Cool rock musicians - are there any these days?

Offset

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

That one exception is Jay Buchanan, who aside from having one of my fave rock voices and being in a brilliant band, is absolutely sub-zero.

There seems to be a strong feeling on the FretBoard that middle-aged American men who wear big hats and artfully-rumpled suits are cool.

Good grief.  Is 49 middle-aged?   I guess it is... :-(

Philly_Q

Offset said:

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

That one exception is Jay Buchanan, who aside from having one of my fave rock voices and being in a brilliant band, is absolutely sub-zero.

There seems to be a strong feeling on the FretBoard that middle-aged American men who wear big hats and artfully-rumpled suits are cool.

Good grief.  Is 49 middle-aged?   I guess it is... :-(

Goddam right it is.  

darthed1981

Philly_Q said:

darthed1981 said:

Offset said:

darthed1981 said:

Are we talking about what kids think are cool - or what the middle-aged-plus average Fretboarder thinks are cool?

I was asking fellow Fretboarders.  And it's really people who are frequently turning out new output   So whilst I would absolutely agree that Lenny Kravitz remains ACAF, he has been so across the last 2+ decades.  Who has taken on his mantle?!

Isn't Bruno Mars essentially a sappier Lenny Kravitz?

He's the Non-Threatening Boys version.

Funny, but spot on.

stickyfiddle

I thought Mars was a mahooisve cokehead and gambler in humungous amounts of debt to the mob? 

darthed1981

stickyfiddle said:

I thought Mars was a mahooisve cokehead and gambler in humungous amounts of debt to the mob? 

That's a lot more rock and roll than I thought he was... but... maybe?

Offset

stickyfiddle said:

I thought Mars was allegedly a mahooisve cokehead and gambler in humungous amounts of debt to the mob? 

FTFY...

TeleMaster

I guess 'cool' is somewhat subjective, and the young decide what's cool and in vogue, so while some people will have universal appeal, it's the kids turn to decide what's cool now. So if the younger rock fans don't think X band are cool anymore, then maybe they're not, and maybe we aren't either!

borntohang

darthed1981 said:

Are we talking about what kids think are cool - or what the middle-aged-plus average Fretboarder thinks are cool?

I reckon, based on her two viral tik tok hits, the kids might think Sabrina Carpenter is cool, but I'd imagine most Fretboarders haven't heard of her?

Sabrina is a Disney poppette so while she's massively popular I don't know if she's got enough edge to be exactly 'cool' no matter how many filthy ad-libs she drops - same for Olivia Rodrigo. I think Charli XCX is probably the closest to an actual edgy popstar at the moment. Chappell Roan is going to be genuinely stratospheric based on the reaction to her festival season.

If you're a middle-aged R6 dad then Idles, Amyl & The Sniffers, Fontaines DC fulfil the classic hairy and lairy guitar band requirements without sounding too much like they're from this millenium. Bob Vylan, Wargasm, and Kneecap all have a bit of 'might actually get chucked out of the venue' vibe too.

Sporky

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

darthed1981

borntohang said:

darthed1981 said:

Are we talking about what kids think are cool - or what the middle-aged-plus average Fretboarder thinks are cool?

I reckon, based on her two viral tik tok hits, the kids might think Sabrina Carpenter is cool, but I'd imagine most Fretboarders haven't heard of her?

Sabrina is a Disney poppette so while she's massively popular I don't know if she's got enough edge to be exactly 'cool' no matter how many filthy ad-libs she drops - same for Olivia Rodrigo. I think Charli XCX is probably the closest to an actual edgy popstar at the moment. Chappell Roan is going to be genuinely stratospheric based on the reaction to her festival season.

Charli XCX is definitely cool, if anyone is.

The knowing-ness of the video to 360, both somehow mocking and celebrating current "it girl" celebrity culture all at once... it's very clever...

She probably (boobs and wine scene notwithstanding) ticks very few "TFB cool" boxes...

Winny_Pooh

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.
I suspect Royal Blood and a small handful of others too. But youngsters generally find electronic & rap musicians cool on a much wider scale.

Offset

Winny_Pooh said:

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.
I suspect Royal Blood and a small handful of others too. 

I saw some kids (late teens) on the tube a couple of weeks ago wearing RB t-shirts.  I used to think they were cool until they  threw a tantrum at an R1 event last year because the crowd didn't love 'em enough.  Not very rock 'n' roll and decidedly uncool. 

Jfingers

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

Philly_Q said:

Offset said:

That one exception is Jay Buchanan, who aside from having one of my fave rock voices and being in a brilliant band, is absolutely sub-zero.

There seems to be a strong feeling on the FretBoard that middle-aged American men who wear big hats and artfully-rumpled suits are cool.

Good grief.  Is 49 middle-aged?   I guess it is... :-(

Goddam right it is.  

Howe Gelb is 67. It's up to him but I doubt he'll make 134...

Bezzer

Offset said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.
I suspect Royal Blood and a small handful of others too. 

I saw some kids (late teens) on the tube a couple of weeks ago wearing RB t-shirts.  I used to think they were cool until they  threw a tantrum at an R1 event last year because the crowd didn't love 'em enough.  Not very rock 'n' roll and decidedly uncool. 

Royal Blood definitely made "a bit of a tit of themselves".

How about someone like "Soft Play" (formerly Slaves) or Wargasm. Both seem high up on the cool scale regardless of your taste in music, and depending on your definition of rock ...

Jfingers

On reading back I think Bob Vylan is a good call.

That Charli XCX video was amusing until the music started. If I'd heard that without the context of the official video, I wouldn't have listened to any of the autotuned vocals, but simply dismissed it as being Girls Aloud or other such shite, I mean things that are not to my taste.

Whilst I appreciate the irony involved, I'm attracted to age appropriate Women so therefore neither the song nor video appealed to me. I watched the Viagra boys song until the end because they reminded me of my youth.

In summary, I feel that for me the Viagra Boys are cooler than Charlie XCX.

As far as I know, Iggy and his Parrot are both still alive so they are my joint nominations.

Timcito

TeleMaster said:

I guess 'cool' is somewhat subjective, and the young decide what's cool and in vogue, so while some people will have universal appeal, it's the kids turn to decide what's cool now. So if the younger rock fans don't think X band are cool anymore, then maybe they're not, and maybe we aren't either!

I think 'cool' has at least two distinct meanings in this regard. There's cool as in the American sense of 'great'/'good,' and then there's youth cool in the sense of being sultry, rebellious and hip - the style and attitude that James Dean and Marlon Brando kickstarted and which was adopted by rock music. Lennon was always cool while McCartney was not - too 'boy-next-door' cute. Keith Richards made the cut, but Jagger much less so - too business savvy and demonstrative.

So while someone like Taylor Swift may be cool in the first sense, she isn't in the second. In terms of rock music, I think most people are thinking of that second sense: the Keith Richards and Kurt Cobains of this world and the next.

Philly_Q

Winny_Pooh said:

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.

Wasn't it last year?  Time flies.  Anyway, John Garcia is way cooler than Josh Homme.

TeleMaster

borntohang said:

darthed1981 said:

Are we talking about what kids think are cool - or what the middle-aged-plus average Fretboarder thinks are cool?

I reckon, based on her two viral tik tok hits, the kids might think Sabrina Carpenter is cool, but I'd imagine most Fretboarders haven't heard of her?

Sabrina is a Disney poppette so while she's massively popular I don't know if she's got enough edge to be exactly 'cool' no matter how many filthy ad-libs she drops - same for Olivia Rodrigo. I think Charli XCX is probably the closest to an actual edgy popstar at the moment. Chappell Roan is going to be genuinely stratospheric based on the reaction to her festival season.

If you're a middle-aged R6 dad then Idles, Amyl & The Sniffers, Fontaines DC fulfil the classic hairy and lairy guitar band requirements without sounding too much like they're from this millenium. Bob Vylan, Wargasm, and Kneecap all have a bit of 'might actually get chucked out of the venue' vibe too.

Billie Eilish is pretty edgy too considering the themes and contents of her songs, as is Lorde and all.

If you're a middle-aged R6 dad then Idles, Amyl & The Sniffers, Fontaines DC fulfil the classic hairy and lairy guitar band requirements without sounding too much like they're from this millenium. Bob Vylan, Wargasm, and Kneecap all have a bit of 'might actually get chucked out of the venue' vibe too.

Yea, add in IDLES, The Chats, Rubber Bandits too. And then there's great acts like Wolf Alice, St Vincent, Fever 333, loads of good stuff, you just need to look for it.

TeleMaster

Offset said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.
I suspect Royal Blood and a small handful of others too. 

I saw some kids (late teens) on the tube a couple of weeks ago wearing RB t-shirts.  I used to think they were cool until they  threw a tantrum at an R1 event last year because the crowd didn't love 'em enough.  Not very rock 'n' roll and decidedly uncool. 

Isn't that a rock & roll rite of passage?

Offset

TeleMaster said:

Offset said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Sporky said:

I'm not sure rock is cool any more. Or if it has been for a few decades now.

QOTSA definitely are, Glasto this year and all.
I suspect Royal Blood and a small handful of others too. 

I saw some kids (late teens) on the tube a couple of weeks ago wearing RB t-shirts.  I used to think they were cool until they  threw a tantrum at an R1 event last year because the crowd didn't love 'em enough.  Not very rock 'n' roll and decidedly uncool. 

Isn't that a rock & roll rite of passage?

Perhaps not when you're in your mid-30s...