As we get older, we all seem to complain about the way things “used to be”. I remember my grandfather telling me how a Pepsi used to cost 5 cents. My dad telling me about when gasoline was only 25 cents/gallon during the shortage of the 1970s. Our parents seem to complain about the parenting skills (or lack thereof) with today’s parents; how disciplining your kids is more of a negotiation rather than a punishment.
It seems to me the most common thing that people rant about is the music scene. Now I’m not going to rank on Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers or American Idol alumni. I’m going to stick with mostly rock music because that is my main preference.
Now I LOVE bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen. I LIKE bands like the Foo Fighters, Nickelback and Linkin Park. What’s the difference between like and love? At first glance, it may seem that I only love the bands I love because I grew up with them and have been listening to them for 20 or so years. That’s part of it. My biggest complaint about today’s rock music is not the quality of the music or the bands themselves. When I look at rock bands today, something is missing. They may be good performers, have decent songs, and have a good look, but there is one thing that they are not: Rockstars. Rockstars are a dying breed and have not been seen in a long time and are greatly missing from today’s music scene.
First off, by definition: what is a Rockstar? A Rockstar to me is a performer who is an over-the-top character both on-stage and off with a slight element of danger to them and at least a hint of an "I don't give a fuck" attitude. They are great showmen (or women) that have a certain swagger to them that you really can’t describe. Example: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Axl Rose, Dee Snider, Lemmy Kilmeister, Freddy Mercury, Jim Morrison, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Roger Daltry, Pete Townsend, Keith Moon, Ozzy Osbourne. THOSE ARE ROCKSTARS! Unfortunately those guys are all old now and some are even dead. Is this where the Rockstar persona is headed?
Rockstars aren’t just all older artists. Let’s be clear, I don't see any Rockstars in The Beatles. They wanted to be Rockstars, but their management wouldn’t let them. They got stuck in matching leisure suits and a clean-cut image instead. The Beatles looked the part before their first record came out when they were all decked out in leather with greased hair. If they kept that look and Paul McCartney pulled girls on stage to make out with or John Lennon dropped his nutsack on a security guard’s head, then I would feel differently about calling The Beatles Rockstars.
Do Rockstars need to have a drug or alcohol problem? No, but it helps! That brings about that unpredictable nature that makes us love them. Why else would Keith Moon drive a Rolls Royce into a swimming pool? Or Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a dove? Keith Richards snorting his dead father’s ashes? Slash hiring a bodyguard who's only job was to collect Slash and bring him home safely after he passed out from a hard night of drinking. Or David Lee Roth handing out backstage passes to security to give to girls and if Roth had sex with a girl that was handed a pass by a particular security member, that security guard would get $100. Having Steven Tyler & Joe Perry being dubbed “The Toxic Twins”.
Despite being a fan of his, I can’t picture Dave Grohl doing this. Nickelback even has a song called "Rockstar" that pretty accurately sums up what being a Rockstar is all about; yet Chad Kroeger is nothing of the sort.
Now Motley Crue is a band FULL of Rockstars; just read “The Dirt”.
Guns N’ Roses was another. What I always found unique about GNR was that you never knew what you were gonna get. They may show up to a concert 2 hours late or not all. They may play 4 songs, Axl gets pissed off, and then they leave. They may play a blistering 3 hour set that blows the crowd away. There was so much tension in the band, that you could feel it. If that's not Rockstar, I don't know what is.
Van Halen, regardless of who their singer was, is another example or Rockstars being combustable elements waiting to explode. The egos of Eddie and Roth (or Hagar) was obvious.
If I had to point out a band that is the ultimate in over-the-top Rockstars, look no further than Kiss. With the make-up, the costumes, the pyro, and the theatrics are all the ultimate in Rockstar.
You don’t have to have a band full of Rockstars (though it helps as well). Most Rockstars were in a band full of people that are not. In AC/DC its obvious that Angus Young is the Rockstar (sorry Malcom). I appreciate the musicianship of Ray Manzerek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore; but we all know that Jim Morrison is the Rockstar of The Doors.
The 1990s were not good to Rockstars. Eddie Vedder had small shades of Rockstar to him in the early days of Pearl Jam. However that whole tortured soul/recluse thing really doesn’t scream “cool” to me, so, definitely not him. Was Kurt Cobain a Rockstar? FUCK NO! He looked like after a Nirvana concert was over, he would go back to pumping gas or serving onion rings. Soundgarden? No. Alice In Chains? No.
Many say that Grunge music killed the Rockstar as we know it. I don’t completely disagree with this statement, but I believe there were some shining lights left in the Rockstar persona. Believe it or not, if I had to call anyone during the Grunge era a Rockstar, I would actually point to Courtney Love more than anyone. Why do you ask? Look at her; she was in-your-face, angry, rebellious, unpredictable and out of control. To me, THAT is a Rockstar.
In the early 1990s, two performers stood out to me as true Rockstars; Rob Zombie of White Zombie & Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. Zombie’s over the top theatrics are reminiscent of Alice Cooper and Kiss but with his own personal flourish that makes him original. Even Cooper himself recognizes it. Weiland has the swagger, the controversy, and the “it” factor of the Rockstar. Watch either of them perform and you will see what I mean.
I haven’t seen a true Rockstar since the mid-1990s. There is only one man whom I call “The Last Rockstar”: Marilyn Manson. Whether you love him or you hate him, you cannot deny that he is a Rockstar. For one, look at his name. He has that over-the-top personality that he always presents, he's an icredible performer, is hated by parents and is a lightning rod for controversy. Manson hasn’t made much news recently which only scares me more that we are slowly losing the Rockstar that once was.
But until then, Marilyn Manson is "The Last Rockstar".
Is the Rockstar dead? I would say it is dormant. While today’s rock bands claim to be Rockstars, there is just no substance to that statement. Just because you bang groupies and drink Jack Daniels, that doesn’t make you a Rockstar. Do we have any hope of seeing new Rockstars this decade? With pop culture still being nostalgic of the previous generation, there are definetly throwbacks to the 1980s when Rockstars were abundant. But most of those bands take small elements from that era or just satirize it like Steel Panther. I will not worship and throw up devil horns to posers.
If we are looking for Rockstars, we may be looking in the wrong genre. The closest thing we have to a Rockstar in popular music right now may be Lady Gaga. She had a lot of those ingredients, but I don’t know if she truly is a Rockstar. Buts she may be our best option.
I am not holding my breath for new Rockstars who are actually "rock" stars. I hope to see them again. Until then, I will worship the guy who used to be on my bedroom wall as a a kid who now is a 60 year old with a bad hip hobbling on the very stage he used to jump around on.
Like my grandfather once said, they just don't make 'em like they used to.
\m/ \m/
It seems to me the most common thing that people rant about is the music scene. Now I’m not going to rank on Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers or American Idol alumni. I’m going to stick with mostly rock music because that is my main preference.
Now I LOVE bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Van Halen. I LIKE bands like the Foo Fighters, Nickelback and Linkin Park. What’s the difference between like and love? At first glance, it may seem that I only love the bands I love because I grew up with them and have been listening to them for 20 or so years. That’s part of it. My biggest complaint about today’s rock music is not the quality of the music or the bands themselves. When I look at rock bands today, something is missing. They may be good performers, have decent songs, and have a good look, but there is one thing that they are not: Rockstars. Rockstars are a dying breed and have not been seen in a long time and are greatly missing from today’s music scene.
First off, by definition: what is a Rockstar? A Rockstar to me is a performer who is an over-the-top character both on-stage and off with a slight element of danger to them and at least a hint of an "I don't give a fuck" attitude. They are great showmen (or women) that have a certain swagger to them that you really can’t describe. Example: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Axl Rose, Dee Snider, Lemmy Kilmeister, Freddy Mercury, Jim Morrison, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Roger Daltry, Pete Townsend, Keith Moon, Ozzy Osbourne. THOSE ARE ROCKSTARS! Unfortunately those guys are all old now and some are even dead. Is this where the Rockstar persona is headed?
Rockstars aren’t just all older artists. Let’s be clear, I don't see any Rockstars in The Beatles. They wanted to be Rockstars, but their management wouldn’t let them. They got stuck in matching leisure suits and a clean-cut image instead. The Beatles looked the part before their first record came out when they were all decked out in leather with greased hair. If they kept that look and Paul McCartney pulled girls on stage to make out with or John Lennon dropped his nutsack on a security guard’s head, then I would feel differently about calling The Beatles Rockstars.
Do Rockstars need to have a drug or alcohol problem? No, but it helps! That brings about that unpredictable nature that makes us love them. Why else would Keith Moon drive a Rolls Royce into a swimming pool? Or Ozzy Osbourne bites the head off a dove? Keith Richards snorting his dead father’s ashes? Slash hiring a bodyguard who's only job was to collect Slash and bring him home safely after he passed out from a hard night of drinking. Or David Lee Roth handing out backstage passes to security to give to girls and if Roth had sex with a girl that was handed a pass by a particular security member, that security guard would get $100. Having Steven Tyler & Joe Perry being dubbed “The Toxic Twins”.
Despite being a fan of his, I can’t picture Dave Grohl doing this. Nickelback even has a song called "Rockstar" that pretty accurately sums up what being a Rockstar is all about; yet Chad Kroeger is nothing of the sort.
Now Motley Crue is a band FULL of Rockstars; just read “The Dirt”.
Guns N’ Roses was another. What I always found unique about GNR was that you never knew what you were gonna get. They may show up to a concert 2 hours late or not all. They may play 4 songs, Axl gets pissed off, and then they leave. They may play a blistering 3 hour set that blows the crowd away. There was so much tension in the band, that you could feel it. If that's not Rockstar, I don't know what is.
Van Halen, regardless of who their singer was, is another example or Rockstars being combustable elements waiting to explode. The egos of Eddie and Roth (or Hagar) was obvious.
If I had to point out a band that is the ultimate in over-the-top Rockstars, look no further than Kiss. With the make-up, the costumes, the pyro, and the theatrics are all the ultimate in Rockstar.
You don’t have to have a band full of Rockstars (though it helps as well). Most Rockstars were in a band full of people that are not. In AC/DC its obvious that Angus Young is the Rockstar (sorry Malcom). I appreciate the musicianship of Ray Manzerek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore; but we all know that Jim Morrison is the Rockstar of The Doors.
The 1990s were not good to Rockstars. Eddie Vedder had small shades of Rockstar to him in the early days of Pearl Jam. However that whole tortured soul/recluse thing really doesn’t scream “cool” to me, so, definitely not him. Was Kurt Cobain a Rockstar? FUCK NO! He looked like after a Nirvana concert was over, he would go back to pumping gas or serving onion rings. Soundgarden? No. Alice In Chains? No.
Many say that Grunge music killed the Rockstar as we know it. I don’t completely disagree with this statement, but I believe there were some shining lights left in the Rockstar persona. Believe it or not, if I had to call anyone during the Grunge era a Rockstar, I would actually point to Courtney Love more than anyone. Why do you ask? Look at her; she was in-your-face, angry, rebellious, unpredictable and out of control. To me, THAT is a Rockstar.
In the early 1990s, two performers stood out to me as true Rockstars; Rob Zombie of White Zombie & Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. Zombie’s over the top theatrics are reminiscent of Alice Cooper and Kiss but with his own personal flourish that makes him original. Even Cooper himself recognizes it. Weiland has the swagger, the controversy, and the “it” factor of the Rockstar. Watch either of them perform and you will see what I mean.
I haven’t seen a true Rockstar since the mid-1990s. There is only one man whom I call “The Last Rockstar”: Marilyn Manson. Whether you love him or you hate him, you cannot deny that he is a Rockstar. For one, look at his name. He has that over-the-top personality that he always presents, he's an icredible performer, is hated by parents and is a lightning rod for controversy. Manson hasn’t made much news recently which only scares me more that we are slowly losing the Rockstar that once was.
But until then, Marilyn Manson is "The Last Rockstar".
Is the Rockstar dead? I would say it is dormant. While today’s rock bands claim to be Rockstars, there is just no substance to that statement. Just because you bang groupies and drink Jack Daniels, that doesn’t make you a Rockstar. Do we have any hope of seeing new Rockstars this decade? With pop culture still being nostalgic of the previous generation, there are definetly throwbacks to the 1980s when Rockstars were abundant. But most of those bands take small elements from that era or just satirize it like Steel Panther. I will not worship and throw up devil horns to posers.
If we are looking for Rockstars, we may be looking in the wrong genre. The closest thing we have to a Rockstar in popular music right now may be Lady Gaga. She had a lot of those ingredients, but I don’t know if she truly is a Rockstar. Buts she may be our best option.
I am not holding my breath for new Rockstars who are actually "rock" stars. I hope to see them again. Until then, I will worship the guy who used to be on my bedroom wall as a a kid who now is a 60 year old with a bad hip hobbling on the very stage he used to jump around on.
Like my grandfather once said, they just don't make 'em like they used to.
\m/ \m/
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