The 529 era of change

"What is independent, what is alternative, what is commercial, what is mainstream...... In fact, there is no right answer to this, all one qiē is relative, just as there can be no justice without evil, and there can be no white without black 'color'.

What is the boundary between independent and commercial films? The size of the investment is still the priority of the idea; What is the boundary between independent music and commercial music? The number of sales is still professional.

When rock was just born in the 40s, this music genre itself was independent and alternative, but with the ideological "waves" and "tides" led by rock, after the hippies, rock and roll officially became the mainstream, and the commercial success made rock a music genre that thousands of households could not put down.

In the early 90s, the Nirvana band and Pearl Sauce were all regarded as typical representatives of alternative rock before their rise, Pearl Sauce's debut album 'Ten (ten), which was unpopular at the beginning of its release, and the Nirvana band also experienced a four-year dormant period, and their music was rejected by the public, simply put, the mainstream commercial market did not accept it, but with the rapid rise of the album "Don't mind", the so-called "alternative rock" has a more accurate name, grunge rock! Grunge has become mainstream even though its style is out of step with the mainstream music in the market, but its commercial brilliance has made 'grunge' the so-called mainstream.

Now, what is alternative rock? Different from metal rock, grunge, glam rock, punk and other widely accepted rock genres, they can be called alternative and called independent. Radiohead is alternative rock, the goatskin bands are alternative rock, and Glory to Death is also alternative rock.

The so-called independent and commercial, alternative and mainstream...... This distinction itself already carries the market-oriented 'color'.

But the question is, do people treat Nirvana differently because they are alternative rock or grunge? No, because Nirvana's music is always so 'fine' and colorful, people like it from the bottom of their hearts, and that's the most important thing. People should not be treated differently because music is independent or commercial, alternative or mainstream, but should focus on music itself and explore the value of music itself!

What really distinguishes between independent and commercial, alternative and mainstream, should be the mind and soul of the music itself. It is like a hippie who is incompatible with the whole society, and becomes the cultural 'spirit' that is supported and guided and admired by the minority groups of the whole society, which is truly independent and alternative. From this point of view, in fact, even if their albums can sell millions or even tens of millions of copies, their music is still independent and alternative, and the ideas they convey through their own music are the most profound existence.

This is the case with the album 'Near Fame', a band that has the courage to break the mainstream orientation of today's market and unswervingly implement its own band style, which is itself one of the 'spirits' advocated by rock 'n' roll: rebel against society, insist on self, embrace freedom, and dare to change! If the band is considered to be a 'betrayal of rock 'roll' because of this 'spirit' spirit, then this is the 'poison' of rock ''and roll' that really dies.

When rock 'n' roll discards freedom and resistance, it's like a warrior abandons his spear and faith, leaving only a shield in his hand, waiting for thousands of troops to come. Maybe rock and roll can still defend their positions with their shields like warriors, and they can keep their cities glorious, but without spears and faith, what are the warriors fighting for, and what motivation do they have to keep going? The mind has rotted, and there is no future. The end of rock 'n' roll, this is just coming.

Therefore, not only should the act of glorifying to death not be condemned, but on the contrary, we should listen carefully, even if their music is not good for their ears, even if their thoughts are not worth mentioning, but we should also open our 'hearts'. Because, rock and roll will always be rock, even if it is dying, the 'spirit' in the bones will still exist forever!"

This review report comes from the other side of the Atlantic, "Q Magazine", a British magazine founded in 1986, although it has not been published for a long time, but it has quickly become the most influential professional music magazine in the British Isles, and their professional and dedicated reporting attitude always resonates with listeners.

In the view of "Q Magazine", this is not only a question of glory to death, but also a problem of the progress of the entire era.

After more than a decade of silence, rock 'n' roll did not re-emerge until the late eighties, and in 1991 it reached its first high trend, with a large number of 'color' rock bands bringing rock 'roll into people's eyes again', such as Nirvana, Pearl Sauce, Stone Roses, and Happy Monday. mondays) and other bands have pushed this rock revival to its peak in just two years.

However, the success of this group of bands also pushed the technical requirements of rock to a new high, the musicians were obsessed with hammering and 'refining' the performance technique, the trend of arranging music became more and more complicated, more and more gorgeous, and the status of guitarists reached an unparalleled height, and a large number of great guitarists in the history of music came from this period.

This not only directly leads many song 'fans' to even distinguish the difference between guitar and bass, they think that the guitar is the soul of the band, but they don't know that the important 'sex' of the bass is the key position of the band; There are many bands who just want to imitate Nirvana to achieve success and gain attention, which makes the whole rock music lack the motivation to update, and only the shoddy production that continues to pile up.

In fact, from this point of view, rock music must have a force to break this blockade, otherwise rock music will only gradually decline. All the new generation of bands are heading for the guitarist position, and no one pays attention to the key Cheng dù of the bass at all; All the later bands were simply inferior imitations of their predecessors, and they couldn't create their own rock 'spirit' - you must know that the core meaning of rock 'n' roll is its 'spirit' god, then it won't be long before rock 'n' roll really dies, and then gradually faded away by time. That's where the real scary comes in.

Just as the insistence of "Q Magazine", rock itself represents not being bound, yearning for freedom, and longing for independence, which is the 'tide' of the times, and it is also the inevitable requirement of the development of rock 'n' roll, so from the second half of 1992, in fact, this kind of band that broke the fixed thinking of grunge rock began to emerge slowly, and this trend can be felt by underground bands in the United States and Britain, and it is becoming more and more intense.

The appearance of Glory to Death is in this context, "Q Magazine" believes that Glory to Death is actually a member of the changemakers, but their actions are more daring, their confidence is firmer, and their execution is more thorough, and the five-month road tour is a huge project, even after deducting the more than a month in New York in the middle, Glory to Death has experienced a grand goal that an underground band and a newcomer band cannot accomplish.

The reason why the album "Almost Famous" detonated such a 'fierce' discussion, and even sparked a war of words between supporters and opponents on radio programs, is also the result of the right time and place. In addition to the above background, the band's ability to attract focus, especially when it is placed in the time period when "Schindler's List" accumulates energy explosions, magnifies and exaggerates this change, which directly leads to all kinds of extreme reactions that immediately explode.

However, in the view of "Q Magazine", the act of glory to death itself is in line with the development of the times, not only should it not be suppressed, but on the contrary, it should be promoted, which will rejuvenate rock and roll. But on the other hand, "Q Magazine" also believes that they should not keep touting the glory of the rock 'spirit' because of the glory to death, or should focus on the band's music itself, and strength and talent are always the focus.

Q Magazine's review, published a week after the outbreak of the battlefield of "Alternative Choice" and "Rotation" Song of Fire and Ice and Fire, became the culmination of this period of neutrality, and rose to prominence as a third viewpoint, no less powerful than "Alternative Choice" and "Rotation".

Although Q Magazine is a British magazine, its influence in the UK is unrivaled, and it is slightly inferior in the United States, in the professional field, the professional image of Q Magazine for rock and roll is also recognized in the North American continent. Therefore, at this time, "Q Magazine" expressed its opinion like a third person of the bystander, and it quickly received a "fierce" reaction in the United States, which was like a ton of gasoline directly smashed into a volcano, causing a shocking explosion that covered the clouds and the sun, and completely pushed the controversy brought about by the album "almost famous" to the extreme.

Unlike the controversy that originated from "Schindler's List", which had political interests, so things seemed to be very lively and tricky, but the solution was also a matter of division of interests, from the protest of the Jewish extremist group to the end of the whole matter, it was only two weeks; But the 'fierce' debate triggered by Glory to Death is not so complicated, it is just a simple support for the game music by loyal 'fans', and this kind of debate can even rise to the level of faith, so the discussion will only get more and more intense, and it will not end at all in a short time.

Professional music critics are divided into supporters, opposition, and neutrals, and they debate endlessly, but they all ignore the fact that no matter what the music is, it still has to be 'handed over' to the audience to judge, and whether the music is good or bad is judged by the music critics, but whether the music can continue to survive is evaluated by the audience.

Rock needs change because it is losing its vitality and sooner or later it will be eliminated by its listeners; So, what is the reaction of listeners to the album "almost famous", which represents a change?

(To be continued, if you like this work, you are welcome to come to Kazakhstan to read, and vote for the work to recommend the monthly pass.) Your support is the biggest motivation for me to continue creating

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