Going back to the original point, I'm not at all surprised by the statement and I fully agree with Grebo that it's largely down to Rock outselling Pop for the first time in ages. These things are cyclical and have been for years. If you go back to Punk, whilst that was never truly populist the New Wave bands that followed very much were. A few years later New Romanticism and Synth Pop took over as people tired of guitars. Dance, Pop (SAW particularly) and House music then became dominant until Grunge and Baggy took over once again bringing guitars to the forefront (That dealt a hammer blow to traditional Hard Rock). This paved the way for Britpop as the UK music buyers wanted a British sound until by the late 90s early 00s Dance and Pop once again took over despite Nu Metal's bold attempts. Another few years and the early 00s saw guitars once more become very popular. After a while RnB, Dance and Hip Hop became predominant. Which brings us to now.

 

Whilst Pop will always feature highly in the singles charts and public appreciation of it will never truly fade, Rock has always done well in the albums. It stands to reason that sooner or later a new generation of young teenagers will look to guitars as something fresh and exciting (even if this is never truly groundbreaking these days). This is particularly apparent when you consider how dull and formulaic the current age Dance, Pop, RnB, Indie, Hip Hop and Electro have all become. If anything it has taken longer than one would usually expect.

All it takes is a couple of good established bands releasing great albums and 2 or 3 exciting young bands to break through and a whole new wave could follow.

I'm not sure that the sort of rock/indie that was dominant in the 2004-2007 era will ever be as big again, it was something that chiefly took advantage of low sales and fanbases, a few outstanding examples aside of course. The genre and times have changed a lot since then, most of the 'landfill indie' bands couldn't really survive the huge digital shift that occured around that time.

 

But I don't think it will ever go away, but the sort of 'indie'/alternative that will become popular with the public will simply change, things like Bastille, Imagine Dragons, Jake Bugg, Fun. & Of Monsters & Men ie. not exactly typical of that genre. Of course, some bands from that period have shown that they have survived into this new age, like Arctic Monkeys last year.

 

So I don't really think the public's taste for guitar music ever went away, times just changed, but it will always stay, even if it may never be as prominent as it once was.

That rock and roll eh? That rock and roll it just won't go away. It might hibernate from time to time, sink back into the swamp.

 

I think the cyclical nature of the universe, demands it adheres to some of its rules, but it's always waiting around the corner to make its way back through he sludge and smash through the glass ceiling better than ever.

That rock and roll. It seems like its fading away sometimes, but it will never die.

i hate these kind of articles. everyone's trying to make everything a TREND and make each year the official ______ of something but really thats such a dumb thing to say. all music has been making waves.

Yeah i agree leww.

 

A slight tangent, but going on an earlier comment, urban music currently is FAR from formulaic in my opinion. The biggest artists are releasing more and more experimental stuff and when they do conform it's through homages to 90s sounds with a modern twist. Away from that a lot of the underground artists are blurring genres effortlessly so it's really hard to see which will rise and take the mainstream. And urban music will always by definition flourish whatever the "popular" trend is because it will always surface and spread underground when it's not making the headlines.

I personally do think guitar music will make a comeback in the charts at least. I don't like that kind of music, but I think it will because dance-pop music is fading. Also, sales have started decreasing, which can help fanbase-orientated artists chart higher (like they did in the mid-00s). Also if streaming does get added to the charts, that will help guitar music hugely too. That's just my opinion anyway.

That rock and roll eh? That rock and roll it just won't go away. It might hibernate from time to time, sink back into the swamp.

 

I think the cyclical nature of the universe, demands it adheres to some of its rules, but it's always waiting around the corner to make its way back through he sludge and smash through the glass ceiling better than ever.

That rock and roll. It seems like its fading away sometimes, but it will never die.

 

Well, I'm glad that's cleared up.

 

Getting back to the point...

 

I've never ever bought the whole "Britpop was a reaction to grunge because we wanted something 'British' to listen to" line. That's just bullshit dreamt up by the press, most notably Select magazine who pretty much started it all with that awful Brett Anderson cover and then, and I'll mention it again...

 

What we call Indie music fell ill in August 1995 when the "Blur v Oasis" story made the 6 o'clock news and it died when Alan McGee shook hands with Tony Blair at No.10 two years later.

 

After that, the majors stepped in and the rest is boring, plodding history.

Totally agree that Britpop killed Indie or at least brutally pummelled it but i didn't suggest it was a reaction to Grunge as imo it began at the same time Grunge was breaking through - 90/91. But it was apparent at the release of Modern Life is Rubbish that friends I knew were sick of 'hairy yanks moaning' and this attitude aided Britpop in it's rise. Sadly Britpop is where we lost the 'Indie Wars' despite what felt like a win at the time

But it was apparent at the release of Modern Life is Rubbish that friends I knew were sick of 'hairy yanks moaning' and this attitude aided Britpop in it's rise.

 

Ah, that's interesting. We mostly liked them in tandem, or at least parts of them. I was far more interested in the UK scene but liked things like Nirvana, Mudhoney and the Lemonheads. Couldn't really stand Pearl Jam or Soundgarden though...and I guess they were the other side of grunge.

 

I often wonder how influential The Auteurs could have been if they'd had a bigger hit with 'Showgirl' and taken Suede's place at the Brit Awards - or would they whole thing have been different? Either way, I think Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish was written and released having noticed the rise of Suede and The Auteurs (always overlooked for their part in Britpop).

I really have to listen to The Auteurs more. I have New Wave somewhere.

That's my favourite - Now I'm a Cowboy and the other one were ok, but New Wave I kept going back to.