Introducing Your Topic

For the past few years, the music media has been awash with prophecies of the death of rock music. The slow descent of rock and roll from the mainstream airwaves has led to proclaiming it a dying form of art. Even genre legends like Flea from theRed Hot Chilli Peppers and Courtney Love from Hole contend it is dying or already dead.

I have an issue with those statements. It feels arrogant to dismiss the current group of rock bands as not up to the challenge of keeping the flame alive. I’m more inclined to side with Green Day front-man Billie Joe Armstrong, who recently contended statements about the death of are like “'saying air is dead', or 'wateris dead'”.

Whilst it is true rock music is not “in” right now, as pop and indie music dominate the mainstream landscape, genres do not die. Look at jazz music. Sure, it’s nowhere near as popular as it was in the Roaring 20’s, but it is still alive today. The same is true of rock. While it’s not as omniscient or frequently available as it was in the mid 90’s or even early 2000’s, it is not dying. You just have to look a little harder to find it.

For me, this is why ‘the scene’ is so interesting. It’s a vibrant ecosystem of rock and roll bands who (at least on the surface) aren’t in it for the money and enjoy passionate support from their fans. The scene possesses such a wide variety of genres who at the heart of it are all rock bands. Sure, there may be metal, post-hardcore, electronicore, pop-punk and djentcore bands within this scene and they may be either heavier or more pop-orientated than most rock bands we know of, but at the end of the day, they all have some sonic-link to rock and roll.

And they are surviving, despite this supposedly barren landscape for rock bands. They may be off to the side and outside of the public’s gaze, but they are surviving. Vans’ Warped Tour, the travelling festival synonymous with the scene, continues to thrive, having just completed a 41-date run around theUnited States. It may not boast the popularity it once did, but in some way, shape or form, the scene proves the heartbeat of rock and roll is still very much beating.

Narrating Personal Interest

During my high school years, I always liked rock and roll, but I never fully immersed myself in it. As I did not have a part-time job, I never had enough money, hence my inability to buy the latest CDs. The radio was my main source of new music and despite the obvious fact I never really liked the music they played, I constantly subjected myself to the surrender of the airwaves.

So many people went through an “emo” or “punk” phase in high school, yet it wasn’t ‘til I’d almost graduated I took much of an interest in the scene. Even then, it was only the most-well known bands who I listened to; the likes of Blink 182, The Offspring and Sum 41 made frequent appearances on my iPod playlists.

When I started university in 2012, it allowed me more spare time to search for and listen to bands from “the scene”. “The scene” was a loose term used to describe punk and metal bands who never received mainstream attention, yet thanks to the popularity of touring festivals like Vans’ Warped Tour and magazines like Alternative Press, had flourished and formed a strong grassroots community of fans.

As university allowed me more spare time to explore my hobbies and interests, I found myself drawn towards the scene, with its wide variety of bands and characters, while the introduction of Spotify into my life allowed me to listen to more of these bands than previously. My initial interest had turned into a full-blown musical addiction: I was listening to and discovering new bands at every opportunity and converting all my hard earned dollars into concert tickets and band merchandise. Most importantly, I felt a sense of connection and kinship with many bands and their honest, emotional lyrics.

My fate was sealed at Soundwave 2013, the (now dearly departed) heavy music festival which managed to pull some of my favourite bands (the aforementioned trio, along with Paramore, All Time Low and Billy Talent amongst others) together for a day of musical bliss.

Since Soundwave, the music of the scene has become an incredibly important part of my life, one which helps define who I am as a person. Having spent the last few years reading about the history of scene bands and delving deep into their discography, it’s a subject I’m comfortable I can go on and on for hours talking about.

Image Annotation

It was 2013. My interest in the alt-rock/pop-punk/punk scene was starting to grow. Then, The Wonder Years released their album, The Greatest Generation. My attention was caught, the passion and beauty of their music acknowledged and my love of the scene ignited. That album made me seek out similar music from similar bands. They have become one of my favourite bands and front-man Dan "Soupy" Campbell is one of my favourite lyricists. I chose this image because it showcases my favourite piece of band merchandise, The Wonder Years’ gorgeous stained glass pullover, featuring their iconic pigeon mascot and signed by Soupy himself.

Personal Bio

Rock music is a way of life for me. I'm always on the lookout for new bands, always trying to cram as many album-listening sessions as possible into a week. Guitar riffs are on my mind non-stop; brutally honest lyricism constantly infesting my thoughts and every spare second is devoted to tackling the eternal question: Which is Blink 182's best album? I've always had a love for the genres of punk, pop punk and alternative rock and these are my semi-coherent, emotional, in-depth rants and ramblings on them.