Rock Music is supposed to be about the explosive energy of youth consuming the past.
When I was a teenager, I was tired of Dinosaurs like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. The posters on my walls in 1989 were of Jane's Addiction, Anthrax, and Ministry. Their music was alive and in the present.
My kids don't listen to Jane's Addiction, Anthrax, or Ministry. They listen to their rock bands, not Dinosaur bands that their Dad likes. That is the nature of Rock. Don't get me wrong, now that I'm Middle Aged, I appreciate the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, but their music is not today, and it was barely alive in the late 80's. It was a trip into the past, as my music is to my kids now.
(I was in a piss-poor mood earlier this morning and revisited Pigs in Zen by Jane's Addiction just to cheer myself up.)
So it really rubbed me the wrong way when Phoebe Bridgers took a run at Eric Clapton in an article at Brooklyn Vegan. Don't get me wrong, as the next generation of Rock, it is her obligation to say the last generation was lame and she is the now.
But the problem here is two-fold. Bridgers cited Clapton's music as mediocre and then used his #1 hit "Tears in Heaven" as exhibit A. Uh, Clapton released that song when he was 47, hardly an expression of restless youth. The Clapton is God Era was from about 1964-1977. The Clapton is Mediocre Era was from about 1978 to today.
Giving Bridgers the benefit of the doubt, I listened to her 4 top videos on YouTube. Ugh. Not only is she not more energetic than God Era Clapton, she is more like the Milquetoast version of Sarah McLachlan.
Bridgers other problem is she doesn't like Clapton's alleged racism. Again, since it's 2020, everyone and everything is racist. That's how you get exposure. Not by content, but by moving talking points.
Let me help poor Phoebe Bridgers out because she is confused.
In 1989, Public Enemy sang about how Elvis Presley was a racist.
They took to the streets and made a GREAT rap song. That was the most Rock move you could make in 1989. Public Enemy's music crackled with youthful energy.
Bridgers makes mediocre Indie Rock, then whines about perceived racism on the internet.
See the difference?
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