Monday Metal

We had a Monday Metal idea and we've completely forgotten what it was.

Which seems apropos.

Last week we were talking with our bagel guy about Rock n Roll. We both recognize that rock is dead. We don't really know how it happened and we're not sure what killed it.

Sure rap or hip-hop 'music' is number one now, but we believe that is at least partially due to rock dying.

The last important rock music was Grunge, discussed in this space before: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden and Alice in Chains. Nirvana is the last great rock bond.

Grunge died quick though and nothing really replaced it.

At about the same time Grunge died we jumped off the rock train and got into classical, a move for which we are profoundly grateful. Here we discovered Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mendlessohn, Borodin....

Anyway rock is old and its been old for some time. We first noticed this in 2001. After 9-11 there was a big benefit gala at Madison Square Garden and everyone playing, at least all of the important acts, were middle-aged to old. The headliners were Paul McCartney and Billy Joel. They are rock royalty of course and that's a problem. Rock shouldn't have royalty. Rock is about sticking it to royalty. I fought the law, remember? You can't do that when you are the law.

Years later, in 2008 we think, there was a massive Earth Day rock and roll extravaganza and a lot of these same people came out. Roger Waters was headlining. He must have been at least 50 then. It was Mark Steyn, (we think) who pointed out that at the time of Woodstock, Dean Martin was 48.

When we go to Guitar Center it's usually a gray haired fading tattoo guy behind the counter.

Hey, we like to catch the old acts. This summer we had Bryan Adams week here. Last summer we saw AC/DC. Brian Johnson is our father's age. The Rolling Stones are still touring and they look ridiculous as they fill 60,000 seat arenas across the globe. The new acts we like, Wolf Mother, The Answer, they stay close to home and fill arenas too, 1,000 seat arenas.

How soon till they're playing 500 seat venues?