The Slow Inevitable Death of the Rockstar

Hi. Have you listened to any music lately? Isn't it awful?

I know that is a shitty way to begin a blog, but it's probably true, especially if you are a rock fan like myself. The sad truth is that the new millennium is coming up short with producing good rock acts and this decade is quickly coming to a close. (less than 2 years to go!) A lot of good albums have actually come out in the last ten years but most of them are from bands from the 80s, 90s or even the 60s or 70s.

My friends will generally throw the argument that I liked to use in the late 90s to defend current artists (they Devil's Advocate all the time) that I am just looking a what is out right now as in the last few months and judging it against all of the music I like from the past. Although many people do this, maybe even me, that is not the case this time. I actually couldn't sleep this morning so I made a list. A list of all of the big name bands that the 90s gave us Vs. the list from 2000 to now.

Here it is:
90s bands:
Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Beck, Oasis, Rage Against the Machine, Incubus, System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cranberries, Filter, The Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Korn, Limp Bizkit (ughh I know), No Doubt, Green Day, Skid Row (yes, the early 90s belonged to metal if you remember), Tool, Black Label Society, Pantera, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Coldplay, Creed......the list goes on and on.

Now here is the 2000-2008 list.
3 Doors Down, Nickelback, (I'm starting to heave) The Strokes, The Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, The White Stripes, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, That Band that Sounds just like Fall Out Boy, Death Cab for Cutie, A.F.I, Andrew W.K., is that it? There might be more, but I couldn't care less.
Now name one rockstar out of that whole bunch. Jack White? He is about the only one with a rock star quality. I could name a few other members from those bands, but that's cuz I'm a rock nut. Now look at the 90s list. Creed, blech. Well, they weren't all great. But still there were lots of ROCK STARS in those bands. At least you know who the hell Scott Stapp is. Even the average rock fan, not an obsessed trivia nut like me could name at least one person from most of those bands. And P.S., yes I realize that technically come of the 90s bands first EP which NOONE HEARD was realeased in like 89' or that some of the 2000 bands came out in late 99 with a single only released in Canada. My point still stands.

Now I am not saying this to bash new rock bands. I like about half of the ones in that list and think that some of them bring real originality to the table. But it is still a far cry from even the 90s. (Let's not even talk about the big names from before the 90s, because I might cry.) And where are the ROCK STARS? Where are my Kurt Cobains and Axl Roses? No wonder kids today listen to nothing but classic rock and are out buying AC/DC and Iron Maiden t-shirts. Or even worse yet, giving up and turning to Rap.

If any rockers are out there who have the ability to be the next big thimg, let's hear it. You have less than 14 months to do it.