Monday, September 8, 2014

Foo Fighters Respond to Gene Simmons's Comment on Rock Being Dead


Recently Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons got even more press (as if he hasn't had enough recently) when he made the bold statement in an interview with Esquire that rock is finally dead.

However, it would seem that not everyone is in agreement over this. The Foo Fighters posted a tweet to their Twitter feed saying:

"Not so fast, Mr. God of Thunder...RT: @esquiremag Gene Simmons declares "rock is finally dead" http://esqm.ag/6019W02B"

 It's true that the Foo Fighters have been keeping rock alive and relevant by getting frequently noticed and receiving many awards at ceremonies that are usually dominated by pop and rap artists. However, I don't think they fully read into what Simmons actually said in the interview.

This is the full extent of what was said by Simmons:

“Rock did not die of old age. It was murdered. Some brilliance, somewhere, was going to be expressed and now it won’t because it’s that much harder to earn a living playing and writing songs. No one will pay you to do it. ‘Don’t quit your day job’ is a good piece of advice. When I was coming up, it was not an insurmountable mountain. Once you had a record company on your side, they would fund you, and that also meant when you toured they would give you tour support. There are still record companies, and it does apply to pop, rap, and country to an extent. But for performers who are also songwriters — the creators — for rock music, for soul, for the blues — it’s finally dead. Rock is finally dead.”

I hate to say it, but for once I actually agree with Gene. The thing is that I see people constantly downloading illegally and then acting as if it is no big deal. They actually try to justify it and it blows my mind. I'm sorry, but piracy is wrong. This is why it's so much more difficult to make it as an artist or band these days. No one will buy your records when they can just steal them with no consequences for their actions. This is also why ticket prices are so ridiculously high. In 1971 you could go see Alice Cooper for $6. Now though because no one pays for their music concerts have to jack their prices up so high that the average working stiff can't afford a ticket unless they start saving months in advance. That being said, I kind of see Gene's point when he says not to quit your day job.

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