Rock Stars Extinct - Noel Gallagher

[IanHenry]

Here's Noel Gallagher's opinion of the future of the rock world:

 

http://www.sundayexpress.co.uk/posts/view/341989/Rock-stars-are-extinct-says-Noel-Gallagher

 

I think he may have a point, because I don't believe many artists are making much money from album sales. So what is the cause of this problem, internet, iTunes and the fact that kids today don't seem to be able to bother with protesting, the only thing that most of them are interested in is having the latest phone. I can't see many young people starting a movement like the Punk revolution of the late 70's.

I also wonder if the music industry is guilty of bringing about it's own demise, with far to much interest in business over creativity, with to much reliance on "talent" shows.

I often wonder how many of the stars of yesterday would ever get a look in today, I mean, how many record companies would look twice at Genesis, Pink Floyd, the Sex Pistols Kate Bush and even Led Zeppelin? Food for thought?

 

Regards,

Ian,

[dem00n]

Hes in Oasis, do i have to say more?

[quapman]

There will always be music,, and there will always be consumers of music. In whatever form it evolves it will always be there.

And yes, there will be greats and legends to come.

 

Sounds like he's just pissed he never got the accolades he figures he deserves.

[Versatile]

Noel often talks a lot of sense...and is honest

 

People are wising up to the silliness of rock stardom...with it's inflated ticket costs and pseudo originality

 

People enjoy a herd fantasy...hopefully one with talent to match

 

IMO the internet has made so many things so easy, it has removed the mystery and excitement from much of rock's initial cache...

 

V

 

[martinh]

Urrr .....I kinda wish Noel Gallagher was extinct.

[Riffster]

I think Noel always brings his perspective to certain subjects and I respect that,

 

Before I had time to read the article the title of this post made me think how how nowadays you are not a rockstar but a working musician and made me think of bands like Gn'R and many other since the 60's to my surprise that is exactly what he says in the article!

 

Then again it is not hard to see how things have changed.

[daveinspain]

He is right...

[kaleb]

I think it's too easy to take advantage of the Internet. Almost everything is Internet now. In order to get signed, a band should do hard gigging and build a name for themselves, not use the Internet by itself (a mixture of both is great!). Neil Peart has a belief he calls "tryism": you can attain something if you work hard enough. I use that concept in all aspects of my life, which includes my music.

 

Now, "rock stardom" is stupid to me (well, everyone has a right to live they way they want), but the idea that I could live a nice life with my music financing it is great.

 

And although the music business has always been a @#$%d up business, nowadays, it's worse than it usually is.

[Rocky4]

Whats wrong with rock stars being extinct? We'll all be better off when musicians play music because they like to, and not to make jillions of dollars. There were so many unknown touring bands at Summer Camp that were amazing. No rock stars, just musicians earning a decent living playing what they love. Bring on the extinction!

[Buxom]

Hes in Oasis, do i have to say more?

 

They're a joke of a band, tbh.

[IanHenry]

I find it interesting, because I read, a few weeks ago, that the No1 selling album, here in the U.K, only sold a couple of thousand copies. As the artist in question was the protgee of a "talent" show, that means people like Simon Cowell will be taking more than their fair share and once everyone else has had their cut I can't see there being a great deal left for the artist.

 

Ian.

[kaleb]

Whats wrong with rock stars being extinct? We'll all be better off when musicians play music because they like to, and not to make jillions of dollars. There were so many unknown touring bands at Summer Camp that were amazing. No rock stars, just musicians earning a decent living playing what they love. Bring on the extinction!

 

If great bands don't get big enough, they won't have as big of an influence as they should.

 

Do you think EVH would have shook the guitar world if he was only as big as Pat Travers? NO!!!!!!!

[Izzy]

I disagree highly.

Remember Star Search? It died at some point and now it has resurfaced as a slew of crap shows. These too will die at some point...and come back. There will always be angst among teens. Yes, some are all about Justin B and pop and poop, but there will always be an undercurrent of people who don't like that. Also, the drive for many artists, an example was Kurt Cobain, is to be famous NOT rich, BUT to be famous means to be Justin B and pop and poop. What is a young angsty person to do? There are LOCAL shows people can go to to see young angsty kids play punk all around the country. These fame seekers at the very least desire local stardom.

 

When a group of these angsty bands, possibly from a single sector, circumvent the mainstream and pump out something that sounds "different" from what is popular, when this sound turns the ears of a few thousand kids who spread the word, an exponential number of people will be touched and the rock revolution will begin again. It is true that now you can buy, "just the song I like," but when you hear a sound that is different, you wind up buying that song and another later that week, and another until you say, "fk it, I'll get the whole thing." Also, rock stardom is about WAY more than music, it is about "the shaggy hair" or "the flannel," it is about being different and joining others who dress like you at an ampitheater not only to enjoy the music but to be with one another.

 

It may take time, but the revolution will come again.

[pippy]

Firstly, I believe there will still be 'Rock Stars'. They might not get the same financial returns for their creativity but they will still exist.

 

Secondly, there has always been a small number of artists who have earned great sums of money; Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley being obvious examples. According to an interview the historian Gil Hembree had with Ted McCarty (Gibson CEO '48 - '66) Les Paul and Mary Ford were earning $10,000 per night - in 1951 ! ! !

 

These performers and the people who became the first 'Rock Superstars' - The Rolling Stones, Cream, Pink Floyd, Led Zep etc. - first entered the business because of their love of making music.

The phenomenal wealth they attained was a by-product of the great music they created. They would still have created the music whether there was £100 or £10,000 in the pay-packet.

 

If I read the story correctly Noel Gallagher is saying it is primarily the obscene amounts of money which will no longer be there in such abundance; and this is (IMHO) a Very Good Thing.

 

As an example of how nuts the music industry became; in 1991 Michael Jackson signed a deal with Sony which gave him a staggering £623 million ($925 m)...

 

If musicians get together with the aim of making Great Music rather than amassing Great Wealth then perhaps 'Music' itself will be the winner?

 

P.

[swampash]

I hated Oasis, but I always listened to what Noel Gallagher had to say because he always has something interesting to say. He also wrote all of their songs, played Guitar and was a better singer than his brother. He is arrogant but has earned the right to be. He's like Pete Townsend, journalists love interviewing him because he will always have something good to say.

 

I saw him last week in Dublin and he was superb.

 

He is also right in what he says here.

[rct]

As an example of how nuts the music industry became; in 1991 Michael Jackson signed a deal with Sony which gave him a staggering £623 million ($925 m)...

 

Much more important, and a much greater impact on music than the money was the changes to record sales they made right after that, him and Sony.

 

Prior to that, a record "entered" the charts after much ballyhooing over units and projected sales and projected returns and comps, and whatever else went into it. Sony and it's new partner, MJ, worked it out with the (at that time) few distribution chains left that weren't record company owned, like Tower and...can't remember who else, but anyway, SoundScan would receive sales from the record company, not the stores!

 

Awesome!

 

So, that meant that Units Shipped became the sales figures for the first week. So MJ had a record called History. They shipped like 7 million of them. That record was the first to "enter" the chart(s) that week with like, 47 bullets. 7 Million Sold!

 

No kidding, they honestly couldn't give that record away, I remember rolling stone showing something like 3hundredthousand first two weeks or so. But since returns and comps no longer got taken off the top in order to derive at least an attempt at an accurate figure, he had himself a super duper number one. Again!

 

And so, kids, record sales since then have meant

ab.

solute.

lynothing.

 

rct

[Stooge]

I hated Oasis, but I always listened to what Noel Gallagher had to say because he always has something interesting to say. He also wrote all of their songs, played Guitar and was a better singer than his brother. He is arrogant but has earned the right to be. He's like Pete Townsend, journalists love interviewing him because he will always have something good to say.

 

I saw him last week in Dublin and he was superb.

 

He is also right in what he says here.

 

 

Agreed, Oasis I thought where total crap after the first 2 LP's. Liam was always a poor mans Ian Brown imho. On the other hand Noel is good on every level, and far more industrious, and interesting than his dullard brother.

[J.R.M.30!]

I disagree completely, Oasis had their place in British music. They're music was a play on what "English Music" sounds like. Very bright, uplifting, maybe overacheived guitar parts with Liam singing in his unmistakable tone, some would cringe at this tone but nevertheless he had "his" tone. Alan White on drums had a change of pace, offering off-beat drum parts and Noel DID have a better singing voice than Liam and had a knack of writing most of the songs.

[RaysEpiphone]

First of all, I'm a firm believer in quality and I do realize the record companies have to go where the money is because if they don't make money, they can't invest in new talent/star's. But there is another side, the creative pool can't afford to get stagnated with the same old same old. Sure there's only so many note's and chords that can be achieved with a guitar but the uniqueness of some one with real talent and/or the interdiction of new gear with a different sound is what drives the popular music world to new level's of success.

I have and will always have my fevered music and band's, performer's or act's that I hold as a force to be remembered and honored for ever as the few true innovator's of there day but we do have to move on to new thing's too.