Neil Young, the godfather of Canadian rock, changed the world on Oct. 22, 1978, when he debuted his new song “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)” at The Cow Palace in San Francisco.
Young said that despite losing its king [Elvis Presley, who died in 1977] rock ‘n’ roll would never die and that it’s better to “burn out than to fade away.”
After its gradual public decline over the years, it’s clear that Neil Young may have been wrong, and that rock ‘n’ roll may be on its dying breaths.
Over the years, rock ‘n’ roll has been displaced by genres like hip-hop, indie and pop.
In addition to losing a majority of its sales to other genres, rock has been especially hurt by the illegal downloading of its songs.
Once the perennial favorite of Americans, rock seems to have lost its footing, plummeting down a cliff that genres like the blues and country have never fully recovered from.
I, for one, will not let rock ‘n’ roll die. More than music, more than lyrics, rock ‘n’ roll is a mindset that empowers all those who listen to it.
Rock ‘n’ roll compels the youth from throughout the world to pick up an electric guitar and change the world for the better.
Writing a rock song, as its fans know all too well, can set the artist and audience free.
More important than any religion, rock ‘n’ roll gives real hope and ambition to its fans.
Today’s music scene, to borrow from the Brits, is bloody awful.
Pop music giants, like Rihanna, Carly Rae Jepsen and Maroon 5, have ruined America’s ears with false intentions, completely insincere and over-produced rubbish.
Billboard’s Rock Chart, dominated by overrated bands like hipster-friendly Mumford & Sons and the “I’ve heard it enough already” The Black Keys, is in dire need of a shake-up.
What happened to the generation of Bruce Springsteens, Pete Townshends and Noel Gallaghers?
Gone, without any credible replacements.
If rock is to die and lose to genres where artists can’t even play their own instruments, the world would lose something irreplaceable.
Let us remember that it was rock music that helped end the sexual repression of the 1950s, by giving America’s teenagers the freedom they had always been denied.
It was rock music that helped awaken the counter-culture “hippies” of the 1960s, allowing for a cohesive, united stance against one of the United States’ greatest injustices, the Vietnam War.
It was rock music that helped unite the world for “Live Aid” in 1985, the greatest single humanitarian achievement the world has ever seen.
If Neil Young’s prophecy was incorrect, then what a shame that rock has seemingly faded away.
Shane Newell is a sophomore journalism major and an assistant city editor for the Daily 49er.