When I started this post it was originally called ‘Oasis vs Beady Eye’ but as I was writing it made me think more broadly and then it became ‘Is Rock’n’roll Dead?’. After writing under this heading for a few minutes it became obvious that even this title was not general enough, and it finally became ‘Is (Good) Music Dead?’. Quite an unplanned journey but just go with it…

I think it’s safe to say that rock ‘n’ roll is almost extinct as a genre. There may be rock/indie bands out there doing their thing but rock n roll is not just about the music, it’s a way of life, it’s a feeling, it’s an attitude, and that is what's dead.

At their peak, Oasis defined rock n roll, they oozed it. A lot of critics would argue that the actual lyrics and musical composition was terrible in the early days, very basic repetitive chords and nonsensical and simple lyrics, yet the world could not get enough of it. You’ve got to ask then, what is it that everyone loved so much about this band? I think there's a few things. My feeling is that the simplicity of the music was its greatest appeal; it was never a chore to listen to and the anthems were very catchy. But I think most of all it was the rock n roll attitude and lifestyle that they offered by the bucket load. Because they were a bunch of wasters from a council estate in Manchester, people could relate to them and everyone believed that they could be there, alongside them, as rock n roll stars themselves!

It sounds strange but in my opinion, Oasis’ decline started around '97/'98 when they denounced their reckless lifestyles and proclaimed ‘It’s only about the music’. This is about the time when they had learnt how to compose more interesting sounds and write deeper and more meaningful lyrics, it’s also about the time they ran out of things to sing about. In the early days they actually had something interesting to say, they’d lived interesting lives, they were living the dream. Whether it was about eating Lasagne at a mate’s house or ‘doing a white line’, it wasn’t deep and meaningful but you could still relate to it. After you make your millions and move to a mansion in Kensington, what really do you have to say that normal people can actually relate to?

So after that they lost the rock n roll and lost touch, they split and along came Beady Eye. Everyone expected Noel to do his own thing; after all he was pretty much the engine behind Oasis and the father of the Brit-pop movement. He hasn’t yet and I’m not surprised, simply because he doesn’t have to release records. He’s a talented guy so I’m sure he will be doing a lot behind the scenes. Liam on the other hand, what else has he got other than his Spring/Summer collection at Pretty Green? Beady Eye’s music, like Oasis’ more recent work is decent, but it doesn’t ignite passion in you, you’re not going to find yourself chanting along as loud as you can in pub with dozens of other complete strangers.

I loved Oasis, I still do. Some of the best times of my life have been at their gigs all across the UK, which generally consisted of a good group of mates, a good drink and a guaranteed good sing-along! As for the future, Beady Eye will carry on making some decent records, no doubt Noel will too but their days of living the rock n roll dream, of saying ‘Fuck you!’ to the mainstream, of sticking it to the man are long gone.

If rock n roll is ever to be born again, we need new blood, new dreamers who aren’t cowards, who would delight in taking boat loads of drugs, start fights in public and throwing tvs out of a hotel rooms! The last true rock’n’roll stars we had were Pete Docherty and Amy Winehouse. Both talented and living the dream, just a shame they couldn’t also do a gig or two as well from time to time.

But will this ever happen? Could it ever happen again? Has the industrialised music world, governed by the 'Simon Cowells' got too much control and influence on what we have to listen to and more importantly what we have to buy?

Actually, does this go further? This might me just being old but isn’t music in general these days, well, a bit shit?
Are there actually any movements going on in music these days? There’s been disco and funk in the 60’s/70’s, electro-pop in the 80’s, Brit-pop/rave in the 90’s, what has there been in the last 10 years that has really took? There doesn’t even seem to be a big distinction in genres anymore, black music (R’n’B etc) has now become pop music, dance music is getting more commercial, guitar bands are also really commercialised. It seems that everything is just merging into a single pop genre, nothing that would ever give anyone a reason to adopt a new lifestyle and ethos. Why is that?

Maybe it’s because music isn’t evolving as quick as everything else in life, the way we live our lives day to day is changing so quickly, being constantly desensitised by tv and the internet, everything has to be quicker, louder, harder and generally more extreme to keep our attention. Kids used to be entertained by catching a ball in a cup, now they’re 'happy slapping' and making their own pornos.

The only trend in music I can think of which is sticking to this trend is the hard/underground side of dance music. There was classic trance in the 90’s, evolving into techno and hard-house, which is a bit edgier, a bit harder. Then came drum-n-bass/ break beats, a lot edger, darker and more aggressive. Now from that we have Dub-Step, which is the basically the dirtiest, filthiest most extreme bass lines possible. Don’t get me wrong, I like all of these (except D’n’B) but you have to think where can it go next? It is definitely the only area of the music world which is actually progressing though, reflecting modern-life.

In contrast there is the commercial world of music which just seems to be R’n’B (which is officially categorised by a pop song sung by a black person) everywhere you go, I really can’t get my head around this music at all, it’s shit, there’s just no substance to it at all. I like to compare its popularity to cocaine, neither is particularly good but because they are trendy and make you appear cool if you partake in either, everyone goes crazy for them. A bunch of white people thinking they’re black basically, bumpin’n’grindin to a bit of Beonce thinking they’re bigger and more important than they actually are. Or some other generic ‘artist’ spouting some bollocks about bitchs and guns and pimps or whatever. Maybe this is a movement in music? It does influence people’s attitudes (ie, gives them an attitude), it influences fashion and even the way (young) people speak so yeah I guess it is. So is it a good, progressive movement in music? Well I guess that’s a matter of opinion really.

Music wouldn’t be music if it didn’t divide opinions, because humans have such varied interests, tastes, outlooks on life, there is naturally going to be division on what’s good or bad. Do you think that because all genres are merging into a single generic genre means that people are getting less and less… unique, varied, interesting? Everyone is thinking and acting the same as everyone else and that’s why music is changing to reflect that? ‘Poppy-cock!!’ you might shout. But tell me this, when was the last time you felt like music had an actual impact on your life? And I don’t mean just listening to your Ipod nano on the way to school/work, and forgetting the odd good song that does come along once in a while. And I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of people reading this thinking ‘There’s loads of good music these days; you just have to look for it!’ That just proves my point, if the music world was a healthy and good as it should be then you wouldn’t have to look hard for good music. It should just be there. Music is no longer an important factor in who we are, it’s just background noise to distract us from life and all the shit we have to put up with day to day. While we click refresh on Facebook/Twitter only to realise that there is still nothing interesting happening anywhere.

Am I wrong? Or like I said before, maybe I’m just getting old...

--Adam