Rock Is Dead (Probably)

Numerous articles proclaiming the final death of rock music appeared in the British press this week, after statistics emerged revealing that just 3% of Britain’s top 100 singles of 2010 had any connection with guitar music.

"It is the end of the rock era. It's over, in the same way the jazz era is over," veteran music critic and erstwhile Radio 1 DJ Paul Gambaccini told the Guardian, "That doesn't mean there will be no more good rock musicians, but rock as a prevailing style is part of music history," he declared.

His dire prognosis came four years after the London Times ironically thundered ‘guitar sales boom means hip-hop has had its day’ after sales data revealed that guitar sales topped 1million the previous year.  However, the vast numbers of buyers turned out to be senior citizens revisiting the dreams of their youth, such as proud Stratocaster owner Tony Blair.

The Times also suggested at the time that young people were ‘turning away from the cult of the DJ’, though according to the new data, 10% of the UK’s top 100 singles were dance music, over three times more than rock.

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

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