for its demise, it's time they looked closer to home. The only culprit in the slow death of AOR in the early 21st Century is the music itself. It's time to be kind. Time to pull the plug. After all, if it were an old dog, it'd have been put to sleep long ago.
Thank you and goodnight. It's been a bumpy ride, but it's time for me to get off.
The mid 90s were great. Melodic rock music seemed to be having a resurgence, as small labels tirelessly [and sometimes for little or no monetary gain] plundered the archives for unreleased albums by bands whom should have received attention around the turn of the decade.
We are here now, a decade later. If I could only tell you things were as great. AOR in the 1980s had been a thing of greatness; it held itself prouldly in the mid-90s, having battled bravely against more popular forms of rock music; if things had ground to a halt then, I'm sure many of us could feel proud. Sadly, AOR as we know it, has limped sorely into the 21st Century, battered and brused, like a manky stray dog. The once great bands appear to be going through the motions [in the case of a couple of the very noteworthy, knocked sideways by the departure of key members]; the other bands who have surfaced in the last few years, for the most part, have no real redeeming features. With many of them, the only way to tell them apart is from the name on the sleeve. It's like they've heard many of the great 80s albums and figured if they follow the pattern of those, it will guarantee a great album. So wrong, so wrong. There is more to a great album than creating, or - in the case of most of these guys - trying to re-create a great sound. There are many other factors to consider, not least of all, the changes in recording techniques. In the case of AOR, though, it was an 80s thing for most...which leaves me bewildered how newer bands can even hope to capture the spirit of those times in the present day?
If you were to ask a typical AOR fan though, they won't mention any of this stuff. They'll probably look at you and swear blindly that the reason for AOR's unpopularity has everything to do with the popularity of grunge. Now, that may well have been true with regard to the mid-90s melodic rock revival, but it's a claim which holds no water here, as we stand upon the threshold of 2005. How can grunge still be to blame for a dying musical form's unpoularity? It's been a decade since the suicide of Kurt Cobain, and as many of you may remember, a great deal of the spirit of those times certainly died with him. Within the following year, Soundgarden and the Screaming Trees had broken up; Pearl Jam seemed to take on a more lo-fi guitar rock vibe... Layne Staley of the mighty Alice In Chains has also since left us. How can these people be blamed for AORs unpopularity in the present day??? [as many of the more open minded among you will note: a lot of these bands who were used - and still get used - unfairly as scapegoats, all had a sound which owed a lot to classic rock - in fact, the self same classic rock bands from the 70s whom are enjoyed by many of the accusatory-fingerpointers. Go figure.]
As I write this, I've long since put down my pen for the AOR fanzines, but have spent the last few years writing for one of the many AOR websites to be found here in internetland. I've been a little disillusioned for a while now. However, the final straw came recently when I gave something a less than complimentary review [and fairly, I might add, as the vocalist wailed like he was having a kidney removed without anaesthetic] and the website head honcho refused to put it on site. An amended review appeared --- the boss had altered my words and added his own paragraph of complimentary comments, without hearing a note of the album. After a few words from me, the amended review was withdrawn...but my original piece is still nowhere to be seen - still remaining unread by the masses. This approach of 'if you can't say something nice then don't say anything' sickens me. I realise by keeping it off-site, it's meant to help keep the negative remarks about a dying form of music to a minimum --- but how is this helping anyone, especially when the music being churned out, hovers somewhere between decidedly average and truly awful?
AOR has had many nails hammered into it's coffin over the past decade. It's now barly hanging in there. Instead of it's many fans pointing the finger of blame at other music for its demise, it's time they looked closer to home. The only culprit in the slow death of AOR in the early 21st Century is the music itself. It's time to be kind. Time to pull the plug. After all, if it were an old dog, it'd have been put to sleep long ago.
Thank you and goodnight. It's been a bumpy ride, but it's time for me to get off.
posted by The Univited Guest at 11:06 AM
0 comments
