Or, what the working title was, Revolver v Rolling Stone (Part II)
Due to hearing impairment issues, I have been very detached from new music. But I can still read and I still have a memory.
So it was with great amusement that I read Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of 2023. For the brevity of time, I am only going to reprint the artist and their genre of music according to Wikipedia (unless otherwise noted.) For comparison's sake, we only used the Top 20 on their list. Remember, Rolling Stone decided to de-emphasize Rock Music in 2020.
20. Janell Monae - R & B, Pop, and Hip Hop
19. Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA - Alternative Hip Hop and Rap
18. Jessie Ware - Pop, Disco, and R & B
17. Anohni and the Johnsons - Art Pop
16. Becky G - Hip Hop, Pop, and R & B
15. Sufjan Stevens - Folk, Indie Rock, and Pop
14. Karol G - Latin Trap, Pop, and R & B
13. Noname - Rap and Hip Hop
12. Chappell Roan - Pop
(Technically Dark Pop, a term I had never heard before.)
11. Blondshell - Folk, Indie Rock, and Pop
10. Zach Bryan - Country
9. Victoria Monet - Pop and R & B
8. Billy Woods and Kenny Segal - Hip Hop
7. Mitski - Indie Rock and Art Pop
6. Paramore - Pop-Punk
This is, probably, the most rock sounding album on the list.
(Editor's Note: It is a mostly forgettable album.)
5. Olivia Rodrigo - Pop
4. Lil Yachty - Hip Hop
3. Tainy - Reggae
2. boygenius - Indie Rock and Folk
We have thoroughly described our disdain for boygenius here:
1. SZA - R & B, Pop, and Hip Hop
Now, even if you don't know one artist on the list, you will notice a certain trend. How many Rock Artists are there in a Rock Magazine?
Maybe Rock is Dead? Maybe there's no more Rock Artists? Here's Revolver's Top 20 Albums of the Year by artist:
20. Babymetal - Metal
19. Orbit Culture - Metal
18. 3TEETH - Industrial and Rock
17. Jesus Piece - Metal and Hardcore
16. Fuming Mouth - Metal
15. Callous Daboys - Mathcore
14. Queens of the Stone Age - Rock and Alternative Metal
13. Dying Fetus - Death Metal
12. Dying Wish - Metalcore
11. Code Orange - Metalcore, Punk, and Industrial
10. Scowl - Punk
9. Dethklok - Metal
(Editor's note II: A very good album & movie, I must say.)
8. HEALTH - Noise Rock
7. Drain - Punk
6. Better Lovers - Metalcore
On paper, this should have been the best album of the year, with members from Every Time I Die and the Dillinger Escape Plan.
5. Spiritbox - Metal and Djent
4. Avenged Sevenfold - Rock and Metal
3. Crosses - Rock and Post Punk
2. Metallica - Rock
Metallica hasn't been a Metal band in a very long time.
1. Sleep Token - Post Metal
If I was the editor of a "ROCK" magazine, my magazine's list would be very similar to Revolver's. Of course it wouldn't be the same, but I'm listening to that Sleep Token album again right now. If you said to define Rock in 2023, I would play you the Take Me Back to Eden album, not anything from Rolling Stone's list. I have been very clear since the founding of Beacon of Speech, we do NOT like folk rock. From Bob Dylan in the 60's to boygenius today, it is mostly overrated pablum. The crowd-pleasing Rock of Van Halen seems to have disappeared and the remains of Rock have gravitated to the edges of the genre.
But I am in my 50's, maybe I'm too old to have a contemporary opinion.
Or, maybe.... I'm too YOUNG?
If you go to Classic Rock Magazine's Top 20 Album List, it has a lot of familiar names.
20. Wytch Hazel - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 30's
19. The Damned - Punk
Lead Singer Age: 67
18. Those Damn Crows - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 20's
17. Danko Jones - Rock
Lead Singer Age: Around 50
16. Ayron Jones - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 37
15. The Cadillac Three - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 43
14. Greta Van Fleet - Rock
Lead Singer Age: Mid-20's
I am not the biggest fan of Greta Van Fleet for one simple reason. They don't seem to be a real rock band. It's like talented guys doing a stage production of a rock band.
13. Rival Sons - Rock
Lead Singer Age: Early-40's
12. Crown Lands - Rock
Lead Singer Age: Late-20's
11. Iggy Pop - Rock and Punk
Lead Singer Age: 76
10. The Pretenders - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 72
9. Skindred - Metal
Lead Singer Age: 56
8. Mammoth WVH - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 32
7. Queens of the Stone Age - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 50
6. The Struts - Rock
Lead Singer Age: Early 30's
5. Steven Wilson - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 56
4. Ian Hunter - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 84
3. Foo Fighters - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 54
The Foo Fighters are, arguably, America's last great rock band.
2. Metallica - Rock
Lead Singer Age: 60
1. The Rolling Stones
Lead Singer Age: 80
Ian Hunter? Iggy Pop? MICK JAGGER?
In theory, Classic Rock Magazine's list is probably what Rolling Stone's list SHOULD look like. Cherishing the old Rock and including the (relatively) new. There's new Rock out there, Rolling Stone just chooses not to promote it.
Gene Simmons keeps saying Rock is Dead. His rationale is that you can't make money doing it anymore. As with all things related to Gene Simmons, it all goes back to the business end of Rock. Let's rephrase that, NEW bands can't make money. If your band has name recognition, you can sell that. If there is no infrastructure promoting Rock, you really can't have mainstream band recognition. See the vicious loop for upcoming artists?
If Rolling Stone says Rock is Dead, there's nothing to cover. If Rock is alive in the underground, Rolling Stone abandoned the art that built its brand. That is a Simmons-Level Business Decision.
I'm not saying Rolling Stone Magazine has to close their doors, I'm just saying that they should change their name:
Top 10 Possible New Names for Rolling Stone Magazine:
10. Gen Z's Interpretation of Music
9. Woke Kids on ProTools
8. BeyHives and Swifties
7. The Source (PG Version)
5. The Angry Ghost of Ray Sawyer
4. YouTube: The Magazine
3. Even WE Don't Like Kanye Anymore
2. Rock is Dead and We Helped Kill It
I feel like I didn't do enough research to give you my own Top 20 Albums of 2023 List.
But if you ask me my favorite new SINGLE of the year, it was easily Dead Bob's Just Breathe.