EXPLOIT THE SCENE With Kyle “Kore” Parsons Episode 5: What Happened to Rock? I guess I’ll set my hair straightener down for a minute and discuss a void in this year’s Grammy Awards. Every genre of music has its “popular” representatives… or, “sell outs,” depending on what kind of fan you are, that tend not to fade out of the lime light as quick as their peers will. For example, during the late ‘90s when pop boy-bands such as NSync and pop-princesses like Christina Aguilera were controlling popular music – these artists were blurred by dozens of replicas riding their coattails. But now, ten years later, take a look at the remaining survivors and count how many of them continue to have a lucrative career. Do you remember that boy-band Five? Me either. I know this concept isn’t brain surgery – think of every genre. There are a million rappers, R&B artists, and country singers, but only a [relative] small number reach any significance in music history. The common problem with the popular representatives of various genres is that they may not even be that great of an act. Think about how many times you turn on the radio, TV, or web browser and think to yourself “this band SUCKS.” Some of my favorite artists will never see their name associated with a mainstream media. A selfish part of me is happy in this, especially when you see the Nazi-monopoly known as TicketMaster charging obscene amounts of fees to see them, but the “music industry” in me says that this is all wrong! Who is representing your genre of choice? Is it a fair assessment? I asked myself this, who is representing the underground hardcore, punk, metal and emo rock scene in popular music? Fall Out Boy? Please. While watching the 51st annual Grammy Awards I was taken back by how insignificant rock music has become in today’s pop culture. There was nearly no rock representation, with the exception of a mediocre Radiohead performance, and a rekindled Blink 182 announcing some mundane award. I would like to put this year’s Grammy Awards into perspective with the following example that can be used as a microcosm for the show. Rappers Kanye West, T.I., Jay-Z and Lil Wayne did a performance together, separate from individual performances from Kanye, T.I., and Lil Wayne. That’s a tad overkill, they really needed to perform twice and hog up all the network time? There is an unfortunate reality in the music industry where revenue comes at first priority before talent. Now, don’t get me wrong, I would not suggest that a band like Unearth or My Children My Bride headline MTV’s next Video Music Awards, but certainly exploring some other options – maybe looking into an act with some true musicianship before booking some mainstream joke like Miley Cyrus again. There is an uneven distribution of opportunity in the music industry when you have thousands of bands who can play multiple instruments, carry a tune, and write original and intelligent lyrics – but they stay poor and in garages because the music industry only demands sex-obsessed rappers and talentless Hannah-Montana-bullshit. I wasn’t planning on writing about this, but a friend of mine said “wow, what happened to music?” Good music exists, there is just no place for it in this pop culture cycle of one-hit-wonders and lifers that make their career off media hype instead of music. I’m talking to you, Amy Winehouse. It’s not like any of this is a surprise. After seeing the appalled reaction from the audience in 2003 when tattoo-bearing/make-up-wearing Davey Havok accepted the MTV2 Award for AFI it was pretty clear that rock was and will continue to be an uphill battle. Maybe Underoath will collaborate with Rihanna and we can get some hardcore in there next year. I’ll cross my fingers.