Occasionally, a completely original band will come around and instantly change the face of the music world. This is the exception to the norm, however, as most changes in music trends are gradual, logical extensions of the foundation set by preexisting bands. The rock revival that culminated last year, for instance, was foreshadowed by a renewed interest in the late '60s garage bands like the Stooges or the MC5, bands that rock revival acts cited as particularly influential. It's worthwhile, then, to examine several other bands that have become regarded recently as increasingly influential as they can help give us a decent indication of where rock music is headed.
In the late '70s, Gang of Four received some acclaim for combining the jerkier elements of punk music with the rhythms of funk or disco. Now, nearly 25 years later, bands like Radio 4, Liars and the Rapture are achieving a great deal of success playing a mildly updated version of Gang of Four's sound. Sadly, these dance-rock bands all falter in their ability to write worthwhile songs, but nonetheless, the sound is undeniably infectious and any one of them could break through with the combination of a little luck and a strong single.
Before Guy Picciotto advanced to a more glam-rock vocal approach with the far-superior Fugazi, he was wailing away with his '80s post-punk outfit Rites of Spring. Curiously, because of their reputation for incredibly emotional delivery, this once obscure act has now become a hip name for any number of Promise Ring sound-alike bands to drop. I'm reminded of The Onion's article about bands who clearly aren't listening to their influences, because these bands all fail to capture the immediacy and anger that made Picciotto's vocals so compelling and they instead sound like whinier versions of Weezer. If history does Rites of Spring justice, they'll be remembered as an admirable footnote and not the ones to blame for the lackluster emo movement.
Again, we have another case where a band with decent intentions is partially responsible for an unpromising trend. It's easy to blame Radiohead for the plethora of mediocre rock bands experimenting with electronic blips and computerized atmospherics, but in truth the music press deserves most of the blame. After the band received unprecedented amounts of press for their Kid A album, it became obvious to other bands that free publicity could be obtained by pushing the boundaries of overproduced ambience further. A large studio budget became mistaken for artistic genius and copycat bands like the Doves shamelessly vied for the prestigious \The Next Radiohead"" title. The problem is that experimental soundscapes, however compelling they may be, usually come at the expense of strong songs.
If these trends are any indication, the short-term future of rock will be something of a mixed bag, short on long term commercial viability but heavy on style. Here's to hoping that in the future, a community of hip New Yorkers starts name dropping the Talking Heads a lot, but until then, there are a lot worse things than the possibility of hearing Gang of Four rip-offs on the radio.
